Thomas Altmann

With the Operational Wargaming System (Barrick), DIGICAT (NIWC PAC/MCU), and my own Littoral Commander series -- the US Marine Corps is leading the way with educational #wargaming. businessinsider.com/us-military-wa…

Our PME Game Design playlist now contains seven videos, offering more than ten hours of recorded insight. If you’re a military professional at a PME institution and want to "bring in a wargame," this channel is made for you. youtube.com/playlist?list=…

It is officially happening! I have already secured chapter proposals from over 19+ authors -- reflecting a wide variety of organizations, such as the Philippines Marine Corps, Canadian Navy, British Army, Australian Defence Force, Colombian Navy, French Army, and more! #wargaming

When life resembles art... An event card from my "Littoral Commander: Baltics" #wargame. 🎲 😭

I'm often the one teaching others about #wargaming or leading my #wargames for others. So it was an immense joy to spend a week with colleagues from across Europe to learn new games together, share our methodologies, and discuss our profession and how to advance it forward. 🎲 💥

Great piece on how important it is to have the right kinds of wargames at the right times warontherocks.com/2026/03/five-w…

Germany’s first F-35: loading...

@BambotPiotr Hi, great to see your version. The „miro“ chart is really interesting!! PN 🙏

My dear colleague Konrad Idzik and I have completed the first phase of testing Joint Commander: Poland. We played through the full campaign scenario to test the initial assumptions and concepts. You've seen the actions of both sides so far in individual partial reports. Today, the photographs show the final result of this bloody struggle. Ultimately, the Polish Army managed to hold the capital, but at the cost of very heavy losses. The 9th Braniewo Armored Cavalry Brigade and the 1st Warsaw Armored Brigade were practically non-existent as tactical units. The remaining Polish brigades were at this point on the verge of exhaustion. Although the Russian divisions, thanks to their mass and firepower, managed to reach the outskirts of Warsaw, they by this point lacked the ammunition to do much more. The final result was significant for us only insofar as it verified the initial concepts for depicting a potential confrontation between the Polish Armed Forces and the Russian Armed Forces. It must be admitted that this is a truly good and engaging game. The kinetic combat engine works as it should. Sometimes you have to throw a small bucket of dice, but this solution is lost in the incredibly interesting competition contained within the JCC and their proper use. They offer enormous possibilities: they support attacks, boost statistics, allow for spectacular strikes, air raids, interceptions, and so on. This eliminates the feeling of overwhelming randomness. There are so many variables influencing the game's final outcome that players can't dwell on individual battles, but must instead focus on the broader concept of conducting individual operations. I don't know about Konrad, but I had a phenomenal time playing. Every test session was an adventure, and a very satisfying one at that. We managed to create a clear and logical game model. However, JC: Poland can be tiring. Mastering the entire front and the abilities assigned to individual formations is quite a challenge. Above all, the game is somewhat dangerous. It forces you to ask difficult, sometimes uncomfortable questions. Furthermore, it also generates very interesting discussions. Now it's time to make adjustments, incorporate the new rules, verify the cards, and then we can start a new round of testing.

Join us for our second PME webinar this week! On Thursday at 1500 CET (Berlin time), catch the debut of Multi-Domain Brigade Operations. This exciting game transforms Seb Bae's Littoral Commander for intense land-based Close Combat. Watch it here: youtube.com/watch?v=A9Q9SK…

This hurts my soul on a profound level.

In a world of rapid geopolitical and technological change, how can NATO stay ahead? The Audacious Training initiative is improving upon current military training environments to better reflect real-world situations by modernizing exercise scenario design and embracing AI to challenge our Allies. The goal is simple: help NATO forces find ways to make adversaries think twice before taking hostile action, sharpen crisis response, and win in conflict: act.nato.int/article/audaci… #WeAreNato

Ungarn unter Orbán gefährdet mit seiner Blockadepolitik nicht nur die Solidarität mit der Ukraine, sondern die sicherheitspolitische Handlungsfähigkeit ganz Europas. Ungarn profitiert seit Jahren massiv von Mitteln der Europäische Union und tritt gleichzeitig ihre gemeinsamen Werte mit Füßen. Orbán ist der Trittbrettfahrer Europas. Wer systematisch europäische Beschlüsse sabotiert und autoritäre Narrative bedient, darf nicht weiter ungehindert am Ratstisch sitzen. Es ist deshalb höchste Zeit, Artikel 7 EUV konsequent zu aktivieren. Wenn wie durch Orbáns Ungarn eine eindeutige Gefahr für die Grundwerte der EU besteht, muss das Stimmrecht im Rat entzogen werden. Die EU darf sich nicht länger von einem einzelnen Regierungschef erpressen lassen. Europas Sicherheit, Rechtsstaatlichkeit und Glaubwürdigkeit stehen auf dem Spiel. Sie sind nicht verhandelbar.

Played Littoral Commander with the team today. Solid reps & good discussion. A useful reminder of how much shaping happens across domains, and just how valuable joint enablers are once you start thinking beyond the land fight. @SebastianBae

Unsere Präsidiumsmitglieder @KubickiWo und @MAStrackZi sind sich einig: Deutschland braucht mehr Freiheit. #3K26

KNDS Deutschland hat heute bei einem offiziellen „Rollout“ erstmals den Kampfpanzer Leopard 2 A8 der Fachöffentlichkeit vorgestellt. Es handelt sich um den ersten für die Bundeswehr bestimmten Kampfpanzer, der seit 1992 komplett neu gebaut wurde. hartpunkt.de/rollout-des-er…

The German Army's "Multi Domain Brigade Operations" #wargame is an adaptation of my "Littoral Commander" #wargame system. They are leveraging augmented reality to facilitate player planning and an AI avatar to help players learn the rules. 🎲 💥

A small piece on German wargaming history by @JoritWintjes can be found here: linkedin.com/pulse/german-w…

@SebastianBae Have fun! My suit = mental status: jealousy!

Wreck diving in Hawaii. 🤿 I wish I had more time to do some diving on this trip. 😢

I can see the appeal of bespoke wargames - very specific games designed for a specific purpose. Especially for making the big costly decisions in a military, like force design. But game design is hard and requires a lot of play-testing and iteration to get it right. You can't just knock up a new game when you want to test a new theory. A more robust but generalised system is usually better, especially if it's easily expandable. I think Littoral Commander, by @SebastianBae, is a great example of this. The JCC cards and wide variety of unit types are well-suited to specific expansions, hence the ease with which Baltic and Australian versions could be made.

It feels like receiving credit points in your #Wargaming class - @SebastianBae 😉