Why The Military Plays Games to Prepare for War

Johnny Harris March 20, 2025
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Why Real Militaries Play Fake War Use code johnnyharris at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/johnnyharris Militaries have a long tradition of using wargames to strategize. I went to a military think tank and played a wargame against Sam Ellis, guided by a panel of experts, about the conflict around Taiwan. Check out all my sources for this video here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vxEV4iGvVnC_cwtjAKDKNDeeRaYuRmi9qhAlOwWeny0/edit?usp=sharing Special Thanks to: - CNA (​⁠​⁠@CNA_org ) and the entire wargaming team: Andrew OIson, Jeremy Sepinsky, Christopher Ma, Michelle Strayer, Sandra Kim, Dr. Jason Thomas, Maryanne Kivlehan-Wise, Dr. Dinah Simone “Simca” Cramer, Margarett Holmes, Karin Drinkhall - Sam Ellis & ​⁠​⁠@SearchParty Be sure to check out ​⁠​⁠@CNA_org for more on wargames and national security research. MORE CHANNELS: Check out my new channel with Christophe Haubursin - Tunnel Vision https://www.youtube.com/@christophe Check out my channel with Sam Ellis - Search Party https://youtube.com/@SearchParty All the music for this video was created by our in-house composer Tom Fox and is available to license or just to listen to on our music channel Chromatic. Here's the soundtrack to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guf-tOj-iJ4 Get access to behind-the-scenes vlogs, my scripts, and extended interviews over at https://www.patreon.com/johnnyharris Do you have an insider tip or unique information on a story? Do you have a suggestion for a story you want us to cover? Submit to the Tip Line: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpNs1ykIwd7KNkwntN897X_SX9hJ8WiTH_erlLU_bQp2GGLg/viewform?usp=sharing Get our World Map t-shirts now! White "World Map" shirt: https://store.dftba.com/products/world-map-t-shirt-white?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=product_shelf Tie Dye "World Map" shirt: https://store.dftba.com/products/world-map-t-shirt-tie-dye?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=product_shelf I made a poster about maps - check it out: https://store.dftba.com/products/all-maps-are-wrong-poster Custom Presets & LUTs [what we use]: https://store.dftba.com/products/johnny-iz-luts-and-presets -- VIDEO CHAPTERS -- 0:00 What is a Wargame? 1:56 South China Sea, Wargamed 5:12 Turn 1 8:54 History of Wargames 10:40 Turns 2 & 3 16:41 Why Wargame? 17:34 Modern History of Wargames 20:09 Conclusion CORRECTION: 9:45 image of The Kaiser, Hindenburg, and Ludendorff planning "The Final Drive" is from WWI not WWII About: Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 5 million on Youtube. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways. - press - NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/09/opinion/democrats-blue-states-legislation.html NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007358968/covid-pandemic-us-response.html Vox Borders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLrFyjGZ9NU NPR Planet Money: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1072164745 - where to find me - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnny.harris/ Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnny.harris Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnnyHarrisVox

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