The below brief bios include all significant contributors to the field of wargaming, past and present, for which we have information. 

For a fuller biography (when available) click on the name of the individual.

Kenneth Alnwick, Colonel, USAF, 2nd Director of NDU’s Wargame Center

Edward Atkeson, Maj Gen, USA, Former Director Army’s Concepts Analysis Agency

Dr. Bob Barker, Colonel, USAFR (ret.), Wargame Research Leader/Manager

Elizabeth Bartels, Game Designer, Educator

Lincoln Bloomfield, MIT Professor co-responsible for bringing Pol-Mil wging to US

Larry Bond,  Wargame Designer, Author, Analysts - co-author “Red Storm Rising”

Matthew B. Caffrey Jr., Colonel, USAFR (ret), WG Designer, Educator, Author

Chris Carlson, Captain USNR (ret), Analyst, Researcher, Wargame Designer

Renee G. Carlucci, a key leader of the US military OR community

Frank Chadwick, Wargame Designer, co-founder & Pres Game Designers Workshop

John Phillips Colomb, Captain, British Royal Navy, invented first modern naval wg

Jon Compton, Political Scientist, wargaming of violent non-state actors

Trevor Dupuy, Colonel, USA, historian, champion of using historical data in wging

Bill Gibbs, Co-founder of OMEGA GAMES, Wargame Designer

Bret Given, Developer of constructive and virtual wargaming in support of S&T

Herbert Goldhamer, RAND, co-responsible for bringing Pol-Mil wging to US

Dr. Stephen Downes-Martin, Wargaming theory and application

James F. Dunnigan, Prolific Wargame Designer, Editor, Publisher, Author

Michael W. Garrambone, President elect of MORS, Analyst, Educator

Herbert Goldhamer, in 1950’s developed American Political-Military wargaming

John D. Gresham, Author, Researcher, Wargame Scenario Developer

Brant Guillory, Wargame Designer, Writer

Sterling Hart, First Director of NDU’s War Gaming and Simulation Center

Orville E. “Bud” Hay, Innovator, Father of Global, Chief of WGing, NWC, 1985-1999

John Hill, designer of best selling print wargame - Squad Leader and many others

J. S. Hurlbert, Captain, USN, Director, Wargaming Dept, Naval War College, 1985-88

Fred Jane, wrote first naval combat wargame rules for civilian audience

Garth Jensen,  sustaining innovation

Wiolliam Jones, Colonel, USAF, Founder of US Joint Staff Wargaming

Warren Katz, Chief Operating Officer, MAK Technologies, Inc.

F. W. Kitchener, author of 1895 UK rules on wargaming

Frederick William Lanchester, creator of Lanchester’s equations

Harris Laning, Vice Adm, USN, live & constructive wg innovator, Pres NWC 1930-33

Robert R. Leonhard, Pol/Mil wargame designer, educator, author

Edwin Link, first volume designer and builder of flight and other simulators

John Lister, Colonel, USMCR, Dep Dir, WGing Div, MC Warfighting Laboratory.

W. R. Livermore, Major US Army, first in US to advocate/improve wargaming

Jim Lunsford, LtC, US Army (ret.), Wargame Designer, Educator

Michael R. Macedonia, Vice President and Chief Scientist for SAIC unit

Raymond Macedonia, Col, USA, founder & chairman of Army War Collage WG Dep

Mike Markowits, Wargame designer, developer, analyst, researcher, S&T SME

Dr Roger Mason, applying wargaming to law enforcement

William McCarty Little, Father of American Wargaming 1846 - 1915

Francis McHugh, wargame designer, co-founder of Global the first Title 10 wargame

Jacob Meckel, author innovative wg rules, 1873 &75, introduced wging to Jap Army

Joseph Miranda, THE most prolific print wargame Designer, Editor, Writer

Helmuth von Moltke, Field Marshal, Prussian Army, adapted wg for planning

Gary “Mo” Morgan, Lt Col, USAF, (ret.) WG Designer, Air Force & Commercial

Philip Mykytiuk, Col, USAFR (ret), SME use of wargaming to anticipate tech needs

Captain Naumann, Saxon, first to publish rules on what today is called break points

Dr Al Nofi, Wargame Researcher, Designer, Author

Dan Novak, Lt Col, USAF, (ret) former Chief of WGing, Air Comd and Staff College

Constantine "Dean" Pappas, Colonel, USAF,  Father of AF Wargaming Center

Dr Peter P. Perla III, Wargame; Theorists, Designer, Author, Manager, Advocate

Rich Phares, US Navy (ret.) Designer: Wargames & Exercises

John Prados, Wargame Designer, Author, master of the integrated wargame & article

Fletcher Pratt, Designer of first US Naval Wargame intended for Civilian audiences

Baron von Reisswitz, Prussian war counselor, Invented first modern wargame

Lieutenant George H. R. J. Reisseitz, created first widely used modern wargame

Charles S. Roberts, Founding Father of commercially available print wargames

Merle S. Robinson, Wargame Designer, DoD Analyst, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.

David O. Ross, Wargame Designer, researcher and research manager

Ed Rotberg, in 1980 designed Battlezone, and later Army Battlezone, first FPS

Volko Ruhnke, Wargame Designer, Educator, Intelligence Analysis

Steve Russell, Originator SPACEWAR! programed in 1962, first civ computer WG

Philip Sabin, Educator, Wargame Designer, Author, educational wging  advocate

Farrand Sayre, Capt, US Army, authored Map Maneuvers and Tactical Rides in 1908

Alfred Schlieffen, Gen, German Army, conceived Schlieffen Plan, advocate of wging

Jack Scruby - After H.G. Wells, he did the most to popularize miniature wargaming

Redmond Simonsen, THE pioneer in the art of intuitive graphics conventions

Richard "Moody" Suter, Colonel, USAF, Father of Red Flag, Warrior Prep Center

Jack Thorpe, father of virtual wargaming, convinced DARPA network simulators

Charles Totten, Lt, US Army, Author of Strategos, early series of US Wargames

Brian Train, Canadian wargame designer, writer, veteran

Adolf von Trotha, Prussian officer asserted wargaming contributed to their success

Paul Vebber, Wargame Designer/Developer, (mil & Com)Military OR & Synthesist.

David Vesely, Colonel, USAF, Commander Warrior Preparation Center

John Warden, Colonel, USAF (ret.) Originator of Connections, Author, Strategist

Gary Ware, Colonel, USAF, Director of Wargaming for CENTCOM during Gulf War

Casey Wardynski, Colonel, US Army, Originator of America’s Army wargame

8. H.G. Wells, author, wrote first ground combat wargame rules for civilian audience
   

Christopher Weuve, Wargame Designer, Wargame Analyst, Naval Analyst

Spenser Wilkinson, UK volunteer officer, advocate staff system & wargaming 

Dr. Yuna Huh Wong, leader in advancing the M, S & G Irregular Warfare

Key to abbreviations:

Adm            Admiral

civ              civilian

DARPA    Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Dir             Director

Dep            Deputy

FPS            First Person Shooter

M, S & G   Modeling, Simulation and Gaming

MORS        Military Operations Research Society

NWC        Naval War College

ret              retired

USMC       United States Marine Corps

USMCR    United States Marine Corps Reserve

USN          United States Navy

USNR        United States Navy Reserve

USAF         United States Air Force

USAFR       United States Air Force Reserve

WG            Wargame

WGs          Wargames

If you would like to propose improvements to a current biography or to submit a new one please click on “Email me” below. If you are submitting a biography please include:

                    Full Name

                    A one line description of key contributions

                    A one paragraph bio