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0 pointsjacquesc12y ago0 comments

Reminds me of what I read about pre-WWI. The German army used to stage huge tactical mock battles. The only rule was the Kaiser's side had to always win.

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4 comments · 1 top-level

tpurves12y ago· 3 in thread

My understanding is that this is still generally true of all war games. Deemed bad for morale otherwise.

jmhobbs12y ago

You should read about MC02. When the wrong side wins, they just change the rules and start over.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Challenge_2002

pavel_lishin12y ago

Well, if you keep losing your war games, you should probably keep playing until you win.

I recall reading a story where someone kept winning against the US side in a war game, and instead of changing tactics, the guys running the US side just kept adding more and more restrictions to what the opposite team was allowed to do, until they finally lost. (Wish I had a link to the story. [EDIT: jmhobbs has it, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6770236)

Huh, kind of like Ender's Game, except for the loss part.

stcredzero12y ago

> the US side just kept adding more and more restrictions to what the opposite team was allowed to do, until they finally lost.

I just finished watching a documentary about a German "aggressor" squadron that inherited a bunch of Mig-29s through the reunification of Germany. When they take part in exercises, they generally have lots of restrictions placed on them. (To make sure the students can "complete" a full course of scenarios.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQByetpFgKM#t=104

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