KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE PROPOSAL OR REVISION,
Cover Sheet (10/02/2002)
Course Number/Program Name INCM 9613: Gaming, Conflict, and Decision-making
Department College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Degree Title (if applicable) Ph.D. in International Conflict Management
Proposed Effective Date Fall 2012
Check one or more of the following and complete the appropriate sections:
X New Course Proposal
Course Title Change
Course Number Change
Course Credit Change
Course Prerequisite Change
Course Description Change
Sections to be Completed
II, III, IV, V, VII
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
I, II, III
Notes:
If proposed changes to an existing course are substantial (credit hours, title, and description), a new course with a
new number should be proposed.
A new Course Proposal (Sections II, III, IV, V, VII) is required for each new course proposed as part of a new
program. Current catalog information (Section I) is required for each existing course incorporated into the
program.
Minor changes to a course can use the simplified E-Z Course Change Form.
Submitted by:
Approved
ED McGrady, Ph.D.
Faculty Member
_____
Date
Not Approved
Department Curriculum Committee Date
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Approved
Not Approved
Department Chair
Date
School Curriculum Committee
Date
School Dean
Date
GPCC Chair
Date
Dean, Graduate College
Date
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Vice President for Academic Affairs Date
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President
Date
KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE COURSE/CONCENTRATION/PROGRAM CHANGE
I.
Current Information (Fill in for changes)
Page Number in Current Catalog
Course Prefix and Number
Course Title
Credit Hours
Prerequisites
Description (or Current Degree Requirements)
II.
Proposed Information (Fill in for changes and new courses)
Course Prefix and Number INCM 9613______________________
Course Title Gaming, Conflict, and Decision-making
Credit Hours 1-0-1
Prerequisites Admission in the PhD INCM Program or Director approval for
Masters Students
Description (or Proposed Degree Requirements)
In this course students learn about decision-making games and how they
can be used as tools for understanding, and managing, conflict. Reviewing
the history of games used for conflict management and national security,
this course examines how games shaped policy decisions about conflict
and explores the theory of games and game design. Students participate in
an international conflict management game and work on ideas for
developing their own games.
III.
Justification
Gaming has been used extensively over the past hundred years as a tool to
examine decisions about conflict, explore national security options, and train
leaders in how to manage conflict and crises. Games are currently seeing a
resurgence within the security community as tools that let leaders understand
complex environments where social, political, and economic factors are just as
important as military ones in driving and resolving conflicts. This course will
give students an understanding of how games are used in decision-making about
conflict, and how to design and use games as part of the decision-making process.
By designing their own games, and examining others’ designs, students will
develop an understanding of the basics of good game design. As a result they will
be better prepared to use and interact with games as tools for international conflict
management.
IV.
Additional Information (for New Courses only)
Instructor: ED McGrady, Ph.D.
Text:
Prerequisites: Admission in the PhD INCM Program or Director approval for
Masters Students
Objectives: Students who take this course will be able to:
 Identify the key elements of a good game, and recognize a bad one when
they are asked to play in one.
 Understand the way games are used in international conflict management,
and US national security decision-making.
 Use a basic design process to develop a game from objectives to
implementation.
 Apply game methods to a variety of conflict management problems, from
leadership decision-making to using games to develop shared understanding.
Instructional Method

Class discussion and exercises, group game exercises, individual game design
assignments and presentations.
Method of Evaluation

V.
Participation, presentations, and final project
Resources and Funding Required (New Courses only)
Resource
Amount
Faculty
Other Personnel
Equipment
Supplies
Travel
New Books
New Journals
Other (Specify)
TOTAL
Funding Required Beyond
Normal Departmental Growth
$0.00
VI. COURSE MASTER FORM
This form will be completed by the requesting department and will be sent to the Office of the
Registrar once the course has been approved by the Office of the President.
The form is required for all new courses.
DISCIPLINE
COURSE NUMBER
COURSE TITLE FOR LABEL
(Note: Limit 16 spaces)
CLASS-LAB-CREDIT HOURS
Approval, Effective Term
Grades Allowed (Regular or S/U)
If course used to satisfy CPC, what areas?
Learning Support Programs courses which are
required as prerequisites
INCM
9613
Gaming, Conflict, and Decision-making
1-0-1
Fall 2012
Regular
APPROVED:
________________________________________________
Vice President for Academic Affairs or Designee __
VII Attach Syllabus
INCM 9613: Gaming, Conflict, and Decision-making
Ph.D. Program in International Conflict Management
Kennesaw State University
I. Professor Contact Information
ED McGrady, Research Analyst, CNA and INCM Program Affiliated Faculty
Principal Two-Stone, LLC
Phone: 703 395 5340, Email: mcgradye@gmail.com
II. Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites, and/or Other Restrictions
Admission in the PhD INCM Program or Director Approval for Masters Students; Enrollment capacity of
20 students
III. Course Description
In this course students learn about decision-making games and how they
can be used as tools for understanding, and managing, conflict. Reviewing
the history of games used for conflict management and national security,
this course examines how games shaped policy decisions about conflict
and explores the theory of games and game design. Students participate in
an international conflict management game and work on ideas for
developing their own games.
IV. Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should:
 Identify the key elements of a good game, and recognize a bad one when they are asked to play in
one.
 Understand the way games are used in international conflict management, and US national
security decision-making.
 Use a basic design process to develop a game from objectives to implementation.
 Apply game methods to a variety of conflict management problems, from leadership decisionmaking to using games to develop shared understanding.
V. Textbooks and Materials
While there is no required textbook for the course all students are recommended to purchase Peter Perla’s
book on The Art of Wargaming. (Note if the book is not available on Amazon, the reprint can be found
here: http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/peter-perlas-the-art-of-wargaming-a-guide-forprofessionals-and-hobbyists/18863470) We will refer to this text during the course. In addition I have
included a book list of other books that we will also refer to in the course.
Book list:
Chatfield, Tom. Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century. New York: Pegasus
Books LLC, 2010.
Fine, Gary Alan. Shared Fantasy: Role Playing Games as Social Worlds. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1983.
McGonigal, Jane. Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World.
New York: Penguin Press, 2011.
Perla, Peter P. The Art of Wargaming. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990 (see note).
Sabin, Philip. Simulating War: Studying Conflict Through Simulation Games. New York: Continuum
International, 2012.
Other class materials
Game materials will be provided by the instructor during class. A course package of materials may also
be posted on the class web site prior to the start of class.
VI. Course Outline
The class is designed as a compacted course, with all contact hours taking place over a long weekend.
Participants Activity
Topics
Hours
All Students
First
lecture
2 (2)
All Students
Practicum
All Students
Second
lecture
All Students
Practicum
All Students
Third
lecture
No video: Games as tools for exploring conflict. We
will discuss the idea of manual games as tools for
supporting decision-making, managing conflict, and
creating innovative futures. We will cover role-playing
games, board games, computer-based games, scenario
design, and game theory. This will give the students a
broad foundation in the various types of games and their
applications.
Scenario design practicum. Scenario design is one game
technique that can be used to explore the future and build
consensus within organizations. Drawing from the Royal
Dutch Shell scenario design process, students will work
to design and develop their own scenarios. Students will
discuss their scenarios during an in-class round table and
critique.
Your father’s gaming. We will review the history of
decision-making games as tools for conflict management.
Games. Starting with the beginnings of professional
gaming in the 19th century we will examine how games
have informed everything from war to medical policy.
Students will get a chance to review various types of
game designs and understand how game play is affected
by design, mechanics, and the author’s intent.
What makes a bad game: the theory of game design. We
will review the key elements of game design theory with
a particular focus on how these theories might be applied
to international conflict management. Students will learn
what makes a bad game, and what to do if they are
caught up in one during the course of their professional
careers.
2 (4)
2 (6)
2 (8)
2 (10)
All Students
Practicum
All Students
Practicum
All Students
Group
discussion
All Students
Final
lecture
Game play. We will participate in a short decisionmaking game on a topic of international conflict
management.
Students will design games around the scenarios they
discussed in the scenario design practicum. The goal will
be to develop clear objectives, design mechanics and
game play that addresses the objectives, and begin to
sketch out how the game would be implemented
Students will present their designs to the class, and we
will discuss various aspects of the designs and how they
might play out in an actual game implementation.
Wither gaming? We will finish with a discussion of
several modern takes on gaming, including virtual-reality
games, games as art, and “gamification.” How can these
techniques be harnessed for conflict management? How
will the students apply them in their post-graduate future
as researchers or policy makers?
2 (12)
2 (14)
2 (16)
1 (17)
VII. Grading Policy
Students will be graded according to class participation and their performance on three of the four practicums:
scenario design, game design, and game development. Students will not be graded on their participation in game
play. Grades will be based on the student’s understanding of the course materials, their application to the design
problems they are given, and the creativity and analytic content of their designs.
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Participation:
Scenario design
Game design
Presentation:
30%
20%
30%
20%
Grading Scale:
A = .90 or better
B = .80 - .8999
C = .70 - .7999
D = .60 - .6999
F = less than .60
Assignments and deliverables:
First Practicum: Deliverable: Scenario development and critique. Grading criteria: participation in
scenario development, contribution to discussion of class scenarios, application of scenario design
methodology and creativity in scenario design.
Second Practicum: Deliverable: Class participation. Grading criteria: participation in discussion of
game design
Third Practicum: Deliverable: Class participation. Grading criteria: participation in play of the game
Fourth Practicum: Deliverable: Draft game design. Grading criteria: successful application of game
design principles, creativity in design, level of participation.
Fifth Practicum: Deliverable: Presentation. Grading criteria: effective communication of game design
to the student audience, response to questions.
VIII. Academic Integrity
Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as
published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct
addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and
cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University
records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials,
malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification
cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the
University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member,
resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of
Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement.
IX. ADA Statement
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to
meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to arrange the necessary
accommodations. Students should present appropriate verification from KSU disAbled Student Support
Services. No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to completion of this approved
University process. Accommodations are arranged on an individualized, as-needed basis after the needs
and circumstances have been evaluated. The following individuals have been designated by the President
of the University to provide assistance and ensure compliance with the ADA. Should you require
assistance or have further questions about the ADA, please contact:
Carol Pope, Asst. Dir. for disAbled Student Support Services
770-423-6443, 770-423-6667F, 770-423-6480TTY
cpope@kennesaw.edu
disAbled Student Support Services Website
http://www.kennesaw.edu/stu_dev/dsss/dsss.html