MORS Journal of Wargaming

About

The MORS Journal of Wargaming is the premier research publication for articles on the art, practice, and science of professional gaming and related fields. It is peer-reviewed and broad-based. Our goal is to advance the field of professional games, which we define as games played by those with a professional stake in the subject of the game.

While the title of the Journal is “wargaming”, we do not limit discussion of professional games by either their type or purpose. Topics can range from education to analyses, and games can range from board games to conference-scale policy games. Articles do not have to involve a defense or military subject. The Journal seeks any and all articles that develop the art and science of professional games, to include articles on the design, development, production, play and analysis of games. We welcome articles on how a game integrates narrative into its design as well as articles analyzing the statistical outcomes of a series of educational games. Submissions that describe the play and results of a particular game are also welcome; we refer to these as Game Reports.

Submissions should be clear and in plain English, logical and well argued, with supporting references and specifics on game design, outcome, or analysis. Articles can include suggestions for further reading.

The Journal will be published online bi-annually but may expand depending on demand and numbers of submissions.

We encourage articles to be:

Well-written
Rooted in practical experience
Logically and traceably argued from first principles, if the article is theoretical in nature
Inclusive of data collection and reporting protocols, if based on experiment
Aware of the work of others as evidenced by appropriate and extensive citations

There are several categories of articles that we are interested in including in the journal:

Practical examples of played-through games that are well documented and reported
Theoretical articles covering underlying principles of professional games
Articles on topics in game design including adjudication, mechanics, or scenario
Examples of applications of professional games, including their role in larger research endeavors

Image showing the four most recent Phalanx journals.

Editors-in-Chief

Dr. Ed McGrady, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security
Dr. John Curry, Senior Lecturer in Games Development and Cybersecurity, Bath Spa University

Production Editor

Joan Taylor, joan@mors.org

Publications Manager

Tina Yan, tina.yan@mors.org

Advisory and Editorial Board

Dr. Stephen Downes-Martin
Dr. James “Pigeon” Fielder
Dr. Nina Kollars
Dr. Peter Perla
Ms. Stacie Pettyjohn
Dr. Anja van der Hulst

Read Issue: Volume 1, Issue 1

Editorial Policy & Submission Guidelines

Papers should be as long as necessary, but not longer. Ensuring that the paper focuses on one topic or concept should keep it brief. If you want to discuss multiple topics or results, submit multiple papers.

Papers should be 10-35 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font). Longer or shorter papers will be considered, but the shorter or longer format should be required by the content of the paper.

All submissions should:

Be clearly written and logically argued
Describe an interesting, important, or unique contribution to the practice of professional gaming
Be thorough in use of data, use of statistical & analytical methodologies, and reference to previous & related work
We do not accept editorial pieces and personal opinions should not be present in submissions (i.e., assertions should be backed up by argument, analysis, or data). Editors will flag unsupported assertions prior to submission to reviewers and ask the authors to correct them.
Use the Chicago Manual of Style as a baseline for usage, grammar, and formatting.

Game Reports:

Game Reports summarize one particular game or series of the same game. They should include sufficient materials and descriptions so that someone reading the report could envision how the game was played and what the outcomes were. Illustrations and graphics are encouraged. Game reports should not simply dump the rules, maps, pieces, and charts for a game without any narrative or explanation. They should describe the unique or important aspects of a game and relate those aspects to larger issues in game design, execution, and analyses.

Game reports on commercial games will not be accepted, as that would simply be a review of the commercial game. We do not accept reviews at the present time; however, articles describing the use of commercial games in professional environments are encouraged.

Contribute

All authors and co-authors will need to create a ScholarOne account in order to be added to a submission. The first author should be the principal investigator, or the person with the largest contribution to the writing of the article. Please be inclusive of all contributors when listing authors.

Submit an Article Here

Learn More

View the full Submission Guidelines

View Frequently Asked Questions

The inaugural issue of the MORS Journal of Wargaming is now out. It is open and available to all readers under the “Read Issue” tab. Once we publish our next issue and assess what the future of this publication looks like, we will implement the subscription system laid out below.

MORS members receive a free subscription to the MORS Journal of Wargaming as part of their membership. Non-members and institutions must subscribe in accordance with the subscription rates below.