Nathan Hammerschmitt Le Gal
Great Issues Scholars: Wargaming Simulation!
Dartmouth is all about trying something new, and for one day, I became the Prime Minister of Russia.
Picture this: you're assigned a leadership role in a given country, you're provided with a limited pool of resources, and you're supplied with a secret set of objectives to complete. You're faced with countries each presented with their own scenario, and you have absolute freedom in the actions you choose to take. Diplomacy, trade, espionage, war—it's all on the table.
This was essentially my starting point in the game Alliance, a wargaming simulator organized by the Dickey Center for International Understanding here at Dartmouth. As part of the Great Issues Scholars program (GIS), I had the opportunity to spend an entire Saturday working with fellow students to advance my country's position in the game.
The event took place in partnership with wargaming professionals from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Each nation had an advisor, and ours was David Sampson, a current professor who used to fly fighter jets in the Navy.
Our nation was "Strong Nation," or Russia (as denoted by the flags on our neat name tags). The goal of the game is to increase your nation's "Status," and this is achieved by reaching your assigned goals. Professor Sampson made it clear from the very beginning that we had a very different role than many of the other nations. While South Korea, Japan, and the United States were tasked with innovating new technology and facilitating international peace, we had to stage invasions and utilize military force.
I learned that this was a quite hard role to play. We staged a failed invasion of Japan, lost substantial amounts of resources, and lacked the means to rebuild a post-war Russia. I did learn, however, how complex and nuanced navigating international relationships can be. Each round was a whirlwind of talking faces, handshakes, and private meetings. I was overwhelmed by the amount of deals offered—deciding our next move was always the hardest part.

In the end, every nation increased its status to a respectable level (yes, even us, and our dedicated partner, China). Fortunately, another goal of the game is to keep all countries over a certain status threshold so that no nation is left behind (go international development!). Our objectives did in fact make advancing hard, since aggressive actions will by default provoke adverse reactions. Maybe we didn't come out on top, but we survived.
For more information about the Great Issues Scholars Program, please visit this link!
Posts You Might Like
Exploring 19th century Paris through art: a First Year Seminar field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Dartmouth has so many academic resources, including free newspaper subscriptions! Although this may not seem like a big deal, it's a great accessible way to learn about local and national news!
New term, new room at Gender Inclusive Greek House Alpha Theta!
The summer is approaching quickly and I'll be staying on-campus taking classes with other sophomores. Read on to learn more.
In my last blog post, I reflect on my Dartmouth experience ahead of graduation!
When I look back on my time at Dartmouth, and it is hard to believe I will be graduating in just two weeks, I know that Africa Week will always stand out as one of the moments when this campus felt most alive, most joyful, and most like home.
In this post, I write about the Dartmouth Creatives Networking event in NYC.
It's my first spring ever (!!!) and I have been blown away by the beautiful scenery that continues to bloom right in front of my eyes. Here are some of my favorite scenes from campus in spring!
In this post, I write about the Student Wellness Center at Dartmouth.