Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare

 Top Tactics 25 Invitational Wargaming Tournament

Announcing Marine Corps University's (MCU) TOP TACTICS 25 (TT25) wargaming tournament! This is an online, individual competition hosted in MCU's Wargaming Cloud. Game play is asynchronous and turn based, enabling participants to complete turns independently. The tournament is open to all the USMC, Joint Forces, and Allied organizations, but the overall number of participants is capped at 2000. This is a tactical, company level tournament focused  on a modern, contemporary fight. In a series of 3 rounds, players  compete at the company level. This tournament will utilize the prototype version of the Company Commander wargame. While multiple representatives from the same unit or organization can participate, this is an INDIVIDUAL tournament.

Road to the Cup: The TT25 tournament is conducted through MCU's FIGHT CLUB, an extracurricular activity designed to provide participants with an opportunity to practice tactical and operational decision-making in a wargame environment that hones their individual cognitive warfighting skills. The scenario for TT25 is focused on rifle company tactics and warfighting concepts and capabilities. The TT25 tournament serves as the first of two qualifier events for the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) Cup. The CMC Cup is an annual, in-person wargaming tournament held at Modern Day Marine, where the top  wargamers from across the USMC, Joint Force, and Allied military members compete in a team-based, three-day, multi-wargame competition. The second CMC qualifier event will utilize the Flashpoint Campaigns Professional Edition wargame. Additional details on the second qualifier event will be released at a later date. While both qualifier events are invitational wargaming tournaments open to all servicemembers, civilians, and  contractors associated with Department of Defense (DoD) entities, only  uniformed military servicemembers from the DoD or allied/partner countries who participate in both events on the Road to the Cup are eligible for a CMC Cup invitation. Team scores will be determined by aggregating the individual scores from both qualifier events for players from the same military unit, with two-man teams representing each unit. The two-man teams representing each unit will not be identified until after the qualifier events. The teams with the highest combined scores will be invited to compete in the CMC Cup.

Tournament Details: The TT25 tournament is set in a Western Pacific scenario between Red and Blue forces. TT25 includes 3 rounds in which participants fight a paired match against an opponent. In a paired match, players compete in two parallel games playing red in one  and blue in the other, with the scores from each game combined into a total score for the match. The time requirement to play a paired match in this scenario is approximately 3 hours of playing time total. This is spread across 10 to 20 turns. Players have approximately four weeks to complete their paired match in each round. Players must complete their turns within 96 hours of notification, or they will automatically forfeit the match. Players are encouraged to complete their turns within 24 hours of receiving email notification.
Round 1 - Begins 10 Sep and concludes 7 Oct. 
Round 2 - Begins 8 Oct and concludes 3 Nov.
Round 3 - Begins 6 Nov and concludes 8 Dec.

Eligibility: The TT25 tournament is open to the first 2000 players to register. While the primary target audience is Marine Corps personnel, the tournament is open to participation from across the joint force and allies/partners. MCU reserves the right to limit participants from individual units to ensure an equitable distribution across the force. Generally, the max number of participants from an individual battalion is limited to 20 but may be exceeded on a case by case basis. Participants from PME organizations will be given priority for access. All participants will be granted access to MCU's Wargaming Cloud capability for the duration of the tournament. Participants will access the Wargaming Cloud from outside the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN) using personal computers and an internet connection. In addition to a MCU Wargaming Cloud account, participants will need a Slitherine account. Slitherine accounts can be create for free at https://www.slitherine.com/login. Participants should choose their username knowing that the name will be posted on public leaderboards. Furthermore, participants should pick their username for the long term since it is very difficult to change once set. We recommend use of a gamer name rather than the participant's real name. If a participant already has a Slitherine account, the existing account may be used. Participants must have a Slitherine account before completing the registration form. 

Register Here

Registration closes 28AUG2025

Warplan 44 Invitational Wargaming Tournament

Some things to know before you register:

1. TEAM COMPETITION. This is a team event with 4 players per team. You will compete individually for individual scores. Following individual competitions, all 4 player scores are aggregated into a team score.
2. FORMING TEAMS. Ideally, teams represent a unit or school. Self-organizing into a team prior to registering is encouraged. In the event that you cannot recruit a team, you can register as a Free Agent.
3. PME and FORCES DIVISIONS. All teams will be formed into Professional Military Education (PME) and Forces Divisions. The PME Division is restricted to PME students and faculty. All 4 team members must be associated with a military school as either faculty or students and can be mixed faculty-student team members with no more than 2 faculty on one team. The Forces Division is for everyone else, to include PME faculty participants that are not part of a student-faculty mixed team in the PME Division. For Free Agents, if you are a PME Student or Faculty member, when you register in the form, please click on the PME Division option.
4. WHO CAN PLAY. This tournament is open to all individuals associated with Department of Defense (Active/Reserve, GS, and contractors), as well as Allies and Partners. A military/government email address will need to be provided in registration for validation.
5. SCENARIOS. This is a 3 Round tournament. Scenario 1 is Breakout (Operation Cobra, Normandy 1944). Scenario 2 is the Southern Italy 1943 campaign centered on Operation Avalanche (Salerno). Scenario 3 is Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Russia. We’ll play from the summer of 1941 until December 1941.
6. MCU WARGAMING CLOUD. All matches are played in WarPlan using the Marine Corps University’s Wargaming Cloud capability. ALL PLAYERS MUST USE THE WARGAMING CLOUD AND NOT LOCAL INSTANCES OF THE GAME.
7. WARGAMING CLOUD ACCOUNT. If you do not have a Wargaming Cloud account, your registration will trigger a new account request. If you already have a Wargaming Cloud account, then you will use your existing account for the tournament.
8. SLITHERINE ACCOUNT. In addition to your MCU Wargaming Cloud account, you need a Slitherine account. If you do not have a Slitherine account, you can create one for free here at https://www.slitherine.com/login. Choose your username knowing that this name that will be posted on public leaderboards. Furthermore, pick your username for the long term since it is very difficult to change once set. We recommend you use a gamer name rather than your real name. If you already have a Slitherine account, feel free to use your existing account. You must have a Slitherine account before completing the registration form.
9. EXPECTATIONS. This is a three round tournament that will play from September through April for those in it for the long haul. Some team attrition is anticipated due to life getting in the way. For those completely unfamiliar with what you’re jumping into with WarPlan, a trial run with Round 1 Breakout is encouraged. You may like it and then decide to commit for the duration. Just like a reality TV show, not everyone is going to make it to Round 3. But we’ll have fun in the process. In each round, players will compete in a “mirrored match.” In a mirrored match, you play two games at once, with an opportunity to play both sides against the same opponent. So, in Breakout, you’ll have one match as the Allies and another where you play as the Germans. Each of those matches is scored, then the points added together for your overall individual score for that Round. It takes from 15 to 45 minutes to play your turn in each game depending on your planning and proficiency. You play your turn independently, on your time, then submit it to the server. Your opponent is then notified by email to take their turn.

Register Here

Registration closes 28AUG2025

Command Professional Edition

Manual

Flashpoint Campaigns Pro

Manual | Game Operations | Professional Features | Transport Operations

Strategic Command World War I

Manual

WarPlan

Manual

HexWar / Code Wizards Game Suite

Tournament Enrollment

The HexWar / Code Wizards Game Suite offers a variety of digital wargames at the tactical, operational, and strategic level. Below is a list of just a few of the wargames in the Suite. Information on the other HexWar's games in the Wargaming Cloud can be found here. 

Company Commander

Manual | In-Game Help

Littoral Commander

In-Game Help

NATO Division Commander

In-Game Help

DIGICAT

The Digital Course of Action Tool (DIGICAT) being developed by Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific is a digitized version of the Operational Wargame System. The Alpha version is available to play in the HexWar / Code Wizards Game Suite.

Faculty

Director:  Mr. Tim Barrick

Mr. Barrick served in the Marine Corps for 29 years, retiring as a colonel in spring 2021. He served in a wide range of billets including command of 1st Tank Battalion and the Marine Corps Tactics & Operations Group. He also served in key planning positions on the staffs of Marine Forces Japan, Marine Forces Europe & Africa, and deployed on three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as a brigade advisor team lead working with Afghan security forces in 2011-12. In his last tour on active duty, he was the Wargaming Director for the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, focused on analyzing future warfighting and the Marine Corps’ force design. He is also the lead designer for the Operational Wargame System and its Assassin’s Mace and Zapad game modules, which examine great power conflict at the tactical and operational levels of war. He is also a leading innovator for commercial wargaming tools in professional military education. He is a distinguished graduate of the Marine Corps War College and the Naval War College, and an honor graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School. He also served as the Director of Leaders & Ethics at the Marine Corps War College. In addition to his masters degrees from these PME schools, he also earned a master’s degree in Military Studies in Land Warfare from American Military University and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a degree in Political Science.

Deputy Director: Mrs. Calleen Bottenberg

Mrs. Bottengberg's biography is in the works!

Modeling and Simulation Officer, Captain Timothy "Nate" Tidwell, USMC

Capt Tidwell began his Marine Corps career serving as a platoon commander at 3d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. After his second deployment to the Pacific, Capt Tidwell received orders to Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) to pursue an MS in Modeling, Virtual Environments and Simulations (MOVES). Capt Tidwell's research at NPS focused on artificial intelligence for wargaming, specifically leveraging reinforcement learning and multi-model approaches to develop combat simulation agents. In addition to his MS in MOVES, Capt Tidwell holds a BS in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy.

If you would like to contact the Wargaming Directorate, please email MCUWargamingDirectorate@USMCU.edu.