Wargames & Challenge - Gaming out a Brighter Future
This session is part of the Introduction to Political Technology course at Newspeak House.
Newspeak House is a hub not only for technologists, but for a range of communities convening around how they might improve themselves, their communities, their places and society more broadly. This work takes many forms, which I will loosely group under a shared aim - the pursuit of a brighter future.
But what is it all for? Are these efforts actually useful? This term, Newspeak House fellowship candidates will judge the 2026 Political Technology Awards, surveying the field of political technology and assessing the nature and value of current projects.
We will use gaming techniques to explore what the next five years might look like, not only for London - with Newspeak House nestled in Shoreditch - but also for the digital platforms interwoven through civic life, and the impact these projects may have.
As covered in our previous session, serious games are also an effective way of making decisions together in a structured environment. A secondary objective of this session, therefore, is to strengthen connections between members of the cohort and faculty through shared problem-solving.
Alex Vince is the faculty member for the Wargaming module. He is a serving Civil Servant who has been utilising wargaming techniques over the last decade.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
Explain how serious games can be used to explore strategic decisions and forecast political technology outcomes.
Model potential five-year impacts of political-technology projects using a structured game framework.
Consider the role in non technologists in the political technology community.
Collaborate with peers to make decisions that strengthen working relationships through shared play and facilitated discussion.