2025: 4th Quarter SITREP

Welcome to our new quarterly update format. This has been launched alongside the usual newsletter, which now serves-up short summaries for each item detailed below. Look out for the end-of-year Town Hall meeting and update, coming in December!

ITEM 1. INCOMMING - TOWN HALL 2025

The Fight Club Town Hall is an open meeting for all members during which the leadership will review the year’s activities, preview the next year’s objectives, and invite feedback from members.

The 2025 Town Hall will take place via Zoom (link to be provided via the Discord) on:

Sunday. December 28th

18:00 UTC

ITEM 2. Fight Club International at DSEI 2025

DESI is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious defence industry trade shows, and this year Fight Club collaborated with event organisers, Clarion Events, to run a wargame as part of their ‘NextGen’ component.  This was a team-vs-team air and naval wargame using Command: Professional Edition, supported by physical decision support assets (maps, counters, datasheets, etc).

The objective of this ‘exhibition game’ was to give young defence industry entrants the opportunity to try out a hybridized digital-manual wargame and get an introduction to the discipline; hopefully one they can take with them into their careers.

The event was a great success, made possible by the Fight Club volunteers who travelled from around the UK (and Europe!) to support the event.   A very special ‘Thank You’ to: William Burnett-Boothroyd, Leo Banks, Maxime Deprouw, Ioannis Kiakos, and Samuel Beardmore Alonso!

ITEM 3. Outstanding Representation from Fight Club Deutschland

3.1 FCDE X German Command and Staff College’s Innovation Laboratory 

FCDE joined forces with the German Command and Staff College’s Innovation Laboratory once again in hosting a booth for this year’s Training and Education Congress of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg on September 2-4, 2025. A lot of interest was voiced by young officers to implement wargaming as part of officer training at a broad scale, some played Littoral Commander: The Baltic and a prototype of Battlegroup Clash: Baltics facilitated by FCDE.

Furthermore, many congress participants visited the booth to talk about the application of wargaming for things like ethical considerations concerning autonomous drones, military procurement or environmental sustainability. Overall a great success and exposure for Fight Club!

3.2 Jan Heinemann at NATO COE-DAT

Chapter lead Jan Heinemann traveled to Ankara to present at the annual NATO COE-DAT conference, October 15-16, on Wargaming Counterterrorism in the Multi-Domain Environment, emphasizing the necessity to include soft factors and social studies, as well as bringing in civilian wargamers and SMEs to broaden the perspective, and the potential of Fight Club International as a joint community of practice and interest. On October 18, Jan met with Ada and Berke of FC Türkiye, discussing future cooperation, and eventually running a Kriegsspiel playtest of the eastern flank of the Battle of the Sakarya in a historical museum with an amazing group of enthusiastic players on the 19th. The team will run another test game in Ankara on December 21 and potentially visit the battlefield the day before.

3.3 German Wargaming Symposium 2025

The first iteration of the German Wargaming Symposium was hosted by The German Wargaming Center in cooperation with Connections in Hamburg on October 22-24. The twelve speakers included some of the big names of the discipline such as Matt Caffrey, Stephen Downes-Martin, Phil Pournelle, Pigeon Fielder, Thomas Danger, Jan Landsiedel, and FCDE members LTC GS Thorsten Kodalle and Jan Heinemann. Additionally, guests included representatives from the chancellery, secret service, foreign service, civic foundations and media, signaling a growing interest in the application of wargaming for various purposes.

Jan presented on FCI and FCDE, highlighting the potential and synergies created by joint communities of practice and interest for professional wargaming. The involved discussion circled around how to make these communities more compatible to adjacent communities and practitioners. Another highlight was Thomas’ presentation on missing standardization and lack of reliable comparability of wargames within NATO. Hopes are that the German Wargaming Symposium will be established as a yearly event.

3.4 Command and Staff College’s Wargaming Basics Seminar 2nd Edition

Over December 8-12, the second iteration of the Competence-Oriented Wargaming Basics module was held at the German Command and Staff College in Hamburg. FCDE originally took part in the concept phase and the first iteration’s facilitation this summer already. This time the course was facilitated by FCDE-members LTC GS Michael Thiele and Jan Heinemann, as well as LTC Tobias Kuhn of the Planning Office and Professor Jorit Wintjes of the Conflict Simulation Group from the University of Würzburg. Besides presentations on the history on types of wargaming the focus of the course was to give the participants hands-on-experiences of various formats and allow them to understand the potential applications of the method, including an abstracted Kriegsspiel (to convey the specifics of double-blind and umpire-facilitated games), Littoral Commander: The Baltic (as an example for hex-and-counter wargaming and multi-domain operations), HyDra (a game on hybrid threats), CONTESTED (contextualized by presentations on analytical wargaming), Jan ran a matrix wargame on the geopolitical near-future in the arctic region. Channeling the spirit of Fight Club, the participants played a micro-game tournament over four rounds spread over the week.

ITEM 4. Direct Support to NATO from Fight Club Türkiye!

4.1 CDC Wargame at NATO Innovation Continuum 2025

The CDC Wargame, aiming to examine the impact of trust and culture on the command of Multi-Domain Operations was designed and executed by Radius Defence Wargame Domains Ltd., in close collaboration with FCTUR, the NATO STO SAS-172 Research Task Group on MDO Wargaming, the NATO Command and Control Centre of Excellence (C2COE), and the Turkish Multinational Joint Warfare Centre (TUR MJWC). Taking place in İstanbul from 13–17 October, the wargame brought together 50 participants from across NATO and partner institutions to explore how trust, authority, and cultural dynamics influence decision-making in cross-domain operations.

Radius Defence provided the AI-enabled command decision environment and digital wargaming infrastructure, enabling advanced data collection and analysis on collaboration and leadership dynamics. FCTUR played a central coordination role, managing logistics, player operations, and scenario execution across four days. The scenario, based on Sebastian Bae’s Littoral Commander and expanded through custom design by Eray Ekin, Alper Aşkın, and İlhami Atalay, provided a rich analytical environment for studying command behavior.

The wargame formed part of NATO’s Innovation Continuum, a year-long effort led by Allied Command Transformation (ACT) to align and accelerate innovation across the Alliance. Its annual finale, SHINE, serves as a showcase of emerging technologies and novel operational concepts that enhance NATO’s readiness and decision advantage.

The event concluded with the Salute to Contribution Award presented to E. Ada Sayin by the NATO SHINE Board, recognizing her leadership in the design and delivery of the wargame. Post-event analysis continues under the ongoing CDC Wargame study on Multi-Domain Operations and decision culture within NATO.

4.2 Kriegsspiel event with FCDE

A Double-Blind Kriegsspiel workshop was held in Ankara, bringing together 24 participants for a four-hour historical simulation centered on the Battle of Sakarya in WW2 (see 3.2 above).

Following a museum visit, attendees engaged in a vignette exercise, tutorial, and two full rounds of play with a break in between. The scenario focused on testing RED Team adversary behavioral dynamics and decision-making under uncertainty. The session was guided by Master Umpire Jan Heinemann from FCDE, whose expertise ensured an authentic and educational experience for all participants.

4.3 NATO Dynamics TTX at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ankara

On 25 November, Fight Club Türkiye & Radius Defence hosted the “NATO Dynamics Simulation” event, a one-day interactive simulation designed to help 64 participants between the ages of 18 to 25 understand how NATO’s organizational structure functions under crisis conditions. Set in a realistic hybrid-warfare scenario: featuring cyberattacks, disinformation, and humanitarian challenges, the exercise immerses students in decision-making across 10 NATO bodies, including the Member Countries (MC), North Atlantic Council (NAC), ACO, ACT, NCIA, NSPA, PDD, GENAD, STO, and the Secretary General.

Through this event, we successfully created a dynamic learning environment where participants not only analyzed complex threats but also practiced real-time coordination, negotiation, and strategic prioritization. Each participant team represented a member state, balancing national interests with collective alliance goals through roleplay, coordination, and reflection phases. By doing so, FCTUR demonstrated how young professionals can meaningfully engage with defence strategy, crisis management, and alliance politics.

Beyond its educational purpose, NATO Dynamics Simulation also demonstrated how decision-focused tabletop exercises can realistically model NATO-style crisis management. Over ten hours of continuous play, participants managed four large-scale international crises under time pressure, producing coordinated response options, internal communications, and strategic messaging. The exercise design prioritised decision-making over briefing, highlighting the value of structured injects, multi-actor coordination, and controlled escalation.

During the concluding press conference, the scale and intensity of the simulation were reflected in its key outputs: four major international crises addressed by 64 participants representing 32 countries; more than 50 inter-organisational dialogues; over 1,000 internal communications exchanged; 40 crisis resolution proposals developed; and 10 final press statements issued across the 10-hour exercise. These figures illustrated how a one-day TTX can generate meaningful analytical depth and measurable decision outputs.

Hosted at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ankara and attended by embassy representatives including the Defence Attaché, the event underscored institutional confidence in the simulation framework. Overall, NATO Dynamics Simulation demonstrated that modern, scalable TTXs can deliver high-impact learning and actionable outcomes within a single day, offering a practical model for future training, education, and wargaming activities.

Item 5. Celebrating 1+ Years of Steel Beasts on the FCI Discord

One of the most consistent and remarkable offerings produced by a Fight Club member has been the weekly Steel Beasts sessions, run by Mark Gibson (Australian Army).  Mark has been introducing a broad group of FC members to Armored Warfare fundamentals, drawing on his extensive professional knowledge of the subject.    

Mark’s Steel Beasts sessions run every Sunday at 18:00 UTC (see the FCI Discord ‘Event’ section for details).

ITEM 6:  Combat Mission Black Sea Tournament: Russo-Ukraine War

Fight Club International is now deep into the new inter-chapter online tournament using Combat Mission: Black Sea, centered on the Russo-Ukraine War and culminating in an urban finale at Mariupol.

What: Teams from each chapter are engaging in three mirrored missions playing both Russian and Ukrainian sides before advancing to a final showdown in Mariupol.

Why: This strengthens chapter ties, sharpens tactical skills, and explores contemporary urban warfare in a professional gaming context.

When: Stage 1 began on 27 October 2025 through 5 January 2026; Stage 2 finale runs to 28 February 2026.  Check back in March for results and findings.

Who: Each chapter may field up to four teams of four players. Any FCI-registered member is eligible to join.  Eight teams are currently competing.

How:

• Teams submit a plan (CONOP) prior to receiving the scenario file.

• After fighting mirror match games they submit an After Action Review (AAR).

• Matches combine planning, execution and review to score up to 200 pts each.

• League winners progress to the final.

Check back in March for results and findings.

ITEM 7: FCI Achievement Badges

The FCI Achievement Badges recognize members for meaningful actions that make FCI stronger. From teaching a seminar to building a digital scenario, from competing in tournaments to analyzing game data, each badge marks a contribution that pushes our collective capability forward.

The badges aggregate into two Super Badges; FIGHTER and LEADER, each representing a different kind of contribution. These will be released in four tranches around 2 months apart.

We have now launched 2 of our 4 badge tranches; all the FIGHTER badge series are up for grabs!

42 members have been awarded a Bronze badge so far. You can see who they are at Hall of Honour | Fight Club Intl which also includes the criteria and method to apply for a badge.

ITEM 8: FC Italy Update

FC ITA supported the development and conduct of two ITA Army Brigade level TDGs, as part of the Professional Military Education Program of two ITA Army Infantry Brigades.

FC ITA also conducted the “Iceland Scramble” TDG, developed to challenge the players in solving tactical problems in the Air Domain.

ITEM 9: Upcoming December Event:

New Tactical Decision Game from FC-Danmark [18 December, 19:00 UTC]

The next land warfare Tactical Decision Game from FC-DAN is incoming!  No prior experience necessary – just join on the day, follow the briefing, and plan a solution for a tactical challenge:  

You are the OC of D Coy / 33 Bn / Regional Dragoons. Your battalion are participating in a brigade attack against an entrenched enemy line of defence. After approx. 24 hrs of strenuous fighting the battalion appears to have worn the enemy down to the point of an immediate breakthrough.

Attack and cut off or destroy as many enemy units as possible before he is able to withdraw.

ITEM 10: New Chapter: FIGHT CLUB POLSKA

Our global presence continues to expand. We are super excited about adding Fight Club Polska to the team. Under the leadership of Lukasz Wojciak, Poland will grow more membership, events, and activity.

Check out their page here: https://www.fightclubinternational.org/fight-club-polska

Looking forward to big things popping in Poland!