This book shows educators, trainers, and researchers how to use gamification and wargaming to strengthen engagement, critical thinking, and real-world problem-solving in international relations and related fields. Bridging theory and practice, it explains the foundations of game-based learning, traces the development of wargaming, and offers practical guidance on designing, facilitating, debriefing, and assessing educational simulations. A central feature is the detailed presentation of Global Tensions, an educational wargame on international relations and global policymaking, including its design, mechanics, playtesting, and classroom use. With case studies and facilitator guidance, the book supports teaching, training, and research across international relations, political science, education, psychology, and strategic studies.

Manfredi Valeriani is a researcher in foreign policy analysis, political risk, wargaming, foresight, and intelligence analysis. He holds a Marie Curie double PhD from the University of Hamburg and LUISS Guido Carli, where his doctoral thesis examined the role of European civil society organizations in global governance. He is currently Scientific Coordinator at CISS, where he leads research on foresight, intelligence, and scenario analysis. He has designed and delivered courses including Analytic and Foresight Techniques for International Relations, Political Risk Analysis, and International Politics and Business at LUISS, as well as courses at the American University of Rome and the University “L’Orientale” in Naples. His academic interests lie at the intersection of structured analytic techniques, scenario analysis, and the strategic dimensions of Italian and international foreign policy. He is the creator and director of the wargame Global Tensions, used at CISS in both research and education to explore the impact of wargaming on international relations.
    
Martina Lucaccini is Senior Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), where she is part of VIEWS (Violence and Impacts Early-Warning System), working on the measurement and forecasting of armed conflict and its downstream effects on human development. She holds a joint PhD in Cybersecurity from Sapienza University of Rome and LUISS Guido Carli. She is co-developer of the wargame Global Tensions, created with the SIMS (Scenario Intelligence, Modeling and Simulation) Lab at the Center for International and Strategic Studies (CISS), and has contributed to its design, playtesting, and use in the classroom.