Blood & Treasure: Modeling the Role of Contractors in the US-Afghan War

Dan Bullock will discuss his Blood & Treasure game - which explores the incentives and behavior of defense contractors in the US-Afghan War.
About this Event

After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the Coalition efforts in Afghanistan became increasingly reliant on private military contractors for reconstruction, security, and maintaining stability. How might a game draw from the aftermath of such contracts to model the alignment between mission objectives and firm incentives? How should players’ conclusions inform the role of contractors as a permanent part of force structure for the foreseeable future?

Dan Bullock is a historical game designer of titles such as 1979: Revolution in Iran, No Motherland Without: North Korea in Crisis and Cold War, The Gods Will Have Blood and others. His designs primarily focus on modeling underserved historical topics and irregular warfare.