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ADVANCING CYBER EDUCATION �USING BATTLESPACE NEXT

Serious Games!

The views expressed are those of the author and do not reflect the official guidance or position of the Department of Defense or the United States (U.S.) Government.

Mark Reith

Carmen Chiu

Alana Li

John LaCreta

AFIT Students

Capt Dalton Woods

Capt Avery Joyce

Lt Zaran Claes

Vladislav Vieru

Ariana Emad

James Bliss

Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited: Case #AFRL-2026-2725, 5 June 2026

Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited: Case #AFRL-2026-2725, 5 June 2026

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Overview

  • Motivation & Background
  • Why Game-based Education?
  • Comparing Game/Learning Outcomes
  • Battlespace Next (BSN) Overview
  • BSN Graduate Assignment
  • Metrics & Analysis
  • Future Work

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Motivation & Background

  • The DoD has a long wargaming history to build warrior leaders; more recently:
    • milgaming.army.mil
    • Command Modern Operations
    • Kingfish ACE
    • Persian Incursion
    • Cyber Awareness Challenge

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  • Teaching Cyber
    • Cyber Protect
    • CyberCIEGE
    • NCAE Cyber Games
    • XP Cyber

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Why Game-based Education?

  • Games are often associated with feelings of enjoyment and entertainment

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  • Games may provide an alternative to lectures, slides, discussions, breaking up the typical classroom routine for both student and instructor

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  • Games are typically interactive and immersive thus fostering engagement; give purpose to learning

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  • Games often stress resilience (multiple solutions)

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  • Games may provide a modeling and simulation opportunity to describe concepts, relationships and applications of theory

https://talibilm.pk/5-best-benefits-of-educational-games/

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Comparing Game/Learning Outcomes

Implied assumption: the game is sufficient to induce learning

Possible Student Outcomes 

Satisfy Learning Objectives (Desirable by Instructor) 

Unsatisfied Learning Objectives 

Game Achievement 

(Desirable by Student) 

Desirable outcome for both instructor and student 

Potentially worst educational outcome due to lost time, possible negative learning 

Game Failure 

Potentially best educational outcome as the experience is likely memorable 

Undesirable outcome for both instructor and student 

  • Instructors should use the game to build foundational and memorable experiences; benefits include:
    • Everyone has an experience to share so the conversation is inclusive
    • The rest of the class benefits from sharing and comparing experiences
    • Instructor has opportunity to reinforce positive effects and mitigate negative effects

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Battlespace Next (BSN) Overview

Description:

  • Education and training tool engineered to engage and challenge players with Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) concepts providing hands-on learning
  • Allows players to assume the role as a military commander over forces and capabilities from all six warfighting domains (Air, Space, Cyber, Land, Maritime, and Human/Cognitive)

Lesson Objectives:

    • Recognizes cyber/kinetic kill chain
    • Match military capabilities to threats
    • Develop and execute multi-domain strategies
    • Anticipate, adapt, and respond to peer adversary
    • Understand spectrum of conflict

Previous Work:

    • Lt Col Alan Lin – crafted initial game
    • Maj Nathan Flack – updated / simplified game
    • Lt Chris Voltz – play tested
    • Capt Jonathan Moore – formalized with semantics
    • Capt Michael Hastrider – Monte Carlo satisfaction of LO
    • Lt Matthew Douglas – Model checking satisfaction of LOs

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BSN Materials & Laydown

Red Player

Blue Player

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Battlespace Next (BSN) Turn System

One turn delay to use capability (move into theater)

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Limited budgets

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Place on Tasking Order (Air/Ground/Sea/Space/Cyber)

Limited footprint down range

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Decision Points:

1. Mix of offense/defense capes

2. Mix of kinetic/non-kinetic capes

3. Order/timing of employment

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Can We Satisfy Learning Objectives?

Sample Learning Objective

Evidence of Learning Objective Satisfied

Remember Firewall

In some game state, the learner held/used the Firewall card

Understand “Firewall is part of layered defense” or “Firewall doesn’t defend against all cyber attacks”

In some game state, the learner uses at least one other cyber defense card with Firewall

Apply “Firewall to defend against Worm attack”

In some game state, the Firewall defends against opponent’s Worm attack

Graphic by Mark McDonald

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Can We Develop Competency?

Marcus, et. al. (2020) The POP-DOC Loop: A continuous process for situational awareness and situational action

How do the following affect this loop?

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  • Knowledge
  • Skill
  • Ability
  • Behavior
  • Values
  • Attitude

Situational Awareness &

Situational Action

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Applying POP-DOC to BSN

Perceive

Knowledge: capabilities, patterns

Orient

Knowledge: dependencies, counter capabilities

Predict

Skill: track red capabilities

Ability: anticipate red moves

Decide

Skill: evaluate multiple COAs

Values: prioritize

Operationalize

Skill: translate COA to tasks

Attitude: service biases?

Communicate

Skill: express plans & outcomes

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Metrics & Analysis

  • Two demographics:

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Advanced / Immersive Cyber Education

  • Multi-service (AF & Army) ROTC cadets
  • Many with STEM background, but not all
  • First week of 10-week summer program

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CSCE 525 Graduate Students

  • Multi-service/status (primarily AF CGOs)
  • Many with STEM background, but not all
  • Fourth week of 10-week graduate course

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Metrics & Analysis

  • Advanced / Immersive Cyber Education
  • N = 100

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Metrics & Analysis

  • Advanced / Immersive Cyber Education
  • N = 100

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Metrics & Analysis

  • Advanced / Immersive Cyber Education
  • N = 101

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Metrics & Analysis

  • Advanced / Immersive Cyber Education
  • Pre-game N = 28
  • Post-game N = 26

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BSN Summary

  • What makes BSN a reasonable teaching tool?

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    • Models something relevant, complex and extendable
      • Game is appropriate for learning objectives and provides scaffolding (alignment, contextualized)
      • Points have meaning relative to model (resource units, HP, AP, etc.)
      • Opportunity for learners to explore independently

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    • Learners have autonomy to make decisions and observe successes/failures
      • Learners have “war stories” to share in classroom discussion
      • Elicits conversation regarding the extent non-kinetic and kinetic capabilities interact
      • Learners are often enthusiastic about game enhancement ideas

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BSN Summary

  • What makes this an unreasonable teaching tool?

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    • Complexity
      • Too much to learn at one time
      • Too open-ended or unstructured
      • Some of the complexity may not be necessary

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    • Potential to learn the wrong lesson

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    • Potential to miss the right lesson

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    • All models are wrong…

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    • May be over-contextualized

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    • May induce wrong motivation (i.e., focus on winning rather than learning)

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Current & Future Work

  • Collaboration between AFIT, AFRL and PatchPlus, LLC
    • Enhance with red and blue assets
    • Enhance with recent advances in AI
    • Build and host digital version

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Questions?

“The game is a brilliant idea. In our Air Force, we need various tools and methods to educate personnel who have a variety of experience and interests.”

-- Brig Gen Chad Raduege, USAF ret.

Dr. Mark Reith

Air Force Institute of Technology

mark.reith.3@us.af.mil

mark.reith.3@au.af.edu

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Thank You!

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