James F. Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and

wargame A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...

designer currently living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Career

Dunnigan was born in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

. After high school, he volunteered for the military instead of waiting to be drafted. From 1961 to 1964, he worked as a repair technician for the

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

; his service included a tour in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Afterwards, he attended Pace University studying

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

, then transferred to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, graduating with a degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in 1970. While still in college, he became involved in wargaming. He designed ''

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

'', which

Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company' ...

published in 1967, following it up with ''

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

'' the next year, and ''

PanzerBlitz ''PanzerBlitz'' is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The game is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commerci ...

'' in 1970, which eventually sold more than 300,000 copies. Meanwhile, Dunnigan had founded his own company, initially known as Poultron Press, and which soon became Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI). Dunnigan created SPI in order to save the

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

Strategy & Tactics ''Strategy & Tactics'' (''S&T'') is a wargaming magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for publishing a complete new wargame in each issue. Beginnings ''Strategy & Tactics'' was first published in January 1967 under its original edit ...

'', which was published by Chris Wagner. Dunnigan had been a contributor to the magazine since ''Strategy & Tactics'' #2 (February 1967), and when Wagner was having financial difficulties with the magazine he sold Dunningan the rights for $1. Dunnigan set up shop in a windowless basement in New York City's Lower East Side, and published his first issue from there, ''Strategy & Tactics'' #18 (September 1969); starting with that issue, every issue included a new wargame. Dunnigan also designed the game '' Sniper!'' (1973) . Dunnigan later designed '' Dallas: The Television Role-Playing Game'' (1980), the first ever licensed role-playing game. In 1980, Dunnigan was forced out of SPI due to the company's worsening financial situation. He left SPI to write more books, begin modeling financial markets, and pursue other projects. Between 1966 and 1992, he designed over 100 wargames and other conflict simulations, ranging from 1969's ''Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker'' about the student takeover at Columbia (which he witnessed as a bystanderAccording to Dunnigan he was a student at Columbia University that season and, although he has not participated in the action, several of his friends did. Some of these worked in the school newspaper and asked Dunnigan to make a game for the first anniversary of ''The Spectator''. Quoted in ), to the gigantic '' War in Europe'', to the online ''Hundred Years War'' with his long time partners Albert Nofi and Daniel Masterson, which has been running since 1992. In 1979, he wrote ''

The Complete Wargames Handbook ''The Complete Wargames Handbook'' is a book about playing and designing wargames by James F. Dunnigan, published in 1980 by William Morrow and Company. Description While still in college in the 1960s, Jim Dunnigan became involved in wargaming, a ...

'' (first edition), and in 1980 ''How to Make War''. Dunnigan contributed to Three-Sixty Pacific's ''Victory at Sea'' but, he claimed, was not allowed to finish the computer wargame's design, although it was advertised as "James F. Dunnigan's ''Victory at Sea''". With his partners from the ''

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

'', Daniel Masterson and Albert Nofi, Dunnigan founded the online military news sit
StrategyPage
in 1999, of which he is the editor-in-chief. Podcasts of his commentaries on history, military affairs, and the contemporary world are regularly posted on StrategyPage.Com and as at

Instapundit.com Instapundit is a blog maintained by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. History and characteristics InstaPundit was launched in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law. After the Sep ...

Dunnigan regularly lectures at military and academic institutions, such as the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group, in Newport, Rhode Island.

Awards/recognition

In 1975, Dunnigan was inducted into the

Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame The Charles S. Roberts Awards Hall of Fame, formally known as the Clausewitz Award Hall of Fame, is named after legendary military writer Carl von Clausewitz. The recipients of this award have made an important contribution and left their mark on t ...

. In 1999 ''

Pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

'' magazine named him as one of the millennium's most influential persons "at least in the realm of adventure gaming". He was honored as a "famous game designer" by being featured on the king of diamonds in Flying Buffalo's 2008 Famous Game Designers Playing Card Deck.

Books

* ''

'', first edition, 1979 ** ''The Complete Wargames Handbook: How to Play, Design and Find Them'', Revised edition, William Morrow, 1992. .
online version
** ''Wargames Handbook: How to Play and Design Commercial and Professional Wargames'', Third edition, 2000. . * ''How To Make War: A Comprehensive Guide To Modern Warfare'', first edition, 1983 ** ''How to Make War: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare for the Post-Cold War Era'', 3rd edition, William Morrow, 1993. . ** ''How to Make War: A Comprehensive Guide to Modern Warfare in the Twenty-first Century'', 4th edition, HarperCollins, 2003. * ''Digital Soldiers'', St. Martin's, 1996. . * ''Dirty Little Secrets of the 20th Century: Myths, Misinformation, and Unknown Truths About the 20th Century'', William Morrow, 1999. . * ''The Perfect Soldier''. Citadel, 2004. .

Co-author

;As editor and co-author :* ''The Russian Front: Germany's War in the East, 1941-45'' (also published as ''The Russian Campaign''), Arms and Armour, 1978. . ;With

William Martel William Martel ( fl. 1130–1153) was a steward of the royal households of King Henry I and King Stephen of England. He was castellan of Sherborne Castle until 1143. William Martel was of Norman descent. His grandfather and his uncle were she ...

:* ''How to Stop a War: The Lessons of Two Hundred Years of War and Peace'', Doubleday, 1987. . ;With Austin Bay :* ''From Shield to Storm: High-Tech Weapons, Military Strategy and Coalition Warfare in the Persian Gulf'', William Morrow, 1991. . :* ''A Quick & Dirty Guide to War: Briefings on Present and Potential Wars'', 4th edition, Paladin, 2008. . ;With Albert Nofi :*''Shooting Blanks: War Making That Doesn't Work'', 1991. . :* ''Medieval Life and the Hundred Years War''
200,000 word online book
1994) :* ''Dirty Little Secrets of World War II: Military Information No One Told You About the Greatest, Most Terrible War in History'', William Morrow, 1994. . :* ''Victory at Sea: World War II in the Pacific'', William Morrow, 1995. . :* ''The Pacific War Encyclopedia'', Facts on File, 1998. . :* ''Dirty Little Secrets: American Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know'', St. Martins Press, 1999. . :* ''Victory and Deceit: Deception and Trickery at War'', 2nd edition, Writers Club, 2001. . :* ''Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War: Military Information You're Not Supposed to Know'', St. Martins Griffin, 2001. . ;With Daniel Masterson :* ''The Way of the Warrior: Business Tactics and Techniques from History's Twelve Greatest Generals'', St. Martin's Griffin, 1998. . ;With Raymond M. Macedonia :* ''Getting It Right: American Military Reforms After Vietnam to the Gulf War and Beyond'', 2nd edition, Writers Club, 2001. .

Other works

* (contributor) '' Wargame Design: The History, Production, and Use of Conflict Simulations'', Simulations Publications, 1977. . * Foreword to H.G. Wells's ''Floor Games'' ( Skirmisher, 2006)

Games

*''

'' (1967) *''

'' (1968) *''

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

'' (1969) *''

Anzio Beachhead The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The ope ...

'' (1969) *''

Barbarossa Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to: * Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor * Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral * Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Uni ...

'' (1969) *''

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

'' (1969) *'' Deployment'' (1969) *''

Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

'' (1969) *''

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

'' (1969) *''

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

'' (1969) *''

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

'' (1969) *'' Tannenberg'' (1969) *''Up Against the Wall, Motherfucker'' (1969) *''

Bastogne Bastogne (; nl, Bastenaken, ; german: Bastnach/Bastenach; lb, Baaschtnech) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Bastogne, ...

'' (1970) *'' Chicago, Chicago!'' (1970) *''

'' (1970) *''

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...

'' (1971) *''

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

'' (1971) *'' Lost Battles'' (1971) *'' Origins of World War II'' (1971) *'' Strategy I'' (1971) *''

USN The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

'' (1971) *''The Next President'' (1971) *''

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

'' (1972) *'' Breakout and Pursuit'' (1972) *'' Combat Command'' (1972) *'' Flying Circus'' (1972) *'' France '40'' (1972) *'' Franco-Prussian War'' (1972) *'' Moscow Campaign'' (1972) *''

Origins of World War I The identification of the causes of World War I remains controversial. World War I began in the Balkans on July 28, 1914, and hostilities ended on November 11, 1918, leaving 17 million dead and 25 million wounded. Moreover, the Russian Civil ...

'' (1972) *'' Outdoor Survival'' (1972) *'' Red Star/White Star'' (1972) *'' Turning Point'' (1972) *''

Wilderness Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union ...

'' (1972) *'' Year of the Rat'' (1972) *''

Ardennes Offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

'' (1973) *'' Battles of Bull Run'' (1973) *'' CA'' (1973) *'' Desert War'' (1973) *''

El Alamein El Alamein ( ar, العلمين, translit=al-ʿAlamayn, lit=the two flags, ) is a town in the northern Matrouh Governorate of Egypt. Located on the Arab's Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, it lies west of Alexandria and northwest of Cairo. , it had ...

'' (1973) *'' Foxbat & Phantom'' (1973) *'' Kampfpanzer'' (1973) *''

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

'' (1973) *'' Napoleon at Waterloo'' (1973) *'' Panzer Armee Afrika'' (1973) *'' Scrimmage'' (1973) *''

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

'' (1973) *'' Sniper!'' (1973) *'' Solomons Campaign'' (1973) *''

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

'' (1973) *'' World War Two'' (1973) *''

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

'' (1974) *'' Combined Arms'' (1974) *''

Frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

'' (1974) *''

Operation Olympic Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, t ...

'' (1974) *''

Patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology Fro ...

'' (1974) *''

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

'' (1974) *'' The East is Red'' (1974) *'' War in the East'' (1974) *'' Wolfpack'' (1974) *''

Battle for Germany ''Battle for Germany'' is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates World War II operations in Germany during 1945 Description ''Battle for Germany'' is a 2-player strategic-level wargame that simul ...

'' (1975) *'' Global War'' (1975) *'' Invasion America'' (1975) *'' Mech War '77'' (1975) *''

Oil War An oil war is a conflict about petroleum resources, or their transportation, consumption, or regulation. The term may also refer generally to any conflict in a region that contains oil reserves or is geographically positioned in a location where a ...

'' (1975) *''

Panzer '44 This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, ...

'' (1975) *''

Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

'' (1975) *'' The Fast Carriers'' (1975) *''

War in the Pacific The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...

'' (1975) *'' World War 3'' (1975) *''

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

'' (1975) *'' Wurzburg'' (1975) *'' FireFight'' (1976) *'' Panzergruppe Guderian'' (1976) *'' Plot to Assassinate Hitler'' (1976) *'' Minuteman: The Second American Revolution'' (1976) *'' Revolt in the East'' (1976) *''

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

'' (1976) *'' Strike Force'' (1976) *'' War in Europe'' (1976) *'' War in the West'' (1976) *''

Fulda Gap The Fulda Gap (german: Fulda-Lücke), an area between the Hesse-Thuringian border (the former Inner German border) and Frankfurt am Main, contains two corridors of lowlands through which tanks might have driven in a surprise attack by the Sovie ...

'' (1977) *'' Agincourt'' (1978) *'' Brusilov'' (1978) *'' Canadian Civil War'' (1978) *'' The Next War'' (1978) *''

Bulge __NOTOC__ Bulge may refer to: Astronomy and geography *Bulge (astronomy), a tightly packed group of stars at the center of a spiral galaxy *Equatorial bulge, a bulge around the equator of a planet due to rotation *Tharsis bulge, vast volcanic pla ...

'' (1979) *''

Berlin '85 ''Berlin '85'', subtitled "The Enemy at the Gates", is a battalion-level board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980 that hypothesizes an attack on West Berlin by the Warsaw Pact. Description ''Berlin '85'' is a game ...

'' (1980) *''

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

'' (1980) *''

Demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

'' (1980) *'' Drive on Metz'' (1980) *''

Empires of the Middle Ages ''Empires of the Middle Ages'', subtitled "A Dynamic Simulation of Medieval Europe, 771–1467", is a historical board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980 that simulates grand strategy and diplomacy in the Middle Ages ...

'' (1980) *'' Fifth Corps'' (1980) *'' NATO Division Commander'' (1980) *'' TimeTripper'' (1980) *''

Wreck of the Pandora ''The Wreck of the B.S.M. Pandora'' is a science fiction board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1980. Description The B.S.M. Pandora, a biological survey mission space ship in the distant future, has crash-landed on a p ...

'' (1980) *'' Light Infantry Division'' (1985) *'' Tactical Combat Model'' (1985) *''

Men-At-Arms A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a knig ...

'' (1990) *''

'' (1992) *''

Victory at Sea ''Victory at Sea'' is a documentary television series about warfare in general during World War II, and naval warfare in particular, as well as the use of industry in warfare. It was originally broadcast by NBC in the United States in 1952–19 ...

'' (1992)

Notes

References

External links

James F. Dunnigan homepage
*
StrategyPage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunnigan, Jim Board game designers American military writers 1943 births Living people United States Army soldiers American company founders Columbia University School of General Studies alumni