How-tos

Each section answers one question in five to ten steps. If you have not done the Getting Started walkthrough yet, do that first - this page assumes you know what the diagnostic and the operator console are.

#Add a persona to a wargame as an actor

Use case: you finished a diagnostic for your own organisation (or imported one from the library) and you want it to play as one of the actors in a scenario.

1. From the top nav, click Simulate.
2. Find the scenario you want to use. Click its Studio button.
3. In Studio, scroll to the Personas section.
4. Click Add from library. A modal opens.
5. Switch to the Mine tab (your saved personas) or the Starters tab (built-in archetypes).
6. Click the persona. The briefing is copied into the scenario draft. (It is a snapshot, not a live link - if you edit the persona later, this scenario does not change.)
7. Fill in the scenario-specific fields the import left empty (goal, win conditions, posture notes). These belong to the scenario, not the persona.
8. Click Save draft.
9. Click Run. Your persona is now a player at the table.

#Use a starter archetype from the library

Use case: you want to populate a wargame quickly without doing the full diagnostic. The library ships 16 starter archetypes (FORTRESS, PIRATE_SHIP, CATHEDRAL, SWARM, etc.).

1. In Studio, go to Personas.
2. Click Add from library.
3. Switch to the Starters tab.
4. Filter by cluster (conservative, aggressive, etc) or by perspective if you have a specific shape in mind.
5. Click the starter. Same snapshot rules as above.
6. Customise the imported briefing. Starters are intentionally generic - treat them as a v0, not as a finished spec.

#Fill the diagnostic for a competitor (not yourself)

Use case: you want to model what a competitor (or partner, or regulator) is likely to do, based on what you have observed about them.

1. Go to /diagnostic/start.
2. Choose Competitor as the perspective. (Or Partner, Regulator, Hypothetical, depending on who you are modelling.)
3. Optionally add a short relationship note (e.g. “our largest regional rival, founded 2014”).
4. Click Start questionnaire. Answer as you believe they would, based on observed behaviour.
5. When you submit, the resulting persona carries a framing banner explaining that it represents your understanding of them, not a self-report.
6. Save to the library. You can now use them as a wargame actor.

#Edit a scenario in Studio (rename teams, change numbers)

Use case: you want to take an existing scenario and adapt it for your own use - rename the teams, change the segments, tune the margins.

1. From /wargame, click Studio on a scenario.
2. Studio sections appear on the left: Overview (title, description, total ticks), Actors (who plays), Personas (briefings), Resolver (segment definitions, margins, market sizes), External events (scheduled shocks), Validate (run a smoke test).
3. Edits are saved as a draft on top of the original scenario. The original TS files are not touched. You can revert any time.
4. Use Validate before running to catch dangling references (e.g. an actor referencing a deleted resource).
5. Once happy, click Run.

#Build a brand-new scenario from blank

Use case: you want a scenario for a problem none of the worked examples cover.

1. Go to /wargame. At the top is a dashed-border card labelled Start from blank. Click it.
2. Studio opens with a minimal scenario: two placeholder actors (PLAYER_A, PLAYER_B), one resource (capital), two generic segments. Everything is named generically and waiting to be renamed.
3. Work through the Studio sections top to bottom: rename actors, define segments, set margins and starting allocations, add or edit briefings.
4. Save the draft as you go.
5. Validate. Run.

#Fork a counterfactual and compare timelines

Use case: you have run a scenario and want to ask “what if X had happened instead of Y?”

1. Run the scenario forward at least one tick. The Fork button is disabled until you have something to fork from.
2. Rewind (or click on the tick rail) to the tick you want to branch from.
3. Click Fork. A new branch is created with everything up to and including that tick copied across.
4. Make the change you want on the forked branch (Inject an event, Override a resource).
5. Run the forked branch forward with Play or Step.
6. Click Compare. The view splits to show both branches side by side at the same tick.
7. When you Export, both branches go into the same deliverable bundle.

#Override an actor resource mid-run (model a shock)

Use case: you want to ask “what happens if HELIOS loses 30% of their capital at Q3?”

1. Run forward until you reach the tick where you want the shock.
2. (Optional but recommended) Fork first, so the override only applies to the forked branch.
3. Click Override in the controls bar.
4. Pick the actor (e.g. HELIOS), the resource (capital), and the new value. Add a reason note (it goes into the audit log).
5. Apply. Continue running forward.

#Inject an external event into a future tick

Use case: you want to model a regulator action, an acquisition, or another exogenous shock that hits at a specific tick.

1. Click Inject in the controls bar.
2. Pick the tick you want the event to fire on (must be later than the current tick).
3. Choose the event kind from the dropdown.
4. Fill in the parameters (target actor, magnitude, etc - depends on the event kind).
5. Save. The event is scheduled and will fire when you advance through that tick.

#Share a run with a colleague

v1 has limited collaboration. Practical workaround:

1. Run the scenario, fork as you like.
2. Click Export. Download the zip.
3. Open replay.html from the zip - it is a self-contained interactive replay.
4. Send the zip (or the unzipped replay.html) to your colleague. They can open it in any browser without signing in.

Full collaborative editing (shared links to live runs) is on the roadmap.

#Troubleshoot common errors

Magic link doesn’t arrive. Check spam first. If still missing, the operator may need to reconfigure the Resend sender. Email is sent from a verified domain; deliverability to corporate filters can be slow.

Step / Rewind / Fork look greyed out.They’re conditionally disabled by game state. Hover any disabled button - the tooltip explains why.

Export fails with “Render failed”. The bundle requires at least one resolved tick. Run Play or Step a couple of times first.

Controls bar isn’t visible. Hard-refresh the page. If still hidden, your viewport may be smaller than the minimum supported. Report it.

Diagnostic shows the wrong perspective on save. The perspective is set at /diagnostic/start, not in the questionnaire itself. If you started with the wrong one, retake.