Playing the part

The use of games and simulations as training techniques is by no means a new idea. War games have been played for nearly five thousand years and have been used in training military personnel in the arts and skills of strategic interaction. But there has been a dramatic resurgence of interest since the second world war and, more particularly, in the past ten years. Not only has renewed attention been given to war gaming, but also to business gaming and, even more recently, to the general extension of the use of games and simulations to many kinds of teaching and training. In geography teaching and in the training of teachers, the techniques are becoming a standard practice.