R 151732Z OCT 25 MARADMIN 490/25 MSGID/GENADMIN/CG EDCOM QUANTICO VA// SUBJ/ROAD TO THE COMMANDANTS CUP//  POC/MR. TIM BARRICK/WARGAMING DIRECTOR/KRULAK CENTER/MCU/EMAIL:   [email protected]// GENTEXT/REMARKS/1.  Situation.  Announcing the 3rd Annual  Commandant's Cup Wargaming Tournament with the finals to be held in  Washington D.C. during the Modern Day Marine expo from 28-30 April  2026. This MARADMIN outlines the Road to the Commandant's Cup with  requirements for participation in qualifying events in order to be  eligible fora unit invitation to the Commandant's Cup. Tournaments  are conducted through MCU's FIGHT CLUB, an extracurricular activity  designed to provide participants with an opportunity to practice  tactical and operational decision-making in a wargame environment  that hones individual cognitive warfighting skills. The CMC Cup is  an annual, in-person wargaming tournament held at Modern Day Marine,  where the top wargamers from across the USMC, Joint Force, and Allied  militaries compete in a team-based, three-day, multi-wargame  competition.   2. Tournament Construct. The Road to the Commandant's Cup and the  Finals consists of a series of wargame events with a combination of individual and team competitions. The qualifier events serve to identify top players and teams. Wargame events during the qualifier rounds are held virtually in Marine Corps University's Wargaming Cloud. The qualifier tournaments are discrete events by themselves, but earning an invitation to the Finals at Modern Day Marine for  the Commandant's Cup requires participation in at least one of the Top Tactics Invitational opportunities and participation in the new Expeditionary Engagements wargame tournament. 2A. TOP TACTICS 25 (TT25). This tournament was announced via previous  MARADMIN, is an individual tournament and is ongoing. This is the first qualifying event for the 2026 Commandant's Cup. Company  Commander is the digital wargame used for TT25. 2B. TOP TACTICS 25 - TEAM (TT25-T). This is a second qualifying  event opportunity for the 2026 Commandant's Cup using the Company  Commander wargame. This tournament follows the same scenario format  as TT25 but shifts to a team construct with players partnering as a  paired entry into the tournament. TT25 is a tactical, company level  tournament focused on a modern, contemporary fight with 3 rounds. 2C. EXPEDITIONARY ENGAGEMENTS 26 (EE26). EE26 is the third qualifying event opportunity for the 2026 Commandant's Cup and uses the  Flashpoint Campaigns Pro digital wargame software in the MCU  Wargaming Cloud. This is also a team construct with players  partnering as a paired entry into the tournament. EE26 is a tactical,  Marine Expeditionary Unit scenario, with 2 rounds in the tournament.  2D. MCU's Wargaming Cloud. All three tournaments are online, hosted  in MCU's Wargaming Cloud. Game play is asynchronous and turn based,  enabling participants to complete turns independently.  2E. Qualifier Requirements. To qualify for an invitation to the  Commandant's Cup, players must have competed in either TT25 or TT25-T plus the EE26 tournament. Individual and team scores will be  compiled to identify the top players and units that fielded teams, with invitations based on performance and the team slating construct for the Commandant's Cup Finals.  2F. Player & Team Eligibility. The tournaments are open to all USMC,  Joint Force, and Allied organizations, but the overall number of  participants in each tournament is capped at 1000. To be recognized  as a qualifying organization for entry into the Road to the CMC Cup,  team entries must have a player roster whose members have a common  commander at the O5 (LtCol), O6 (Col), or O7 (BGen) level. A unit can enter multiple teams. Qualifier events are invitational  wargaming tournaments open to all servicemembers, government  civilians, and contractors associated with Department of War (DoW)  entities, but only uniformed military servicemembers from the DoW or  allied-partner countries who participate in both qualifying events on  the Road to the Cup are eligible for a CMC Cup invitation. MCU  reserves the right to limit participants from individual units to  ensure an equitable distribution across the force. Generally, the max number of participants from an individual battalion is limited  to 20 but may be exceeded on a case by case basis. Participants from PME organizations will be given priority for access. 3.  Execution. 3.A.  Commander's Intent.  The Commandant's Cup Wargame Tournament is intended to showcase wargaming as a tool that can sharpen  cognitive decision-making abilities in the context of modern  warfighting scenarios. And, through this competition, identify and recognize top contenders who demonstrate exceptional creativity,  critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills.  3.B.  Concept of Operations. 3.B.1. TOP TACTICS 25 - TEAM.  The TT25-T tournament is set in  a Western Pacific scenario between Red and Blue forces. TT25  includes 3 rounds in which participants fight a paired match  against an opponent. In a paired match, players compete in two  parallel games playing red in one and blue in the other, with  the scores from each game combined into a total score for the match.  The time requirement to play a paired match in this scenario is  approximately 3 hours of playing time total. This is spread across  10 to 20 turns. Players have approximately four weeks to complete  their paired match in each round. Players must complete their  turns within 96 hours of notification, or they will automatically  forfeit the match. Players are encouraged to complete their turns  within 24 hours of receiving email notification. Players who  participated in the first TT25 are invited to compete in the team format of TT25-T as well. If an individual competes in both TT25 competitions, his or her higher score will be the one taken into  account when determining CMC Cup invitations. 3.B.1.A.  TT25-T Round 1 - Begins 28 Oct and concludes 21 Nov.  3.B.1.B.  TT25-T Round 2 - Begins 24 Nov and concludes 22 Dec. 3.B.1.C.  TT25-T Round 3 - Begins 5 Jan and concludes 2 Feb. 3.B.2. EXPEDITIONARY ENGAGEMENTS 26.  The EE26 tournament is also set in a Western Pacific scenario between Red and Blue forces. EE26  includes 2 rounds in which participants fight a paired match against  an opponent. See paragraph 3.B.1. for an explanation of paired  matches. The time required to play a paired match in this scenario is  approximately 4 hours of playing time total, spread across 10 to 20  turns. Players have approximately four weeks to complete their paired match in each round.  3.B.2.A.  EE26 Round 1 - Begins 08 Jan and concludes 10 Feb.  3.B.2.B.  EE26 Round 2 - Begins 11 Feb and concludes 11 Mar. 4.  Administration and Logistics 4.A.  Tournament Registration. Registration for TT25-T closes on  20 Oct 2025 at 2359 (ET). Registration for EE26 closes on 19 Dec 2025  at 2359 (ET). Late registrations will not be accepted, so do not  hesitate to register if interested. Players must register  individually via the respective links at:  https://www.usmcu.edu/Academic-Programs/Krulak-Center/  4.B. MCU will fund travel to Modern Day Marine for all USMC Teams  that receive an invitation to the CMC Cup Finals. Teams who receive  an invitation to the finals will receive coordinating instructions at  that time. All non-USMC Teams will have to self-fund travel to the  CMC Cup Finals event at Modern Day Marine. 5.  Command and Signal 5.A.  MCU's Wargaming Cloud. All participants will be granted access to MCU's Wargaming Cloud capability for the duration of the  tournaments that they participate in. Participants will access the  Wargaming Cloud from outside the Marine Corps Enterprise Network  (MCEN) using personal computers and an internet connection. 5.B. POCs: MCU's Wargaming Director, Mr. Tim Barrick, and M&S  Officer, Capt Nathan Tidwell, Email: [email protected] 6.  Release authorized by Brigadier General M. W. Tracy, Commanding General, Education Command.//