How to war-game ships that do not yet exist

How do navies war-game ships or formations that have not yet been designed?

Assign provisional performance parameters, run the game, and revise them in light of the result. American carrier work used expected Langley capabilities as a baseline.

A proposed force can enter a war game through assigned performance parameters before its ships have been designed. Running the game then helps identify which assumptions or capabilities need revision. Early American carrier work provides the example, with estimates of what Langley could do supplying a baseline for further assessments. The result depends on the parameters chosen for the unbuilt force.