Marines’ new weapon: war game for ‘bloodthirsty nerds’

They’re not playing around.

The Marines have a new tool for battlefield domination called Down Range—a war game made for and designed by “bloodthirsty nerds.”

Capt. Nicholas Royer, an officer at the II Marine Expeditionary Force’s Battle Simulation Center at Camp Lejeune, wanted a better way for Marines to sharpen their battlefield instincts—without the clunky tech and downtime of traditional training simulations.

So he built it himself.

“We want to leverage the competitive spirit that Marines throughout history have had—that aggression, that drive for violence—and marry it with their interests to create a training tool that works,” Royer, 30, told The Post.

And he doesn’t shy away from the game’s geeky qualities.

“I think the Marine Corps has its reputation for a reason,” the Iowa-native said. “But at the end of the day, I mean, hell, we’re nerds. But we’re still bloodthirsty nerds, like every Marine that’s come before us.”

The goal of Down Range is simple: Marines simulate combat scenarios and outmaneuver their opponent using real-world tactics.

The game pits two players and their units against each other on a large simulated battlefield. If one player moves their infantry units too close to another player’s unit operating a large machine gun, the soldiers stand a chance of being lit up with lead.

After rolling the dice, “You either just shot that guy and he went down, or he’s still in the fight and to worry about him.”

Each kit comes with dice, rule sheets, and 3D-printed miniatures representing real military equipment—from HIMARS rocket systems to Soviet-era BMP-1s. Players face off over a battlefield, which could be as simple as a piece of paper with drawn terrain features or a sand table.

The objective? Plan, execute, and win engagements using Marine Corps doctrine.

“What we’re shooting for is something that takes you from zero to being able to have very informed and adult-level discussions about tactics, techniques and procedures, without letting the game get in the way,” Royer said.

And the results are immediate.

“We’ve had people come in, and within five minutes, they’re making tactical recommendations,” he added. “That’s what we’re shooting for—something that takes you from zero to being able to think like a battlefield leader.”

Down Range isn’t just a hit at Camp Lejeune—it’s spreading fast across the U.S. military and beyond.

The game has been adopted by the FBI Academy in Quantico, the Marine Corps’ Basic School, and even deployed aboard Navy ships.

“At this point, it’s kind of all over the world,” said Gunnery Sgt. Joshua Long, an infantryman from Maryland assigned to the simulation center.

It’s also gaining traction alongside other high-profile war games, such as Command: Professional Edition, a Pentagon-endorsed strategy game based on Tom Clancy novels.

Law enforcement and international allies are also looking to get their hands on it, noted Long, 33.

For now, Down Range is only for the military—meaning civilians can’t buy it off the shelf.

“This is first and foremost a passion project,” Royer said

But at just $4 to $5 per kit, it’s far cheaper than the millions poured into digital training simulators, and Royer told the Post he is “actively working on plans to get a version of this out to the public.”

Down Range is perfect for Marines who want to stay sharp, even during downtime, Long said.

“As you’re traveling the world on a Marine Expeditionary Unit, your main focus is mission readiness,” said Long told. “But inevitably, that comes with some downtime.”

And that’s where Down Range comes in.

“It’s about cultivating those habits of aggression that have made the Marine Corps the deadliest fighting force since we got our footing, but doing so in a way that you can do even when you’re bone tired,” said Royer.