Road to the Commandant's Cup

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: wargaming@usmcu.edu
6.  Release authorized by Brigadier General M. W. Tracy,
Commanding General, Education Command.