AbstractThe Superior Commander is a new methodology for the design and control of experimental games in which the players may be exposed to crisis or stress. It satisfies three important requirements: the player in the game believes that he is an active decision maker; the game contains sufficient complexity and detail to be accepted by the player as realistic; and the experimenter is able to control the game so that he can replicate it exactly with different players. One implementation of the methodology, the Organisational Control Game, is described in detail, and the principles of the Superior Commander are demonstrated.The Superior Commander was developed to overcome some of the limitations of other gaming approaches to the study of decision making in crises, but it is also a general methodology for research games, and can be used for a range of purposes for which both realism and good experimental control are required.