Royal Navy safety rounds game by Caspian Learning: results

The Engineering Safety Rounds Inspection was the worst-performing course at the Royal Navy's Maritime Warfare School, known as MWS. Thirteen percent of new recruits failed it, a rate 200 to 300 percent above most other core subjects, and retraining the failures kept adding cost.

Training officers traced part of the trouble to the first boarding of a ship. Cramped spaces and complex machinery overwhelmed some recruits before they could practice fault finding. The school wanted a safe place to practice inspections before boarding, one where instructors could still assess technical aptitude.

MWS worked with Caspian Learning, a serious games developer, which built Weapons Engineering Round - Immersive Learning Simulation on its Thinking Worlds engine. The result is a 3D model of a Type 23 frigate that recruits walk through.

In the instructor-led mode, a trainer projects the ship and leads the class through compartments such as the Bridge, the Gyro Room, the Mess and the Ship Control Centre, then through a typical inspection with photo-realistic equipment checks. In the free-play solo mode, a saboteur is causing machinery faults. The recruit has to find and fix them, locate the saboteur and disarm a bomb before time runs out. The brief also asked for reusable art assets, for example for recruitment.

The Navy tracks failure through its Brought Up To Standard rate, called BUTS, which counts recruits who need extra training after missing the required standard. The case study compared the game with the classroom lesson over ten classes. After the game replaced the classroom version, the failure rate fell to 6 percent, lower than the average for the school's other courses. The study states that no other part of the course changed.

A questionnaire went to the 116 trainees in the trial period, and 99 returned it. Trainees found the simulation easy to use and helpful for understanding the subject. Training officers reported less time on slide presentations and a quieter classroom.

In November 2026 the developer's address, caspianlearning.co.uk, shows no page, front page included. The official page of the game and of the company no longer shows any content. The game's current availability is unconfirmed.