How playing D&D at work can improve your incident response? - Hans Metsoja
Disobey 2026 · Main Stage
In this insightful talk from Disobey, Hans Metsoja of Opera presented a compelling case for leveraging tabletop simulations, inspired by games like Dungeons & Dragons, to dramatically enhance an organization's incident response capabilities. Moving beyond conventional training methodologies, Metsoja detailed how Opera designed and implemented a gamified, immersive experience to train employees, validate procedures, and foster critical communication and decision-making skills under pressure. The core premise is that by simulating real-world security incidents in a safe, controlled environment, teams can practice their roles, identify procedural weaknesses, and develop the crucial soft skills often overlooked in purely technical training.
AI review
A well-executed case study on tabletop IR simulation from someone who actually ran the program — 13 exercises, 160+ participants, 1.5 years of data. Solid practitioner content in the case-study lane, but it doesn't push the field forward. The core ideas (Kobayashi Maru design, cross-functional teams, injects-as-narrative) are established tabletop doctrine that CISA, FEMA, and the wargaming community have been practicing for decades.