Here's one excerpt, from Stalin:Tragedy & Triumph, by Dmitri Volkogonov

 

> It would be hard to find a precedent in history when one of the sides on the eve of a mortal conflict had so damaged itself. Zhukov recalled that during a large-scale war game in December 1940, he was given command of the ‘Blues’, that is the German side, while Army General Pavlov, commander-in-chief of the Western special military district, commanded the ‘Reds’. It so happened, Zhukov recalled, that he developed his operations precisely along the lines that the real battles would take in six months’ time. He claimed that his tactics were dictated by the configuration of the borders, the terrain and circumstances. He deduced that the Nazis would make the same calculations. Even though the umpires artificially slowed the progress of the ‘Blues’, in eight days they advanced to the district of Baranovichi. When in January 1941 Zhukov reported on the exercise to the Chief War Council he drew attention to the unfavourable system of fortified districts along the new border, suggesting they be moved back 100 kilometres. This was criticism of a decision that had been taken by Stalin. Stalin, meanwhile, listened attentively but was puzzled why the ‘Blues’ were so strong, why had such strong German forces been deployed by the rules of our own game? Zhukov replied that this corresponded to the Germans’ real capabilities and was based on a real assessment of the forces they could deploy against us in the opening phase of the war, thereby gaining great superiority by their first strike.
Stalin found Zhukov’s report comprehensive, and he admired the bold way Zhukov argued his case, and soon, in February 1941, he appointed him chief of the General Staff, one of his best decisions in this area, as future events would show.

 

I guess by my re-reading this, it does appear to be not a boardroom exercise, but rather a boots on the ground experience.

 

Here's another, by Ian Grey in Stalin, Man of Steel, in which he says the games were with Zhukov and Meretskov.

 

> Meretskov remained Chief of the General Staff for only a few months. Large-scale maneuvers played an important part in this period of intensive training. The first of the war games under Meretskov's direction took place in Belorussia in the late summer of i940, and Stalin accepted the evaluation of these maneuvers. Shortly after the second war game, held at the end of the year, however, Meretskov and the senior commanders were unexpectedly summoned to the Kremlin to report personally. Stalin and other members of the Politburo and the Chief Military Council were present. Meretskov proved incapable of evaluating the main features of the maneuvers. Vatutin, his deputy, tried to come to his aid, but Stalin silenced him. When Meretskov referred to the Soviet field regulations to support an argument, Stalin dismissed them as propaganda, adding that "here among ourselves we have to talk in terms of our real capabilitics." Stalin had seen through Meretskov's bluff facade of confidence and mastery. On February 1, 1941, Zhukov became Chief of General Staff. >  

I guess the question now becomes, Was it Pavlov or Meretskov? :P