Designing Business Simulations & Management Games in E-Learning #493

Business Games & Simulations #494: Challenge | Recap

Ever heard of the Beer Game or the Marshmallow Challenge?

No, they’re not college party traditions. But they definitely sound like they could be.

They’re actually popular business simulations that teach important concepts like supply chain management, teamwork, and decision-making. These kinds of hands-on activities help you learn by doing, not just by reading a bunch of theories in a textbook.

Some of the most common games and simulations include:

• The Beer Game (Beer Distribution Game)
• Lean Manufacturing Simulations
• The Marshmallow Challenge
• The Prisoner’s Dilemma (Game Theory)
• The Paper Clip Production Game
• The Penny Game (Understanding Flow and Variability)

We ran a similar challenge nine years ago, which in e-learning challenge years feels like a lifetime. It could be a great place to dig up some ideas and inspiration, or at the very least, a fun little time capsule of what your fellow challengers were up to back in the good ol’ days.

Deming's Red Bead Experiment #136: Challenge | Recap

The best part is that you get to learn by doing, without the risk of making costly mistakes in real life. And that’s what this week’s e-learning challenge is all about!

🏆 Challenge of the Week

This week, your challenge is to create a simple example that explains or demonstrates a management game or simulation. Now, don’t worry, this doesn’t mean building a full-fledged simulation from scratch (unless you want to!).

If you’re new to authoring tools, keep it simple. A labeled graphic interaction highlighting key elements of a business game is a great place to start. 

This week’s goal is to help learners grasp the mechanics of a game or simulation (whether it’s decision-making, strategy, or resource management) without overwhelming them (or your already busy schedule).

✨ Share Your E-Learning Work

• Comments: Use the comments section below to link your published example and blog post.
• Forums: Start a new discussion and share a link to your published example.
• Personal blog: If you have a blog, please consider writing about your challenges. We'll link to your posts so your great work gets even more exposure.
• Social media: Please share your examples on LinkedIn, mentioning either David or Articulate, and include the tag #ElearningChallenge. This makes it easier for me to find your examples and helps you connect with other e-learning designers.

🙌 Last Week’s Challenge:

Before you lean into this challenge, check out the health and wellness e-learning examples your fellow challengers shared:

Health & Wellness E-Learning Courses RECAP #492: Challenge | Recap

👋 New to the E-Learning Challenges?

The weekly e-learning challenges are ongoing opportunities to learn, share, and build your e-learning portfolios. You can jump into any or all of the previous challenges anytime you want. I’ll update the recap posts to include your demos.

Learn more about the challenges in this Q&A post and why and how to participate in this helpful article.

📆 Upcoming Challenges

Challenge #494: Customer Service Training. I snuck this one in for next week. The company is rolling out a campaign on customer service and wants to highlight your examples. The TikTok challenge is coming the following week.

Challenge #495: TikTok style learning videos. Sure, we tackled this challenge two years ago, but it’s still one of the most popular topics. With all the buzz around TikTok lately, now feels like the perfect time to revisit it.