The Beer Game, as described by Sterman (1992), is one example of a board game that is widely used in both business and academic settings. Developed in the 1960s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, it has become popular through its description in Senge's (1990) best-selling, The Fifth Discipline.

The game is typically played as a board game however, computer versions are available. Forio Business Simulations,has a web-version (www.forio.com). In the board game, chips or coins, each representing a case of beer, are passed through the distribution chain. Orders are passed upstream and the product (beer) is distributed downstream. Each team consists of four facilities: Retailer, Wholesaler, Distributor, and Brewery. One or two people manage each facility.

Take a look at the original boards in Professor Sterman's Article, Flight Simulators for Management Education, You will see that there are delay boxes between the positions on the board. Players often forget to move beer or orders from one delay to another in the course of play. Once out of step, it is difficult to get the teams back on track. In addition, the Steps of the game are not always clear to the players.

Learning Landscapes has redesigned the board to improve play.

Rather than delay boxes that the student needs to keep track of, we have constructed "wheels" between the positions on the board. These wheels automatically move product and orders through the system. They require only one turn by the players during each round. This design change made it possible to reduce the number of steps in each day and increase the speed of play. Teams stay on track thoughout the simulation and can concentrate on the learning outcomes. This kind of design breakthrough is reflective of the elegant simulation designs that are the hallmark of our work.

We have delivered the Beer Game at Burgundy Education Resources, The North American Simulation and Gaming Association National Conference, and at the National Security Agency. We also conducted facilitator training for the National Security Agency.