Frequently asked questions
1. Who can play this game?
Anyone can use this game. While this version is free for non-profit use by
educational institutions like colleges and universities, corporate and executive
training programs should contact us for additional details regarding access
to this online version.
2. Could you name some universities or programs
using this game?
This online version of game has been around since 2005. We have more than 60
universities actively using this game, they include Texas A&M University,
Michigan State University, Brigham Young University, McGill and universities in
Thailand, Mexico, Singapore, UK, India, Japan, Malaysia. The game has also been
used in executive training sessions of oil and gas industries, retail & consumer
good manufacturers and industrial distributors.
3. What is the advantage of using this version of
the game?
It does not need any additional software other than a latest version of the
browser. You have complete control over the structure of the game, including
number of players, demand pattern, information sharing capability, cost of
inventory and backorder, lead time etc. To view a complete list of capabilities,
look at the Instructor manual or the help videos (available after you have
created your games). Instant access to the results, an instructor can pull up
all the relevant information plots for classroom discussion.
4. How long will it take to play the game or how
many weeks should we play this game?
A typical game would last about 45 minutes, we recommend that you play at least
26-30 weeks for best results. The default setting is 36 weeks and the maximum
you can play is 52 weeks. In a classroom setting, we spend 15 minutes explaining
the structure and objective of the beergame and play for 40-45 minutes. We use
the last 15 minutes for a recap and feedback of what happened during the game.
All plots are available instantly for discussion. In most cases, the discussion
of the game continues in the following class period.
5. What is the recommendation for information
sharing settings?
It depends on the objective of the class. If this is the first time
you are playing the game in the class, we recommend the standard settings. In
case you have more than 5 teams, you can experiment different groups with
different information sharing settings. If your syllabus/class time permits two
games, first play the game with no information sharing and
follow it up with a information sharing version (change the demand pattern). The
players will clearly see the reduction in bullwhip effect in the supply chain
6. Can I save the game data for research purpose?
Over the years few PhD students have used this version for their research
purpose. You can save the data by accessing the plot information, if you have
troubling saving the data - contact us
for additional details.
7. Will there be any animation features in future?
We would like to keep this version accessible in all platforms regardless of
the operating system or hardware used in the client side. Also we want simulate
a working environment - we don't think any commercial ERP system has animation of inventory
or order movement. The only graphical feature is the information plots which can
be accessed by both the player and instructor during and after the game.
8. Screen shots of instructor screens
9. Screen shots of player screens
Contact Chalam if you have questions