FAQs

Business Games FAQs

Please see the following common questions asked by prospective clients and purchasers of our business games. If your question is not answered here, please contact us for a prompt response!

What is a Business Game

What skills are involved in a business simulation game?

What levels of knowledge and experience can a business strategy game cover?

Is the training transferable to the workplace?

Who uses your games?

Will you run the game for me?

If I buy a game how do I run it?

How do I order a game?

Contact Us to I find out more?

What is a business game?

A business game is an interactive structured training activity with specially created conditions, which aim to reproduce those of a working situation in a successful business.

The training is challenging and enjoyable; developing skills to improve individual and team performance in the workplace.

Before looking further into what makes a business game we need to consider what makes a successful business?

In simple terms, it is an effective combination of people, resources and processes to produce a product which customers will value and buy.

Like a business, games should involve people, resources and processes. The aim is to give participants an experience comparable to one in 'real-life'.

A business has also to remain competitive, so business games are usually competitive in character with compressed time periods, allowing the result of decisions and policies to be seen.

What skills are involved in a business simulation game?

It would be wrong to suggest that one business management game can cover all the personal and management skills involved, but different games target different skills. For example one activity might concentrate on communication, feedback, leadership and team skills whilst another will cover problem solving, decision making, managing resources and budgets.

Participants learn more than theory by practical experience, they learn about themselves and others. Team roles and skills are key components in a business management game therefore team building development is enhanced and the practical value of group dynamics is demonstrated.

By experiencing rather than discussing a model, participants gain in knowledge, competence and confidence.

"I hear I forget, I see I remember, I do I understand." - Confucius

What levels of knowledge and experience can a business strategy game cover?

There are different activities for all levels. With most games the trainer can make the game more or less demanding by supplying different amounts of information; reducing the number of input variables and decisions required; varying the time allowed or targeting specific issues.

Business strategy games enable participants to practice management skills often developed in isolation from other elements of the system.

We are a provider of indoor business games and management training for schools, colleges, universities and corporations.

In one game the leader did an excellent job running the company and showing a greater profit than other teams taking part. She then became involved in a task that took her away from her leadership role and the team 'wondered off course'. This was her feedback:

Is the training transferable to the workplace?

An important part of any training activity is the debrief. Here the process and analysis of results also gives participants good learning experience of organisation and group working skills. All require facilitation by trainers who are familiar with the processes involved. Effective links are made between the learning and work applications appropriate to the group and the individuals within it.

We believe that training should be:

• active
• challenging
• interesting
• enjoyable
• focused on key issues and
• memorable.

These ingredients stimulate a high-level of motivation in participants in developing skills to improve their individual and team performance. These, with continued support, are transferred to the workplace.

Who uses your games?

Small companies to multinational companies, local and national government offices, charities, schools, colleges, universities and independent training consultants.

See the page of our clients and their comments

Will you run the game for me?

Our experience in running the games many times with different teams enable us to ensure that participants enjoy the game and the learning points are brought out.

If you only intend to run the game once it is well worth getting a quote for us to run the game for you. It will save you the time of learning about the game and you only pay for our time – not the cost of the game.

This is a cost-effective method of developing your team(s) with the bonus of having no concerns of running the game.

If I buy the game how do I run it?

The Trainer's Manual gives you the information you need. Your role is to introduce the exercise and get the teams started. During the game you might have to input some data on the computer and ensure the teams are complying with the instructions.

This is the normal process:

1. Issue briefing papers
2. Allow teams to share the information and plan their approach
3. Observe the teams in action until deadline
4. Begin the debrief:  Listen to their experiences; promote discussion from and between teams; draw out key learning points; relate it to the real world; draw up action plans for performance improvement
5. Receive standing ovation!

There will be an opportunity for you to observe the behaviours, attitudes and skills of the teams.

• How are the team working?
• Who is taking what roles?
• Are they setting objectives?
• Are they working effectively?

When the activity is over you lead the debrief and bring out the learning points. The Trainer's Manual gives you the information you need.

Licence to use

When you buy a game from us it becomes yours to keep. You can re-use it as many times as you choose. We can re-supply any consumables such as pads of Decision Forms and Team Briefs.