Beer Game
Easily host remote or live Beer Game sessions
Engage participants through immersive supply chain simulations to boost individual skills development, teamwork and promote continuous improvement.
They successfully modernize their Supply Chain trainings with our Beer Game:
Rated 9.4/10 by our customers since 2021.
Companies, universities and consultants alike use our online beer game simulation to meet a wide range of objectives — from reproducing real challenges within supply-chain processes to optimizing an organization’s overall performance.
Students and trainees learn new business and team management skills by participating in a fun and engaging serious game experience.
We are the go-to solution for several reasons
Easy to start, easy to play
Our intuitive platform enables instructors to set up their games in a flash.
Complete Immersive Experience
Our Beer Game delivers the market's most immersive experience, making supply chain learning faster and more effective
User-friendly and multilingual interface
Both beginners and senior-level participants can play. Our games are available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and German.
Self-service and customizable
Instructors need no technical expertise to set up and launch a session in both default or custom settings.
Extensive post-game analytics
Our Beer Game automatically generate exportable reports and stats for instructors to debrief players and reinforce lessons.
This isn't a drinking game, so why is it called the Beer Game?
The name is derived from a classic role-playing game developed at MIT in the 1960s.
Professors at the time found that they could grab university students’ attention more effectively by calling it The Beer Distribution Game.
Our beer games can be white-labelled, so whether you trade in aircraft parts or smartphones, you can customize The Beergame App to your specific widget, industry and audience.
The Object of the Beer Game
The aim of the game is to fulfill requests at each stage of the supply chain in order to meet the overall demand of end customers.
Players are assigned to a role in their specific industry. For example, in a beer supply chain simulation, participants play as either Manufacturer, Distributor, Wholesaler, or Retailer.
Each role responds to order requests from the stage below and places orders for the stage above.
→ The resulting game experience provides insights into:
Basic supply chain concepts
Stock, lead time, costs, orders, demand, etc.
The Bullwhip Effect
Erratic demand variations, which increase up the chain
Impact of various supply parameters
Visibility, batches, price fluctuations, etc.
Effects of human behavior
How collaboration — or lack of — can impact overall performance
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Step 1
Setting Up a Game
Instructors have an extensive set of features and options for creating a custom Beer Game.
Customize the layout and scenario to fit your industry and lesson goals.
Configure the settings, such as lead time or game duration.
Create copies and manage templates of your game for future events.
2
Step 2
Hosting and Gameplay
Once your game is set up, you can send player invites and launch your game in a matter of seconds!
Invite as many as several hundred players with a simple click of the “Share Away!” button.
All onboarding and instructions automatically await players entering the game.
Announce surprise events, like a seasonal promotion, encouraging players to cooperate and adapt to common supply chain challenges.
3
Step 3
Debriefing and Discussion
Even though the game is over, the learning is not! Review automatically generated post-game analysis and statistics.
Utilize the analytics in the format of your choice — graphs, charts, PDF, Excel.
Compare individual and team performances at each game round.
Stimulate discussion and reinforce key learning objectives in the debriefing.
Turn your Beer Game into a memorable learning experience!
Discover our Beer Game guides designed to master your session at every level. Whether you're preparing your first Beer Game, looking to conduct impactful debriefs or planning to host large groups, our guides have you covered with practical advice, PowerPoint templates, and in-depth expertise.
A Supply Chain simulation designed for you
Supply Chain and Logistics Management
Supply Chain Manager, Operations Manager, Procurement Manager, Inventory Manager
Continuous Improvement and Quality Management
Continuous Improvement Manager, Lean Manager, Six Sigma Specialist, Process Engineer
Training and Consultation
Educational Trainer, Corporate Trainer, HR Development Specialist, Management Consultants
Project Management and Analysis
Project Manager, Manufacturing Engineer, Business Process Manager, Innovation Manager
Across various use cases and events
Corporate and Team Events
In-company training session, team-building workshop, project kickoff meeting, onboarding program, strategic planning sessions
Conferences and Public Engagements
Seminar, kickoff meeting, larger conferences, Industry networking events
University and Educational Development
University training programs, bootcamps, contests across universities, introductory courses
Consultation and Client Engagement
Sales demo, Kickoff client's presentation, Client-focused workshops, Coaching sessions
Everything you need to know about the Beer Game!
The Beer Game is an experiential learning exercise originally developed at MIT in the 1960s to illustrate the complexities of supply chain management. It's a role-play simulation game where participants manage a supply chain consisting of a brewery, distributor, wholesaler, and retailer. The objective is to meet customer demand for beer while minimizing costs and avoiding inventory shortages.
The Beer Game is widely used in business schools, corporate training programs and consulting firms to teach the principles of supply chain management, and highlight the importance of effective communication in managing complex systems.
The online Beer Game offers several advantages over its physical counterpart. It allows for broader accessibility, enabling participants from different locations to join in. The digital format provides enhanced data tracking and analysis capabilities, and it's scalable for larger groups or multiple sessions. Check out our complete analysis on our blog.
The Beer Game can be implemented by educators, corporate trainers, business consultants, and managers seeking to enhance their team's understanding of supply chain management. It's especially beneficial for professionals in operations, logistics, procurement, and strategic planning.
The Beer Game helps explore several supply chain principles, including the bullwhip effect (where small changes in consumer demand cause larger fluctuations upstream in the supply chain), inventory management, lead times, the impact of communication and collaboration across the supply chain, and the challenges of forecasting and planning the supply.
Yes, you can customise our Beer Game to your brand’s colors! By customising the Beer Game with your logo and colors, participants will project themselves as if they were managing your company's actual supply chain.
It is also easy to replace "Beer" and the game roles with something more relevant to your context. For some inspiration have a look at our templates.
Potentially unlimited! If you purchase an annual or "conference unlimited" plan, you'll have no player constraint.
If you purchase a conference plan, the number of players will be dependent on your package. Each participant can play multiple games/rounds, they will be counted only once as long as they don't change web browser and don't clear their cookies.
You can also invite multiple hosts/observers: useful for handling large multi-group sessions, or for those who don’t feel comfortable hosting a session on their own.
In most cases, a single instructor can create the session games. Then other hosts can easily access the session follow-up and view the games' advancement as observers. This observer role is available by default on all plans.
If you would like to split the group to host multiple sessions on different events / locations. Or if you want multiple trainers to host games independently inside your organization, it is possible to invite new instructors inside your license. Contact us to learn more.
Yes of course, you just need to create your own instructor account to discover how the platform works.
The best strategy in the Beer Game involves effective communication, collaborative planning, and a keen understanding of supply chain dynamics.
Participants should focus on maintaining a balance between supply and demand, anticipate potential delays, and avoid overreacting to backlogs. Continuous learning and adapting strategies based on game progress are crucial for success.