What’s new?
We all know how effective game-based learning can be, but when instructors provide a narrative, they take user experience to the next level. Layering a story over The Beergame App can further motivate players and better spark discussion.
Examples of storytelling within The Beergame can include, but are not limited to, sudden promotions, like Black Friday, new regulations such as flight restrictions in the airline industry, etc. You’re limited only by your specific industry and imagination!
Scheduled messages and notifications
To embed a narrative event within the app, you can now schedule messages/breaking news at a particular turn, on stock/backorder conditions, and/or to specific roles.
Configure these at a New Game creation or in the Settings panel of each game:
Configure scheduled messages
For example, you can send a message in the middle of a game to explain an increase in Demand: "Your headphones have been selected as "Best Product of the Year" by Music Magazine!"
Manually message participants
You may want to send a message that you hadn't thought about or scheduled before, such as providing extra instructions to participants in-game. Simply select the particular games in your Dashboard, type the message and click "Send now":
Send an in-game message to participants
In-game chat between participants
You can now also allow players to discuss with each other by activating a chat in the new game configuration panel or in the game settings:
Allow participants to chat together
When activated, participants can send messages in the same chat window where they receive admin messages. This helps them discuss what to order and build a strategy together!
Start from a template
To help you try and test different scenarios, we have added a few templates in the app. These are a pre-made set of parameters from where you can start when creating a new game. For example, try:
Default Beer Game setup (the "root beer game")
Transparent beer game where participants can chat together
Smartphone e-commerce, in the context of Black Friday
Vaccine supply chain, with high variability and significant backorder costs
Aircraft supply chain, with high lead times and batches, in the context of new air-travel regulations
Optimized aircraft supply chain: reduced lead times and batch sizes.
Start from one of our default templates!