Best Business Simulation

Duke Corporate Education’s Leading Complex Change program equips leaders with strategies to manage significant organizational shifts. It employs immersive simulations and action-learning exercises designed for professionals facing uncertainty and demanding transformation. This curriculum is particul...

1830: Railways and Robber Barons is a seminal tabletop board game released in 1986 by The Avalon Hill Game Co. Designed by Bruce T. Shelley, it pioneered the 18xx series of train games, which combine aggressive stock market manipulation with the physical building of railway networks. Players invest...

The Beer Distribution Game simulates a complex beer supply chain to illustrate principles of inventory management and demand forecasting. Developed at MIT Sloan School of Management in the early 1960s, it’s renowned for demonstrating the bullwhip effect – where small fluctuations in end-customer dem...

Age of Steam is a railroad-themed economic strategy board game designed by Martin Wallace and first published in 2002 by Warfrog Games. Players take on the roles of railroad entrepreneurs, competing to build track networks and deliver goods between cities on various maps representing different geogr...

Indonesia is a complex economic board game designed by Jeroen Doumen and Joris Wiersinga, published by Splotter Spellen in 1999. In the game, players establish shipping and production companies across the Indonesian archipelago, aiming to deliver goods and generate revenue. The core mechanics involv...

Capitalism Plus simulates complex corporate growth through strategic decision-making. Developed initially in 1996, this PC business simulation allows users to manage diverse industries and build a global enterprise. It’s notable for its detailed economic modeling and is suitable for students studyin...

Modern Art is an auction-based board game designed by Reiner Knizia and released in 1992. Players take on the roles of art gallery owners buying and selling paintings by five fictional artists, whose values fluctuate based on how often their works are sold in a given round. The game is distinguished...

NoLimits 2 Roller Coaster Simulation is a 3D ride design software developed by Mad Data and released in 2014. It allows users to construct and virtually experience detailed roller coasters and other theme park attractions, utilizing a realistic physics engine that simulates gravity, friction, and mo...

The MIT Beer Distribution Game is a tabletop business simulation developed at the MIT Sloan School of Management in the 1960s by Jay Forrester. Participants are assigned roles within a beer supply chain—retailer, wholesaler, distributor, and factory—and must manage inventory based only on incoming o...

SimTower is a business simulation game released in 1994 where players manage and develop a skyscraper into a thriving commercial complex. The game’s notable complexity lies in balancing tenant needs with structural integrity and financial performance. It's designed for individuals interested in urba...

Acquire is a business-themed board game designed by Sid Sackson and first published by 3M in 1962, later reissued by Avalon Hill and Hasbro. Players draw and place numbered tiles on a grid, and when adjacent tiles connect they found or grow hotel chains. Players buy and sell stock in those chains, a...

Developed by Sports Interactive and published by Sega, Football Manager 2023 is an association football management simulation video game. Players take on the role of a club manager, overseeing tactics, squad building, player scouting, and media interactions. The 2023 installment introduced a licensi...

The Root Beer Game simulation demonstrates fundamental supply chain principles through a classic business exercise. Participants manage a network of suppliers and retailers distributing root beer, illustrating concepts like inventory management, demand forecasting, and the bullwhip effect – where sm...

Kanban EV is a strategy board game designed by Vital Lacerda about managing work in an electric-vehicle factory. Players allocate limited time among departments concerned with design, parts, assembly, testing, and administration while improving their standing within the company. Its interconnected a...

Out of the Park Baseball 24 is a 2023 baseball management simulation developed by Out of the Park Developments. Players can run a team as general manager, field manager, or both, handling lineups, tactics, trades, contracts, scouting, drafts, finances, and player development. Its database-driven pre...

Capitalism Lab provides a realistic simulation of modern capitalism. Players manage businesses across diverse industries, grappling with fluctuating markets and global economic forces. The game models current economic conditions allowing students, entrepreneurs, and business professionals to explore...

Siemens Tecnomatix Plant Simulation is a digital manufacturing software application developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software. It uses discrete event simulation to model and analyze production systems, including assembly lines, material flow, and factory logistics. The software allows enginee...

The Gallerist is a heavy economic strategy board game released in 2015 and designed by Vital Lacerda. Players take on the roles of international art gallery managers, competing to discover new talent, promote artists, and sell paintings for profit. The game features complex, interconnected worker-pl...

Mombasa is a strategy board game designed by Alexander Pfister and published in 2015 by Feuerland Spiele. Players take on the roles of investors in European trading companies expanding operations across Africa, competing by placing trading posts on a shared map and managing company stocks whose valu...

Container is an economic board game designed by Franz-Benno Delonge and Thomas Ewert that simulates a highly player-driven logistics market. Participants take on various roles within the supply chain, producing, shipping, storing, and purchasing goods. The game is distinguished by its pure economic...

FlexSim is a discrete event simulation software developed by FlexSim Software Products, designed for modeling, analyzing, and visualizing industrial processes. It provides a 3D environment used by engineers and management to optimize workflows in manufacturing, material handling, and logistics opera...

Automobile is an economic strategy board game designed by Martin Wallace and published in 2009 by Mayfair Games. Players take on the roles of early automobile industrialists in the United States, competing from 1896 through the 1920s by building factories, producing car models at different price tie...

Thinkorswim paperMoney is a virtual trading simulation integrated into the thinkorswim electronic trading platform, which was historically provided by TD Ameritrade and is now managed by Charles Schwab. The feature allows users to practice trading stocks, options, and other financial instruments usi...

The Rotman Interactive Trader is a business simulation tool developed by the University of Toronto. It replicates real-world financial markets allowing students and professionals to practice trading strategies and develop investment skills. The platform is widely used in finance education programs a...

Arena Simulation is a discrete event simulation software package developed by Rockwell Automation. Utilizing the SIMAN simulation language, it provides a flowchart-based interface that allows users to build models representing complex operational systems. The software is widely implemented across va...

Arkwright is a complex economic board game designed by Stefan Risthaus and published in 2014. Set during the Industrial Revolution, the game casts players as entrepreneurs managing cotton mills in England. Participants must navigate intricate systems involving production, worker management, and fluc...

Published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, Style Savvy: Styling Star is a fashion boutique simulation game. Players take on the role of a boutique manager, purchasing inventory, coordinating outfits for customers, and styling aspiring pop idols. It is the fourth entry in the Style Savvy ser...

The People Express Management Flight Simulator is a business simulation modeling tool developed by MIT’s John Sterman. It replicates the operational dynamics of People Express Airlines during its period of rapid growth and subsequent decline from 1981 to 1987. This system-dynamics model provides ins...

Back Bay Battery is a business simulation developed by Harvard Business Publishing. It models the strategic challenges of researching and developing advanced battery technology. The game focuses on managing innovation investments while navigating market volatility and technological uncertainties. It...