Here, you’ll find materials for download that are needed to administer the table version of the beergame in a classroom or workshop context.

The materials needed consist of introductory documentation and powerpoint slides, paper slips and paper sheets, which need to be attached to the tables, and also the Excel playsheet that people use on their laptop computers. Moreover, I provide some materials for debriefing.

Powerpoint introduction: In this powerpoint file you find a brief animated introduction to how the beergame table version is played in class.

Introduction to the Beer Game: In this word file I have described how the beergame is played. This document can be handed out to the students for briefing. Please note that it contains a lengthy description of how to update the playsheet. This is only needed when playing without laptop computers and the excel spread sheet.

delay fields, factory fields, table-layout: These documents contain the paper sheets that have to be attached to prepare the tables. I used to print the sheets for the four tables in different colours (see ppt file) and the delay and factory fields on white paper. For the table setup refer to the powerpoint file.

(1) playsheet_retailer, (2) playsheet_wholesaler, (3) playsheet_distributor, (4) playsheet_factory: You will need these four documents to be printed to become the playsheets for the four groups in a supply chain when NOT using the excel/laptop version.

Excel playsheet: This Excel file contains the four different playsheets for the players in the supply chain. Hand out the file (using a usb stick) to the beergame groups and ask them to fill in the respective tabel for their group (e.g. retailer etc.). All cells in the spread sheets have been locked except for the ones that are to be filled in by the students. Hence, they are not able to mess with or accidentally corrupt the file.

slips, customer demand slips: These two documents contain the paper slips to be used by the players for ordering and delivery. You need to print enough to have on each table enough slips to play the number of rounds you’d like to play. You’ll also find the customer demand, which you need to print and then to hand out to the retailer group during the game, i.e. to induce the bullwhip effect.

Excel beergame analysis: This Excel file can be used to analyse the data produced during the game. Take the playsheets used by the groups and copy the relevant data to the first page of this xls file and on the subsequent pages the inventory, order and cost progressions are automatically calculated and plotted. You can then copy the figures to be used in a powerpoint debriefing.

Excercise beer game: This file contains a group excercise that can be handed out to students as homework. It consists of to parts – one is about analysing and reflecting the beergame experience – the other uses a teaching case from the Simchi-Levi et al. supply chain text book.

Beergame Debriefing: In this powerpoint file you find some material that can be used in the debriefing session after the game. This is the place were you’d want to fill in the figured generated by the Excel analysis sheet.