MSTM 604
Systems Thinking
Minor Project 1 Instructions
The Near Beer Game
1. If you don’t have installed a “Screen Capture” program on your computer, do so now.
Here is a list of free programs, http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-screencapture-utility.htm
2. Go to the overview page of the Near Bear Game
http://forio.com/simulate/mbean/near-beer-game/overview/
Read the history of the game and then click the green beer bottles image. The simulation
will load in your browser.
3. Read the directions; confirm the simulation is set to novice, and then click the “Start
Simulation” button.
4. You will land on the Near Beer Game “Dashboard.” Study this Dashboard carefully before
clicking anything (see the notes below this picture).
Note the landing page starts on the “Simulation” tab (top left). Locate the three levels of the
dashboard, marked with shades of grey.



The top level indicates Customer orders.
The lower level indicates the supply chain from the Vendors to Brewers, to your
store Inventory.
The middle level show your Retailer status of your orders & shipments to
customers.
The simulation starts at “Week 1,” note this is indicated in small print at the top right of the
dashboard. The starting numbers you see, such as 10, refer to cases of Beer. You have been
briefed that your Week 2 Customers will increase their order to 15 cases. Your objective is
to return the system to equilibrium, so that 15 cases of beer are available in “Finished
Goods Inventory” (lower right) week after week. You have 50 weeks to accomplish this
objective, but you could do it in less. You play the simulation in the lower left box, by
changing the Raw Materials order and then clicking Submit. That changes all numbers as
you shift into a new week. The Dashboard provides a status message to you in the Middle
Level, as each week begins.
5. When you are ready, and have at least 90 minutes, try a first round. Start the game. Use
your screen capture to take a picture of the Dashboard as you start.
6. Pause after each week to assess your situation from the Dashboard. Note the lead times
in the supply chain, and the customer order. You may also click any of the Dashboard tabs
up to view a running summary of the game, i.e. “New Customer Order,” or “Inventory,” or
“Shipments.” Click “Simulation” tab to come back to the game.
7. Before you restart the simulation at the end of Round 1, use your Screen Capture
program to capture a picture of the “Inventory” and “Shipments” tab for your round.
8. Use the Table below to keep a log record of your three rounds. The “Weeks” in your
Table are the number of Weeks it took to get to Equilibrium. Under the right column,
“Results of What Happened?” describe what you did right, what you did wrong, and how
the system behaved. If you finish a round before hitting 50 weeks, play the next game at the
“Expert” level, and note that in the Table.
Round Level
1
#Weeks Results of What Happened?
Novice
2
3
9. After you play three rounds, and have kept a log, write up a 500-word essay that
describes (in whatever order you choose):



What this game was, how you approached it, how stable was your inventory, and
whether you overreacted as Retailer?
How your three rounds compared to each other and why?
What insights you have about systems through playing this game?
Write in such a way that you could use this essay as a blog entry to an audience you know,
after your grading instructor reviews it. If you deem it useful, you may use the Table in
your essay, or any Screen Capture you took. Give a title to your essay, and insure it has an
introduction and conclusion.
Your essay should show evidence of your comprehension of basic systems thinking
concepts such as stock and flows (Meadows, p. 17-30), delays and feedback (p. 51-58), and
why the Bull Whip effect occurred in this system (Bean, 2006), even though the customer
demand was constant from week 2 onward.