A 'simulation' is an artificial environment in which a particular set of conditions is created in order to study or experience something that exists or could exist in reality.

The Role Play Simulations we offer are web environments in which participant members play the roles of different leaders and other actors in organizations, communities,states, and indeed on the world stage.

In our simulations 'playing a role' is meant in 4 senses:
   1. as in playing a game to have fun
   2. as in playing a character in a theatre play
   3. as in playing with possibilities
   4. as in playing music with others

Role Play and Simulations have been around for a long time. They have been used for educational and training purposes, for military strategic and tactical analysis and simply as games. We role play in childhood - imitating our parents, playing with dolls and cars, build sandcastles and pretend we are princes and worriors - with the result that learning takes place which prepars us for life.

What makes the simulations we offer unique is that they combine the idea of 'playing a role' with the idea of simulation. In most computer based games and simulations available today users interact with a computer which models and responds in fixed ways to specific inputs by users. In our role-play simulations, computers and the world wide web are used as communication tools and resources to model environments for participants to interact with one another in mixed and varied ways. The end result is that participants experience the dilemmas and issues common to the institutions which are being modeled.

If you would like to know more about the pedagogical foundations of our Web-Based Role-Play Simulations see our Research Papers on Simulations.