Tabletop exercises can provide useful insights into both strengths and vulnerabilities in public health preparedness. It is important to recognize, however, that exercise outcomes are influenced by the way they are designed and conducted. The exercises described in this report emphasized varying dimensions of public health preparedness, reflecting differences in state or local priorities for prioritizing exercise objectives. For example, some emphasized the early response to initial reports of suspect illness while others emphasized management of surges in demand for health care services that are likely to occur later emergency scenarios. Given the intellectual and emotional demands of participation in an exercise, participants (and facilitators) may be less energetic during later rather than earlier stages of an exercise scenario, affecting perceived capacity to execute different elements of a response. Potential gaps between observed and actual preparedness should be considered in interpreting after-action reports and evaluating exercises themselves.