The Disaster Response Simulation is a board game that simulates a moderate size disaster relief operation. The simulation is played over two days and teaching episodes are interspersed at several critical points. The simulation experience introduces participants to fundamental notions about systems thinking such as constraints and cycle time. To do this, the simulation allows participants to experience some of the key elements of a disaster relief operation from preparedness capabilities through to after-action analysis of the incident.
Emphasis is on communication and the decision-making framework with quality service as the goal.
Each game board requires 6-8 players. Up to four boards may be played simultaneously, for a maximum total of 32 participants. Participants are disaster leadership staff. In the simulation, participants manage a relief operation for a flood that affects four communities. The primary decisions revolve around providing service to people affected by disaster, the human resources and training pipeline, the logistics pipeline, and information flow.