Office of International Programs

- BARNGA: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes. 
Authors: Raja Thiagi Thiagarajan, Sivasailam Thiagarajan

This is a well-known simulation game on cultural clashes. Participants experience the shock of realizing that despite their good intentions and the many similarities among them, people interpret things differently from one another in profound ways, especially people from differing cultures. Players learn that they must understand and reconcile these differences if they want to function effectively in a cross-cultural group. This game can be used in many organization settings in order to provide Training & Education on cultural differences.

http://www.nicholasbrealey.com/boston/barnga.html

- ECOTONOS: A Multicultural Problem-Solving Simulation. 
Author: Dianne Hofner Saphiere

A powerful and extremely adaptable simulation, Ecotonos breaks the usual stereotypes and barriers. Participants improve their skills and strategies for multicultural collaboration and teamwork. Ecotonos can be used multiple times with the same people by selecting a new problem and different variables, with each replay offering new and different cross-cultural perspectives. Eight to fifty (or even a thousand) participants form three groups and create their own cultures. Participants begin to work in their monocultural groups, then mix groups to continue the task multiculturally. The simulation and debriefing require a minimum of two hours.

http://www.culturaldetective.com/relatedproducts.html 

- BAFA-BAFA: Simulation Training Systems. 
Author: Garry Shirts

BaFa’ BaFa’ is a face-to-face learning simulation. It is intended to improve participants’ cultural competency by helping them understand the impact of culture on the behavior of people and organizations. Participants experience “culture shock” by traveling to and trying to interact with a culture in which the people have different values, different ways of behaving and different ways of solving problems. Two simulated cultures are created: an Alpha culture and a Beta culture. The director briefs the participants on the general purposes of the simulation and then assigns them membership in either the Alpha or Beta culture. Each group moves into its own area where members are taught the values, expectations and customs of their new culture.Once all of the members understand and feel comfortable with their new culture, each culture sends an observer to the other. The observers attempt to learn as much as possible about the values, norms and customs of the other culture without directly asking questions. After a fixed time, each observer returns to his or her respective culture and reports on what he or she observed. Based on the report of the observer, each group develops hypotheses about the most effective way to interact with the other culture. After the hypotheses have been formulated, the participants take turns visiting the other culture in small groups. After each visit, the visitors report their observations to their group. The group uses the data to test and improve their hypotheses.

http://www.stsintl.net/schools-and-charities/products/bafa-bafa/

- An Alien Among Us: A Diversity Game.
Author: Richard B. Powers

From a list of twelve candidates, players must select six to join the mission. The selection process involves acquiring information about the candidates and fully engages participants as they play against a group of experts who have all the candidate data. Players make their selections based on attributes that fall into nine categories: gender, age, religion, profession, health, nationality, reason for going, positive attributes, and negative attributes. In the process they discover that frequently their judgments are biased and influenced by stereotypes. Participants come to understand that differences and diversity are not synonymous with problems and difficulties but rather can enrich human experience. They discover that they have overlooked the benefits of the differences they were inclined to devalue. 

http://isbndb.com/d/book/an_alien_among_us.html 

- Redundancia: A Foreign Language Simulation. 
Authors: Nipporica Associates

Requires 10 minutes to conduct and about 30 minutes to debrief. Participants experience speaking a language nonfluently: how it affects one's ability to stay focused and connected with the listener, and one's feelings of competence and confidence. Participants also experience listening to second language speakers: their own tendencies to help or to become distracted. Observers note the speaker's nonverbal communication.

http://www.culturaldetective.com/relatedproducts.html