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CROSS-CULTURAL SIMULATION GAME
FACILITATOR INSTRUCTIONS
INTRODUCTION TO THE SIMULATION
(Not to be shared with student participants)
A cross-cultural simulation similar to this adaptation was developed by the Pentagon years ago, and
is still used to train officials and generals who are about to undertake a mission in a foreign country.
In the simulation there are two different cultures present (Alpha and Beta) with totally different norms
and points of views. As the members of each culture are sent for a visit to the other culture, they are
confronted with these differences and are forced to live according to the rules of the other culture.
This situation allows the delegates to feel what they are likely to feel when arriving in a different
country and prepare them psychologically and personally understand the shock. Since the simulation
can be incredibly impactful, it is important that you, as a facilitator, follow the step-by-step
instructions and help maintain order throughout the simulation.
We will be running three simulations simultaneously. There will be an Alpha group and a Beta group
in each simulation and each culture will be assigned their own room space (their village).
ORDER OF FACILITATOR’S INSTRUCTION MANUAL
1. TIMELINE
2. SUPPLIES NEEDED & PROVIDED
3. ORDER OF SIMULATION PROCESSES & INSTRUCTIONS
a. LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTIONS
b. TRANSITION TO ASSIGNED CULTURE ROOMS
c. CULTURE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS, TRAINING, & PREPARATION
d. OBSERVATION INSTRUCTIONS
e. VISITOR EXCHANGES INSTRUCTIONS
f. COMBINED GROUPS DEBRIEF
g. TRANSITION BACK TO LARGE GROUP SPACE
h. LARGE GROUP DEBRIEF DISCUSSION
4. CULTURE OVERVIEWS & SUMMARIES
5. TIMELINE DUPLICATE COPY

PLEASE STRICTLY FOLLOW THIS TIMELINE IN YOUR FACILITATION OF THIS SIMULATION.
TIMELINE FOR THE SIMULATION
It is incredibly important that all groups adhere to the strict timeline outlined below and throughout
the instructions. Facilitators are responsible for keeping the simulation running smoothly and on
time.
General introduction in a large group, basic instructions, 9:30 a.m. (7 minutes)
group assignments, and room assignments
Transition to room assignments 9:37 a.m. (5 minutes)
Learn the cultural rules, identify roles, practice the cultural 9:42 a.m. (25 minutes)
rules, and prepare
Observers visit the other culture and simply observe the other culture 10:07 a.m. (5 minutes)
in action
Observers return and give a quick debrief of their observations 10:12 a.m. (2 minutes)
The first group of visitors visit the other culture and interacts 10:14 a.m. (4 minutes)
The first group of visitors returns and provides a quick debrief 10:18 a.m. (1 minute)
The second group of visitors visit the other culture and interacts 10:19 a.m. (4 minutes)
The second group of visitors returns and provides a quick debrief 10:23 a.m. (1 minute)
The third group of visitors visits the other culture and interacts 10:24 a.m. (4 minutes)
The third group of visitors returns and provides a quick debrief 10:28 a.m. (1 minute)
The fourth group of visitors visits the other culture and interacts 10:29 a.m. (4 minutes)
Both cultures join one another to do a short debrief of the experience 10:33 a.m. (7 minutes)
Transition back to large group space for discussion 10:40 a.m. (5 minutes)
Large group debrief 10:45 a.m. (15 minutes)

SUPPLIES NEEDED & PROVIDED
o Alpha Culture
o Culture Overview & Instructions sheet – 1 per student
o Culture Summary sheet – 1 per student
o BLUE sticky dots to be worn on each student’s shirt – 1 per student
o One cord for the Supreme Leader
o One set of “Match the Leader” playing cards per student
o Beta Culture
o Culture Overview & Instructions sheet – 1 per student
o Culture Summary sheet – 1 per student
o GREEN sticky dots to be worn on each student’s shirt – 1 per student
o Packs of colored paper squares
**PLEASE COLLECT AND RETURN ALL MATERIALS UPON COMPLETION OF THE SIMULATION.
LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTIONS (9:30-9:37 a.m.) (7 minutes)
Brad Gosche, Director of Global Education
o Students will be given general rules about the simulation
o Students will be told which group they are a part of, which facilitator they should follow, and
which rooms they will be going to.
o We will be running the same simulation simultaneously in three different paired groups.
TRANSITION TO ASSIGNED CULTURE ROOMS (9:37-9:42 a.m.) (5 minutes)
Facilitators
Frasch 318 – Suzie Arehart (Alpha Culture)
Frasch 319 – Marisa Myers (May 16th
) / Stefan Spanu (May 17th
) (Beta Culture)
Frasch 320 – Doug Matthews (Alpha Culture)
Frasch 322 – Djiby Sall (Beta Culture)
CULTURE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS & PREPARATION (9:42-10:07) (25 minutes)
Facilitators
o Be sure to tell students that from now on they are going to simulate the life, norms, and
behaviors of their new culture. They should forget about everything else they know and enjoy
the simulation from here on out.
o Expeditiously distribute, read, and explain the culture to the students making sure students
understand all of the primary components of their culture, allowing enough time for thorough
practicing before the first visit/exchange. (Each culture’s overview and summary is included at
the back of these instructions.) Do NOT share any information about the other culture with
your group.

o Identify roles:
o Alpha Culture
1. Identify who will be the Supreme Leader.
2. Identify 2 students who will be the observers to go and observe the other
culture when it’s time to do so
3. After the observers have been identified, from the remaining students identify 3
or 4 students (depending on your total group size) who will visit and interact with
the culture during the first exchange
4. After the observers and first visitors have been identified, from the remaining
students identify 3 or 4 students (depending on your total group size) who will
visit and interact with the culture during the second exchange
5. After the observers, first visitors, and second visitors have been identified, from
the remaining students identify 3 or 4 students (depending on your total group
size) who will visit and interact with the culture during the third exchange
6. After the observers, first visitors, second visitors, and third visitors have been
identified, from the remaining students identify 3 or 4 students (depending on
your total group size) who will visit and interact with the culture during the final
exchange
7. Be sure that there are at least 2 students, and no more than 4, in each group
that goes to visit the other culture.
8. You will need to identify a second Supreme Leader to play this role during the
round that the Supreme Leader goes to visit the Beta culture.
9. It is helpful to write the names of the students on the classroom chalkboard/dry
erase board so that no one forgets which role/exchange visit they are assigned
to.
o Beta Culture
1. Identify 2 students who will be the observers to go and observe the other
culture when it’s time to do so
2. After the observers have been identified, from the remaining students identify 3
or 4 students (depending on your total group size) who will visit and interact with
the culture during the first exchange
3. After the observers and first visitors have been identified, from the remaining
students identify 3 or 4 students (depending on your total group size) who will
visit and interact with the culture during the second exchange
4. After the observers, first visitors, and second visitors have been identified, from
the remaining students identify 3 or 4 students (depending on your total group
size) who will visit and interact with the culture during the third exchange
5. After the observers, first visitors, second visitors, and third visitors have been
identified, from the remaining students identify 3 or 4 students (depending on
your total group size) who will visit and interact with the culture during the final
exchange

6. Be sure that there are at least 2 students, and no more than 4, in each group
that goes to visit the other culture.
7. You will need to identify a second Supreme Leader to play this role during the
round that the Supreme Leader goes to visit the Beta culture.
8. It is helpful to write the names of the students on the classroom chalkboard/dry
erase board so that no one forgets which role/exchange visit they are assigned
to.
o Distribute materials:
o Alpha Culture
§ Give each of the students a BLUE DOT and tell them that they should wear it on
their chest at all times during the simulation.
§ Give the Supreme Leader a cord to drape around his/her neck.
§ Give each student a pack of “Match the Leader” cards. Each student should
start off with 6 total cards (2 of each shape). Note: Students do not need to take
their cards with them when they visit the other culture.
o Beta Culture
§ Give each of the students a GREEN DOT and tell them that they should wear it
on their chest at all times during the simulation.
§ Give each student a pack of colored paper squares.
§ Students should know if they end up collecting a full hand of all the same color,
they should come to you for a new pack of mixed color paper squares.
o Be sure to have the students practice their new cultures before the time is up so that they
know how the games/trading work. The students should start playing and acting according to
the rules of their culture. This is the time for them to practice their roles and you, as the
facilitator, should correct any mistakes they make to make sure they know all the rules before
the exchange visits occur.
o Remind students that they are not to share the details of their culture. We don’t talk about or
define our cultural norms generally so you wouldn’t do that in this simulation either.
o Remind students they need to fully take on the rules of their culture.
o Shortly before the time is up (circa 10:06), and students have thoroughly practiced, and just
before the observers leave, you should say the following:
o “The guards of the society just reported that another group of people moved to the
next valley. We do not know anything about them. Our task is to find out who they are,
what they are doing, and why. We are going to send observers to the other culture to
find out the answers to these questions. We can expect observers from the other
society. Remember, our goal is to find out all the rules and norms of the other culture.”
o At 10:07, dismiss the observers. Remind them that they will not talk or interact at all, they are
just observing. The remaining groups will be able to talk and interact with the other culture
when they visit.
o Have the students begin acting out and playing their cultural roles just before the observers
arrive. Remind the students to have fun and strictly play their roles; it’s most effective this way.

OBSERVERS VISIT THE OTHER CULTURE (10:07-10:12) (5 minutes)
Facilitators
o Tell the observers which room they should go to.
o Room exchange partners are as follows:
o Alpha – Room 318 is paired with Beta – Room 319
All exchanges should take place between these two rooms.
All exchanges should take between these two rooms.
OBSERVERS RETURN TO THEIR HOME CULTURE (10:12-10:14) (2 minutes)
Facilitators
o Observers should quickly share their observations of the other society with their home culture
in as much detail as possible before the first visitors go to visit the other society.
FIRST VISITORS VISIT OTHER SOCIETY & INTERACT (10:14-10:18) (4 minutes)
Facilitators
o Tell the visitors which room to go to.
All exchanges should take place between these two rooms.
All exchanges should take between these two rooms.
o Distribute materials:
o Alpha Culture
§ When visitors from the Beta culture arrive, simply hand them a pack of “Match
the Leader” cards so that they can participate in the Alpha culture. Do not give
them any indication how or what the cards are used for.
§ The visitor should return their cards to you before they leave.
o Beta Culture
§ When visitors from the Alpha culture arrive, simply hand them a pack of colored
paper squares so that they can participate in the Beta culture. Do not give them
any indication how or what the cards are used for.
§ The visitor should return their colored paper squares to you before they leave.

FIRST VISITORS RETURN TO HOME CULTURE (10:18-10:19) (1 minute)
Facilitators
o First group of visitors should quickly share any of their experiences and observations of the
other society while the second group prepares to go on their visit.
SECOND VISITORS VISIT OTHER SOCIETY & INTERACT (10:19-10:23) (4 minutes)
Facilitators
o Repeat the same processes as outlined in the first exchange.
SECOND VISITORS RETURN TO HOME CULTURE (10:23-10:24) (1 minute)
Facilitators
o Repeat the same process outlined in the first exchange return.
THIRD VISITORS VISIT OTHER SOCIETY & INTERACT (10:24-10:28) (4 minutes)
Facilitators
THIRD VISITORS RETURN TO HOME CULTURE (10:28-10:29) (1 minute)
Facilitators
o Repeat the same process outlined in the first exchange return.
FOURTH VISITORS VISIT OTHER SOCIETY & INTERACT (10:29-10:33) (4 minutes)
Facilitators
COMBINED GROUP DEBRIEF (10:33-10:40) (7 minutes)
Facilitators
o At the end of the final exchange the two cultures should come together in a common room
for a brief debrief conversation.
o Beta culture – Room 319 should join the Alpha culture – Room 318
o Beta culture – Room 322 should join the Alpha culture – Room 320
o Use the following questions to co-facilitate a debrief conversation to wrap up the general
exchanges of the simulation:
o Alpha culture, how would you describe the rules/norms of the Beta culture? What did
they do? What kind of people are they? What are their rules/norms?

o Beta culture, how would you describe the rules/norms of the Alpha culture? What did
they do? What kind of people are they? What are their rules/norms?
o Alpha culture, what do you think of the Beta culture?
o Beta culture, what do you think of the Alpha culture?
o How did you feel when you visited the other society?
o How did the other society members behave when they visited your society?
o The goal of this discussion is to get students thinking about the basics of their experience in
preparation for the larger, deeper large group discussion.
o Tell students that they should be prepared to share the responses of your group once we
reunite in the large group session. Tell them they should also be prepared to think about the
activity deeper once the entire group reunites.
o Please be sure to collect and bring all supplies and leftover materials back to the auditorium
when you return.
TRANSITION BACK TO LARGE GROUP SPACE (10:40-10:45) (5 minutes)
Facilitators
o Quickly lead students back to Ross Auditorium and ask them to return to their originally
assigned tables.
LARGE GROUP DEBRIEF DISCUSSION (10:45-11:00) (15 minutes)
Brad Gosche, Director of Global Education
o Brad Gosche will lead the debrief conversation. Please stand near the tables where your
students are seated and encourage them to share their ideas, if encouragement is necessary.
THE END
SEE THE FOLLOWING PAGES FOR EACH CULTURE’S OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY.

Alpha Culture
OVERVIEW:
• Choose the supreme leader of your culture. Your leader wears a blue/green cord around
his/her neck at all times. The leader can approach anyone and start a conversation, but no
one can approach the leader and start a conversation. If anyone breaks this rule they should
not be trusted and should be moved to a far corner of the room by the leader or someone
who saw them break the rule. The only way they can leave the far corner of the room is if the
Leader invites them into a conversation.
• Leaders and men are treated with the highest levels of respect.
• Relationships are extremely important. It is very important that you do not say or do
something that would make another Alphan feel bad or feel humiliated.
• The family is a very important component of the Alpha culture. As such, conversations often
involve details about the family and conversations generally start of with the question, “How
is your family?” The conversation is usually very detailed – ages, recent happenings, etc.
• There is gender bias in your culture. Men have more flexibility than women when it comes to
communicating or getting things done, with the exception of the leader if she is female.
• Your goal is to talk to others and be able to ultimately play a round of cards with them.
GREETINGS:
• Always greet other Alphans using the Alphan greeting – crossing two hands (palms out) in
front of your face (see example at the bottom of the page). During the greeting, start off
conversation by asking “How is your family?”
• Women can only initiate a greeting with another woman, but men can initiate greetings with
both genders. A man needs to invite a woman into conversation with him before she may
speak to him. He can do this by saying, “Would you like to talk” and then asking, “How is
your family?” It is a big insult to break this rule. If a woman starts a greeting with a man before
being invited, the man should immediately turn away from her, walk away, and not
acknolwedge her.
SMALL TALK:
• Stand very close to each other when you speak with others. You DO NOT make direct eye
contact with anyone and you speak quietly (as compared to Americans).
• You love and honor senior Alphans (e.g. the leader and men). When you are in a group, you
love to talk about your family. You always allow a senior person (the leader or the man) to
lead the conversation. However, if someone doesn’t talk about their family or ask you about
yours in an initial conversation, you find it offensive, and try to find a way to leave them
quickly.
• You are very friendly to those who follow your rules.

THE “MATCH THE LEADER” CARD GAME:
• You enjoy playing a card game in small groups and it is the main goal of your culture. It’s
intended only as fun and for bringing your group together, to be together, and not for
winning.
• Every member of your society has 6 playing cards (two of each kind).
• The rules of the card game are quite easy and are played with the square, circle, and triangle
cards (see Diagrams below):
1. The card game can be played with as little as 2 people.
2. One male starts shuffling his cards then lays three of them face down on the floor (If there
is no male in the group then the female who initiates the game is considered the “leader”).
3. Then all other players shuffle their cards and lay three of them face down on the floor
4. The group leader turns up one card
5. All other players turn up one card
6. The name of the card game is “Match the Leader” so anyone who flips up the same card as
the leader are the winners, those who flip up a different card are the losers (but Alphans
always celebrate a game because it’s about being together, not about winning and losing.)
7. All losers need to give a card to the leader. The leader can simply take the cards from the
losers without explaining why.
8. When the group finishes playing everyone “thanks” each other for playing and moves on to
start a new conversation so they can play a new round with others.
9. NEVER share the rules of the game or explain it to anyone. As a part of your culture,
everyone is supposed to know how to play and you explaining it would put shame on
someone.
Diagram #1 – Alphan Greeting
Diagram #2 – The “Match the Leader” Game Playing Cards

Alpha Culture Summary
Ø You have a supreme leader who wears a blue/green cord around his/her neck at all times.
Ø No one can approach the leader and start a conversation. If anyone breaks this rule they should not be
trusted and should be moved to a far corner of the room by the leader or someone who saw them
break the rule.
Ø Leaders and men are treated with the highest levels of respect.
Ø Relationships are extremely important and you support one another rather than compete with one
another.
Ø The family is a very important component of the Alpha culture and the focus of all conversations in
detail – ages of family, recent happenings in family, etc.
Ø There is gender bias in your culture. Men have more power than women except if the Leader is
female, then she has the most power.
Ø Your goal is to talk to others and be able to ultimately play a round of cards with them.
Ø Greet using the Alphan greeting – crossing two hands (palms out) in front of your face.
Ø Women can only initiate a greeting with another woman. A man needs to invite a woman into
conversation with him before she may speak to him. If a woman starts a greeting with a man before
being invited, the man should immediately turn away from her, walk away, and not acknolwedge her.
Ø Stand very close to each other when you speak with others.
Ø DO NOT make direct eye contact with anyone, ever.
Ø Speak quietly (as compared to Americans) since you’re generally standing very close to one another.
Ø If someone doesn’t talk about their family or ask you about yours in an initial conversation, you find it
offensive, and try to find a way to leave them quickly.
Ø You are very friendly to those who follow your rules.
Ø You enjoy playing a The Match the Leader card game in small groups and it is the main goal of your
culture. It’s intended only as fun and not for winning.
Ø The rules of the card game:
1. The card game can be played with as little as 2 people.
2. One male starts shuffling his cards then lays three of them face down on the floor (If there is no
male in the group then the female who initiates the game is considered the “leader”).
3. Then all other players shuffle their cards and lay three of them face down on the floor
4. The group leader turns up one card
5. All other players turn up one card
6. The name of the card game is “Match the Leader” so anyone who flips up the same card as the
leader are the winners, those who flip up a different card are the losers (but Alphans always celebrate
a game because it’s about being together, not about winning and losing.)
7. All losers need to give a card to the leader. The leader can simply take the cards from the losers
without explaining why.
8. When the group finishes playing everyone “thanks” each other for playing and moves on to start a
new conversation so they can play a new round with others.
9. NEVER share the rules of the game or explain it to anyone. As a part of your culture, everyone is
supposed to know how to play and you explaining it would put shame on someone.

Beta Culture
OVERVIEW:
• You are a capitalist society, and you put great emphasis on wealth accumulation.
• The Betas are a very individual driven culture that values the success of the individual over the
collective success of the group. You want to get ahead and work hard to get there, no matter
what the cost.
• There is no hierarchy in the Beta culture. Everyone is equal, including the genders.
GREETINGS & SMALL TALK:
• Greet each other with a slow nod of the head with your arms crossed in front of you (see
Diagrams below).
• You do not like to talk about the family or how much wealth people have. These are private
matters and are not to be discussed with others. In a group, Betans like to talk about what
they do at school, e.g. activities, classes, special rolls on student government, etc. Anything
that you do at school, and particularly what you’re proud of at school is always a part of your
conversations.
• You do not like to stand close when talking and because of this, you are a loud culture and
speak at a higher volume (as compared to Americans) when you engage in any sort of
conversation. You also make very strong eye contact with anyone you’re speaking directly to.
You find it insulting when someone stands incredibly close to you, doesn’t speak loudly to
you, and doesn’t give you direct eye contact.
• When any person joins a group, he or she is readily welcomed into the conversation and
should be expected to contribute to the conversation as much as everyone else. Be incredibly
kind and friendly to the new person at all times.
• TRADING:
• You measure a person’s value by how well he or she performs in trading and work, but you
think that it is impolite to show how much wealth you have to others. You NEVER discuss your
wealth or your family.
• You love to collect and trade “papers” which are your form of currency. After making small
talk (about what you do at school, of course), request to play the game of trading “papers” by
looking at the person you want to play with and giving them a thumbs up sign. If they give
you the same sign back it means they want to play also. You want to get as many “papers” as
possible that are of the exact same color. For every same colored paper you get, their value
increases and makes you incredibly wealthy. You trade “papers” by giving a thumbs up sign
(see Diagram below) to the person you want to trade with. If they are willing to play the game
with you, they will also give a thumbs up in return. Betans will always trade with another Betan
if they have what you want. If they don’t have something you want, you won’t trade with
them.

• To play the trading game, Betans use a special language that they use with ANYONE who
wants to trade. It means, “Can I have # of those?” as following (point to what you want):
• Ba – one
• Ba Fá – two
• Ba Fá, Ba – three
• Ba Fá, Ba Fá – four
• For example, if the person you’re playing with has 3 green cards that you want, you
would point to a green card in your hand or theirs and say “Ba Fá Ba.” If they have 5
green cards that you want, you would say “Ba Fá Ba Fá Ba.”
• When trading you NEVER use English, only the hand gestures and language meant for the
game.
• If the transaction goes well for both parties you make a fist pump up in the air (see Diagram
below) as you leave one another.
Diagram #1 – Beta Greeting – Head Bow & Arms Crossed
Diagram #2 – Thumbs Up, aka “Do you want to play the trading game?”
Diagram #3 – Fist Pump in the air, aka “We just played a successful game!”

Beta Culture Summary
Ø You put great emphasis on wealth accumulation.
Ø There is no hierarchy in the Beta culture. Everyone is equal, including the genders.
Ø Greet on another with a slow nod of the head with your arms crossed in front of you.
Ø You do not like to talk about the family or how much wealth people have.
Ø In a group, Betans like to talk about what they do at school, e.g. activities, classes, special
rolls on student government, etc. Anything that you do at school, and particularly what you’re
proud of at school is always a part of your conversations.
Ø You do not like to stand close when talking.
Ø You speak at a higher volume (as compared to Americans) when you engage in any sort of
conversation.
Ø You make direct eye contact with anyone you’re speaking directly to.
Ø When any person joins a group, he or she is readily welcomed into the conversation and
should be expected to contribute to the conversation as much as everyone else. Be incredibly
kind and friendly to the new person at all times.
Ø You measure a person’s value by how well he or she performs in trading.
Ø You NEVER discuss your wealth or your family.
Ø You love to collect and trade “papers” which are your form of currency. After making small
talk (about what you do at school, of course), request to play the game of trading “papers” by
looking at the person you want to play with and giving them a thumbs up sign. If they give
you the same sign back it means they want to play also. You want to get as many “papers” as
possible that are of the exact same color.
Ø Betans will always trade with another Betan if they have what you want. If they don’t have
something you want, you won’t trade with them.
Ø To play the trading game, Betans use a special language that they use with ANYONE who
wants to trade.
• Ba – one
• Ba Fá – two
• Ba Fá, Ba – three
• Ba Fá, Ba Fá – four
• For example, if the person you’re playing with has 3 green cards that you want, you
would point to a green card in your hand or theirs and say “Ba Fá Ba.” If they have 5
green cards that you want, you would say “Ba Fá Ba Fá Ba.”
Ø When trading you NEVER use English, only the hand gestures and language meant for the
game.
Ø If the transaction goes well for both parties you make a fist pump up in the air as you leave
one another.

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