Who Says Business Can't be Fun and Games?

PricewaterhouseCoopers has developed an interactive business simulator to help companies capitalize on the new economy. The "New Economy Game" is a computer-moderated role-playing game that allows executives to test their strategies -- not to mention their mettle -- as they steer competing, multi-million-dollar businesses through a series of investments, transactions and acquisitions. The goal? To build maximum shareholder value in a virtual environment, then apply those lessons to the real world.

"Gaming is the most provocative teaching tool I've come across," says Michael Kay, the New Economy Game's creator and senior member of PricewaterhouseCoopers' leadership and strategic change practice. "The game allows people to experience all the problems that arise when companies undergo e-transformation and it allows them to experience those problems in a dramatic, first-hand way."

The game, which can be customized to illuminate the challenges facing specific industries or firms, is played by multiples of three teams of three going head-to-head over a six-or seven-hour period. The winning team must drive its brand, minimize risk and benefit from a network of partnerships to maximize shareholder value in its company. The daylong session is followed by a debriefing during which professional analysts scrutinize each team's play.