From the Desk of the Executive Editor: Simulations and Games

Looking back to our instructional design years, we recall that an essential difference between a simulation and a game was that the former was supposed to mirror reality and the latter could operate upon rules of its own. For example, in a simulation, a person shot dead no longer lived but in a game, a person could have five lives if the rules were set accordingly. Chances are that the years have blurred the difference. It is likely that simulation is the term more commonly used in the military and in industry and that games are found in school-based learning environments. The label is secondary to the process.