Högskolan i Skövde

Resilience of interdependent infrastructures increasingly depends on collaborative responses from actors with diverse backgrounds that may not be familiar with cascade effects into areas beyond their own sector. A simulation-game can enable societal actors to obtain a deeper understanding of the interdependencies between their infrastructures and their respective crisis responses. Following a design science approach, a simulation-game has been developed that combines role-playing simulation and computer simulation. The simulation-game challenges participants to address the interaction between payment disruptions, food and fuel supply, security problems (riots, robberies) and communication challenges (preventing hoarding). A number of crucial design choices were handled while developing the simulation-game. The main design challenges were: How to validate an unthinkable escalation scenario?; How to give the simulation a sufficient level of detail on all aspects and keep the complexity graspable so it can be played instantly?; and How much time should each playing round take?