Eureka vs RealGame
A Finnish supply-chain and operations simulator that runs in real time, with the clock moving and every team playing at once, versus a round-based catalogue that fits the course calendar, the language of the classroom and more of the curriculum.
For supply-chain, operations and management faculty, and programme directors, choosing between a continuous simulation played live by the whole class and a round-based one with a wider catalogue in more languages.
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| Dimension | Eureka Simulations | RealGame |
|---|---|---|
| Catalogue size | 36 core simulations (18 co-developed with IESE) + an Express catalogue of short formats | 7 real-time simulations: Supply Chain Management, Sustainable SCM, Operations, Procurement, Management Accounting, Business Management and a Capstone version. 90-minute sessions, usually played 2 to 6 times in a 6-week course; teams of 3 to 4 |
| Languages | Platform in 16 languages; Express in 9 (EN, ES, CA, DE, EU, FR, IT, PT, ZH) | Not published — the website, simulations and teaching materials are presented in English |
| MBA / Exec-Ed depth | High — ExSim plus 18 simulations co-developed with IESE faculty | Medium-high — born from Timo Lainema's doctoral research (built 1997–2000); used at Aalto, Turku, Oulu, LUT, BI Norwegian Business School, Smurfit, Birmingham and Kühne Logistics University; AACSB member |
| Corporate L&D fit | Medium-high — 90-minute Express format to scale to thousands of managers | Medium — offered for corporate training, but the catalogue, case studies and research are built around university courses |
| Deployment / hosting | Cloud SaaS, 100% browser (Archimedes platform), EU-hosted (GDPR) | Cloud, browser, no install; one laptop per team; played live — every team in the same session, in class or online over Teams, Zoom or Meet — up to 120 students per session (200 online). RealGame Oy, Turku, Finland |
| Pricing tier | $$ — institutional licence, quoted by programme and number of participants | Not published — a proposal based on class size and the models chosen |
| Customization | High — co-development with the professor; custom-built simulations | Low-medium — seven fixed models; the instructor runs the clock and stops it for result sessions |
| Integrations (LTI, SSO) | LTI + SSO (SAML 2.0); integrates with Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard | No LTI, SSO or LMS integration published; team communication runs over your own video-call tool |
| Reporting / analytics | Live instructor dashboard; decision data taggable by competency (AoL-ready) | Dozens of KPIs, RealGame Business Intelligence analytics and automated performance tracking; transaction-level process data students analyse themselves; peer-reviewed studies of learning outcomes |
| Target geography | Spain + LATAM (IESE family: IPADE, IAE, INALDE, PAD…); 20+ institutions, 40,000+ students trained | 50,000+ learners in 40+ countries (company figures); strongest in Nordic and Northern European universities, with clients in the UK, Ireland, Germany and South Korea |
When RealGame is the better choice
RealGame began as a doctoral thesis on how people learn to manage when time is running, and it still is that. If that is what you want, it is hard to beat. Choose them when:
- You teach supply chain, operations or procurement and want the clock to run: RealGame is continuous, not round-based — orders arrive, lead times elapse and stock runs out while the team is still arguing — and its ERP-style screens put students inside a company's information flow. Eureka's simulations advance in rounds.
- You want the evidence behind it: RealGame was built as a doctoral project between 1997 and 2000 and has been studied in peer-reviewed publications since; their published studies report 62% more concepts identified and applied and 65% more cause-and-effect links understood.
- You want an analytics course on data the students generate themselves: the clock-driven model produces transaction-level data that is then analysed with their business-intelligence tools, inside a network of Nordic universities such as Aalto, Turku and Oulu.
When Eureka is the better choice
Eureka wins when the simulation has to fit the calendar, the language of the classroom and the rest of the curriculum.
- Rounds fit the calendar: in RealGame every team plays at the same time, live, in a 90-minute session of up to 120 students. In Eureka teams can decide a round in class or between sessions, so an online, part-time or multi-campus cohort does not need to share the same time slot.
- You teach in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, French, Italian or Basque — or in several languages at once. RealGame publishes no version in any language other than English; Eureka's platform is in 16 languages and Express in 9, with a Spain and LATAM base (the IESE family: IPADE, IAE, INALDE, PAD).
- You want to cover more of the curriculum: 36 core simulations plus Express, spanning strategy, marketing, finance, leadership and sustainability as well as supply chain and operations, with LTI and SAML SSO into Moodle, Canvas or Blackboard (RealGame publishes no LMS integration).
Sometimes you use both
They coexist well. A school can keep RealGame in the supply-chain or operations course where real-time pressure is exactly what is being taught, and use Eureka for the strategy, marketing and finance modules, for the Spanish- and Portuguese-language programmes, and for cohorts that cannot meet at the same hour.
Frequently asked questions
Does RealGame run in rounds?
No, and that is what sets it apart. RealGame runs continuously, in real time: orders arrive, lead times elapse and stock runs out while the team is deciding, and the instructor stops the clock to hold result sessions. That means every team plays at the same moment, in a session that typically lasts 90 minutes. Eureka advances in rounds, which teams can decide in class or between sessions.
In which languages is RealGame available?
RealGame publishes no version in any language other than English: its website, simulations and teaching materials are presented in English. Eureka's platform is in 16 languages and the Express catalogue in 9.
Live real time, or rounds that fit your course?
Tell us how your class meets. If you want the whole group to live a supply chain with the clock running, in English, RealGame is a seriously good answer; if you need rounds that fit the calendar, in the language of the classroom and across more subjects, let us show you ours.
ContactLast reviewed: 2026-09