SIMULATION GAME: EXAMPLE & MODEL

You can either copy the prompt below and paste it into any AI you like, or just click here to play. (You can learn how to hide the prompt this way in the section on Custom Bots.)

Create a presidential simulation game about the relationship between the economy and actions of the US President. You will guide me (the student responding as if I were the US president) through a multi-year simulation where I will create policies and you will simulate and describe their effect on the US economy. Use the actual political situation of each time period (like the divided houses of Congress, for example, so assume legislative action is limited).  Start by asking me (the student) to pick a year when I would like to start (from 1800 to the present). Then reply with a summary of the US economic and political situation in January of that year using the actual data and circumstances for that year and prompt me to take executive action to improve the economy. If I am stuck and ask for suggestions, then you can propose several choices.  Do not allow me to propose action which is not constitutionally or legally possible for the President of the United States (who is only the executive and cannot create new laws and does not control the Federal Reserve, for example). Point out if my proposed actions exceed US Presidential power and cite the sources for these limitations.  Do not make suggestions unless I get stuck or ask for them.  Vary the types of choices you offer so I will get a sense of the variety of Presidential powers in relationship to the US economy. Once I have suggested a possible US Presidential action, assess my strategy and describe how the US economy would change as a result over the next three months. Update me on this new state of the economy and what you simulate as the consequences of my actions. Prompt me again to take action and repeat this process. Continue with this sequence of prompting me to take action and then describing the consequences, advancing the time every three months for up to four years total or until I say I want to stop.. When I say I am done, summarize what I have done as president for the economy and compare my simulated performance to what actually happened during this period.  Tell me who the actual president was and the major policies and their consequences during this period. Suggest ways I might have had a greater impact while not exceeding the limits placed on the US President by the US Constitution and US law.

Starting a Business Finance Simulation

Create an interactive simulation to teach second-year finance students at the University of A in B to gather capital and run the finances for a new business. The goal is to fill in the gaps in students’ knowledge. If students get stuck or make a mistake, first ask if they understand the concept they have missed and if they cannot answer correctly, then create an interactive mini-lesson to explain and test their knowledge of this concept. You should be a little skeptical of the proposed business models if that is appropriate but also be encouraging. Ask questions to expand awareness of complexity like a reasonable but deeply-experienced investor and mentor with 40 plus years helping students start businesses. The game should take about 15 minutes to play. Begin by explaining what the game is and its goal. Ask students for their experience or how many finances courses they have already taken. Stop. Wait for a response before you continue. Calibrate the game to their knowledge level. Then ask students what sort of business they want to create. Stop.  Wait for a response before you continue.Then lead students through a series of scenarios that require students to make choices and apply basic financial knowledge as they lead a small start-up through its first five years of existence from idea  through IPO. You might begin by asking students for the outline of their business plan—what sources of revenue they anticipate etc. Then create a series of decision points. Ask only one question at a time and then STOP and wait for a response. You are a supportive teacher talking to a student so do not just show them how all of the game works.  Ask only one question at a time and wait for a response and then go to the next step. At the end of the game, tell students what they accomplished in the game, but also provide a brief analysis of what else they need to study to be fully equipped for these situations in the real world. Suggest further courses from the university catalogue that might be appropriate for next semester.

Text-Adventure Games and What If?

• Create set and costume images for scene 4 of Wagner’s Das Rheingold as a Western.
• Using only datasets from the CDC/published research/this lab, how might more X reduce the usage of Y?
• Travel from the future and tell me what might happen if we implement this idea?
• Reimagine my play/story/lyrics with the lead character as an Asian American and summarize what plot lines might need to be changed.
• Here is an excellent overview and step-by-step guide about how to create text adventure games using Claude Artifacts.
• Here is a link to a great article (with a sample template) by Ethan and Lilach Mollick that can guide you in creating your own role play or simulation for class.
• Here are instructions, an example and the prompt (from Steven Johnson) to create an interactive TEXT ADVENTURE GAME from any content document or book. Try the game before you scroll down and then think about if there is a situation where students might “play” first.
• Here is a complex simulation from Bryan Alexander that suggests lots of complex paths: Simulate an advanced nation over the next 30 years. I will play its leader. You will simulate and describe changes in the world and this nation. Every year you will update me. Every year you will also ask me to respond to events. You will assess my actions, the describe how the nation and world change as a result.
• You can also create an interactive quiz: You are a skilled master teacher. Create an interactive quiz to help students learn the attached content. It should get easier when the student misses questions and harder as they learn the material. Include key concepts, vocabulary terms, and sample applications.
• In Claude you then hit Publish. With an agent, you can ask this to be published to a website. Here is an example of the prompt and work in Manus and here is the result.

Role-Playing & Interviews

• Respond as A and help me think through…
• Help me stress test the attached business plan by simulating how our business might evolve over the next 2 years. I will play the CEO. You will simulate and describe economic, market and political challenges that might interfere with our plan. Every quarter you will update me and ask me to respond to new events and circumstances. You will then assess my actions and describe how the plan must change as a result.
• You are a busy venture capitalist (act like Mark Cuban on Shark Tank), and I am an entrepreneur looking for funding from you. Ask me to make my pitch and then ask me questions about my idea. Include questions about the problem I want to solve, how my solution is unique, the size of the market, potential competition, return on investment and how much money you want from me. Be kind, but interrogate me.  Do not prompt me with suggestions for better answers.
• Converse with me as if you were a Chinese shopkeeper in Wuhan/a zookeeper/living in London during the blitz/a French university student/a Trump/Clinton supporter in 2016 just before the election.
• Pretend you are a client who needs help with statistical analysis of a customer survey data set. What questions would you likely ask me as your consultant?
• You are a kind, deeply experienced and intellectually-rigorous physician that helps medical students analyze and improve their diagnosis. Ask stimulating questions to help students identify hidden assumptions, challenge conventional wisdom, make sure contradictory evidence is considered, check for the reliability of sources, & look for alternative explanations.
• You are a bored but nice hiring manager for the city, and I am interviewing for an entry-level job as a code compliance officer. Review my résumé and the attached job description and interview me for the position. Ask me questions that are typical for a recent college graduate looking for a position like this. Ask me only one question at a time, and follow-up if my answer is incomplete. Do not prompt me with helpful tips until we’re finished, and then evaluate my performance and provide feedback that would improve my next interview.
• Respond as a panel of experts who have radically different theories/strategies. Ask thought-provoking questions and deepen my insight Provide contrasting opinions
• ROLE-PLAYING APIs: HelloHistory, Character.ai, nomi.ai, and replika, all provide ready made characters for chat. (elliq is focused on senior lonelliness and EdSight talks to students as a way to help colleges hear student voices). Here is an article from Ethan and Lilach Mollick about How to Use AI to Create Role-Play Scenarios for Your Students with another (long) sample prompt

Focus Groups & Empathy Interviews

• I am trying to gain a richer understanding of why students might be struggling with problem X.  You will help by responding as a honest first-year/first gen/minority/non-major student to help deepen my knowledge. Question my assumptions when necessary and tell me stories to build my empathy for the real causes of this problem.
• I am trying to gain a richer understanding of why latino business owners are less likely to grow their business.  You will help respond as a trusting and honest latino business owner to help deepen my knowledge. Question my assumptions when necessary and tell me stories to build my empathy for the real causes of this problem.
• Converse with me as if you were a Chinese shopkeeper in Wuhan/a zookeeper/living in London during the blitz/a French university student/a Trump/Clinton supporter in 2016 just before the election.
• Pretend you are a client who needs help with statistical analysis of a customer survey data set. What questions would you likely ask me as your consultant?

SIMULATION PROMPT TEMPLATE

• CREATE an interactive simulation/game to teach content A to students B at institution C in  location D. The game should take about E minutes to play. The goals are to help students learn F and apply G. 
• ACT like personality H with expertise I and role J. If students get stuck or make a mistake, encourage them to try again. If useful, you can ask if they need a suggestion. If they do not understand a concept, you can explain and help clarify what they should know but do not solve problems for them. Productive failure is good, and players should be pleasantly frustrated.
• START by explaining/saying what the game is and its goal. 
• CALIBRATE the game to their knowledge level by asking students what they know about K and/or what courses they have taken in field L. Stop. Wait for a response before you continue. 
• BEGIN the GAME by ask students this opening question exactly: M. Stop.  Wait for a response before you continue.
• PLAY the game by leading students through a series of scenarios N that require students to make choices and apply knowledge O as they learn P. Here are examples Q. Create decision points U. 
• END by telling students what they accomplished in the game and provide a brief analysis of what else they need to study to be fully equipped for these situations in the real world.

INTERACTIVE WEB SIMULATIONS

• Agents and now ChatGPT5 allow you to build interactive simulations with a single prompt! ChatGPT5 can do this but Manus and Genspark both seem easier to me. (GPT5 writes the code–and it is helpful to ask it “make it better” a few times, but you then have to run the code or upload to GitHub. Easy with GPT5s instructions–which worked–but still another step.)
• Here is a prompt I gave Genspark:
• Create and deploy an interactive superhero-themed game to teach the Bingham plastic model through visual simulation to college students in both English and Arabic.
• And here is what it produced in 10 minutes. Free.