BaFá BaFá

BaFá BaFá is an intercultural simulation created by R. Garry Shirts and published by Simulation Training Systems. Participants are divided into two cultures, Alpha and Beta, each learning their rules, values, and language in separate rooms. The Alpha culture is relational and hierarchical; the Beta culture is trade-oriented and uses a coded language. Observers and then visitors move between cultures to try to understand what is happening. The game aims to concretely experience the feeling of being a stranger, hasty interpretations, and the creation of stereotypes.

Walkthrough

1. 1

   Framing and simulation contract

   10 à 15 min

   The facilitator welcomes the group and announces: "You will experience an intercultural simulation, not a presentation on cultures. Your mission will be to enter an unknown social system and make sense of it." They clarify that the game may provoke surprise, frustration, or mild discomfort, and that these reactions are part of the learning material. They remind the framework: respect for individuals, confidentiality of feelings, and the right to request a break. They do not reveal the Alpha and Beta rules to preserve the discovery experience.

   Tip — Emphasise the distinction between people and roles: "What happens in the game does not define who you are; it shows how we interpret under pressure."

2. 2

   Cultural distribution and separate setup

   5 à 10 min

   The facilitator divides the group into two cultures, Alpha and Beta, with a balanced number of participants as much as possible. Each culture moves to a separate room, with no visual or auditory contact with the other. The facilitator designates, if necessary, a co-facilitator to accompany one of the two rooms, as learning must occur in parallel. They explain: "From now on, you belong to your culture; your role is to learn its rules and bring them to life." Official materials from the kit are distributed only in the relevant room.

   Tip — Prepare the rooms before the group arrives: discreet signage, closed doors, ready materials. Physical separation enhances immersion and prevents information leaks.

3. 3

   Learning cultural rules

   20 à 35 min

   In each room, the facilitator or co-facilitator teaches the rules, values, and behaviours specific to the relevant culture using the official BaFá BaFá materials. They do not freely rephrase proprietary rules: they follow the guidelines of the published kit and ensure that participants know how to apply them. They remind the general intention: Alpha is a relational and hierarchical culture; Beta is trade-oriented and uses a coded language. Participants practice among themselves until the culture operates without external explanation. The goal is to create a coherent system, not to caricature a real culture.

   Tip — Before sending visitors, test the fluidity: if participants are still asking you rule questions, extend the training rather than launching too early.

4. 4

   First silent observers

   10 à 20 min

   The facilitator sends one or more observers from one culture to the other, according to the kit's instructions and the size of the group. They tell them: "You observe without trying to understand everything immediately. Note what you see, what you feel, and the hypotheses you formulate." Observers stay in the visited culture for a short time, then return to their own. They describe the observed behaviours, the assumed rules, and the emotions felt. The original group listens and begins to build a representation of the other culture.

   Tip — Ask observers to separate three columns: observed facts, interpretations, emotions. This simple distinction greatly enriches the final debrief.

5. 5

   Active visits and attempts at integration

   20 à 40 min

   The facilitator then organises the sending of visitors who enter the other culture and attempt to participate. They announce: "Your goal is not to win against the other culture, but to understand how to act acceptably within it." Members of each culture continue to apply their rules without explicitly explaining them, in accordance with the simulation's functioning. Visitors then return to recount what they think they have understood and advise the next senders. Multiple rotations can be conducted to evolve hypotheses and strategies.

   Tip — Monitor the level of tension: if participants are laughing at the other culture or becoming too competitive, briefly refocus on curiosity and learning.

6. 6

   Hot debrief and exit from roles

   10 à 15 min

   The facilitator gathers everyone in the same room and clearly marks the end of the simulation: "The game is over; we are leaving the Alpha and Beta roles." They invite everyone to breathe, to sit with people from the other group, and to name their current state in one word. They then ask participants to briefly recount what they experienced, without debate or justification. This step serves to reduce emotional intensity before analysis. The facilitator ensures that no one remains trapped in a behaviour label played during the simulation.

   Tip — Use real first names from this stage onwards, plus the names of the cultures, to help the group return to the training framework.

7. 7

   Structured debrief: facts, interpretations, learnings

   30 à 50 min

   The facilitator leads the debrief in three stages: what was observed, what was interpreted, and then what this says about intercultural encounters. They make explicit the stereotypes that emerged: "What words did you use to describe the other group? What evidence did they rely on?" They highlight misinterpretations, the feeling of being a stranger, and adaptation strategies. Finally, they connect the experience to the professional or social situations of the participants. The aim is not to identify a better culture but to understand how we make sense with incomplete cues.

   Tip — Write on the board two columns, "observable facts" and "stories we told ourselves." This is often the most revealing moment of the game.

Variants

• Short version: limit the number of visitor rotations and dedicate at least one third of the total time to the debrief. This variant is suitable if the main objective is awareness rather than a fine exploration of adaptation strategies.
• Enhanced observers version: assign a few participants a cross-observer role, without intervention in the cultures. They document the facts, interpretations heard, and visible emotions to enrich the debrief.
• Project team version: after the debrief, ask participants to translate the learnings into cooperation rules for a multicultural or cross-functional project. Each subgroup proposes three concrete practices to avoid misunderstandings.
• Remote: not recommended as a complete equivalent, as the simulation relies heavily on physical separation, embodied interactions, and immersion. If necessary, use only a debrief inspired by the game based on testimonies of cultural strangeness, without claiming to reproduce BaFá BaFá.