Blue Ocean Strategy with BOSS: A Business Strategy Game
Create Business Innovators
The world-renowned Blue Ocean Strategy preps both students and professionals alike to break free of the competition and succeed in their current or future job roles. The Blue Ocean Strategy Simulation (BOSS) is the perfect immersive learning tool to implement Blue Ocean theory and understand how it works in a real business context.
This highly innovative and effective business strategy game will help participants develop the skills they need to lead a BOSS initiative in a company.
A simulation designed with the Blue Ocean Strategy authors
The Blue Ocean Strategy simulation was created with extensive input from the authors of the bestselling book Blue Ocean Strategy. Your course participants will truly experience the power of Blue Ocean Strategy by applying the theory and using the methodologies and tools described in the book.
This highly innovative and effective business strategy game will help participants develop the skills they need to lead a BOSS initiative in a company.
Key Concepts
Break away from the competition
Create a new market space
Seize new growth
Put into practice
A new approach to positioning
Growing an industry by growing demand
Reconstructing market boundaries
Desegmenting markets
Pursuing both differentiation and low cost
Strategic pricing plans
What Participants Will Learn
• Apply the Blue Ocean Strategy framework to a realistic business case under time pressure.
• Build and interpret a Strategy Canvas to map current and aspirational positioning.
• Use the ERRC grid to redesign a value proposition without falling into incremental thinking.
• Identify non-customers and uncover latent demand most competitors ignore.
• Make trade-offs between cost reduction and value differentiation in real time.
• Translate strategic intent into operational decisions across pricing, channels and service.
• Pitch and defend strategic choices to peers — building the executive presence senior leaders expect.
Designed for Real Business Impact
MBA and Executive Education Programs
Top business schools use BOSS to anchor their strategy and innovation modules. The simulation pairs naturally with case studies and creates a high-energy capstone that deepens learning across the cohort.
Corporate Strategy and Innovation Teams
Strategy and innovation teams use BOSS to align around a shared language of value innovation before tackling real growth initiatives. The simulation surfaces team dynamics and decision-making patterns that would otherwise stay invisible.
Leadership Development Cohorts
High-potential leaders sharpen their strategic instincts in a low-risk environment. BOSS reveals how individuals approach ambiguity, weigh trade-offs and integrate quantitative and qualitative inputs — all behaviors that matter for senior roles.
BOSS Features
- Modern interface & intuitive navigation
- 100% web-based
- Available in English & Spanish
- 6-12 hours decision-making
Competition:
- Team vs. AI (Indirect)
Turn your students into savvy innovators with
BOSS simulation today
The industry
B2C durable goods
Participants work in teams to manage a fictitious consumer electronics company over a six-year period.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Blue Ocean Strategy?
Blue Ocean Strategy is an award-winning business strategy developed by INSEAD Professors Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne.
The main goal of the Blue Ocean Strategy is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space and create new demand.
It is about creating and capturing uncontested market space, thereby making the competition irrelevant.
It is based on the view that market boundaries and industry structure are not a given and can be reconstructed by the actions and beliefs of industry players.
Why a Blue Ocean Strategy Simulation?
The Blue Ocean Strategy Simulation is intended to develop a solid understanding of Blue Ocean Strategic logic and the use of the key tools and techniques.
There are several advantages offered by simulation games as pedagogical tools over alternative methods.
The following words are often used to describe these advantages: increased motivation and involvement of participants, learning from feedback, a healthy sense of inter team competition and within a team, team building and improved group decision-making. As a simulation, BOSS has the ability to generate all these advantages.
It is recommended that BOSS be used after participants have already read the book Blue Ocean Strategy by Professors Kim and Mauborgne.
In addition, familiarity with strategic decision making is helpful, though not an absolute requirement.
How long will the Blue Ocean Strategy Simulation take to complete?
The Blue Ocean Strategy Simulation takes between 6-12 hours to complete.
Is the simulation aligned with Kim and Mauborgne's framework?
Yes. BOSS is officially licensed by the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy and reflects their methodology, including value innovation, the Strategy Canvas, the ERRC grid and the six paths framework.
Who designed the BOSS simulation?
BOSS was developed by StratX in collaboration with INSEAD faculty and the authors of Blue Ocean Strategy. It is continuously updated to reflect the latest pedagogical research and market dynamics.
Can the simulation be facilitated remotely?
Yes. The platform supports fully remote, hybrid and in-person delivery. Facilitator dashboards, breakout rooms and live results tracking are designed for distributed cohorts.
What instructors say about BOSS
"BOSS is a strong product; one that is effective in teaching concepts practically. The structure of the simulation is such that it gives the participant an opportunity to design and implement a Blue Ocean offering after applying competitive strategies to survive in a Red Ocean.
Our experience is that simulations are an engaging pedagogy to internalize frameworks and our use of BOSS led to an enjoyable learning experience for the class and for the instructors.”
- Prof. Vasant. Sivaraman, S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, India