Free buying and selling game
Objectives of the game
This free sales and negotiation game was developed by Centrum Efektywności, a Polish company with extensive experience in sales, negotiation, and procurement training. Since 2003, the company has been creating training programs, business simulations, and interactive workshops for businesses and universities. The game is intended for university lecturers, business schools, and trainers who want to help participants develop their negotiation skills through realistic, hands-on classroom simulations.
This game teaches the core principles of effective negotiation through practical experience. Participants learn how to negotiate conditionally, evaluate the overall outcome rather than individual concessions, and understand that every agreement remains open until the entire negotiation is finalized. By experiencing how negotiations evolve and new demands emerge, students develop a more strategic approach that strengthens their sales, procurement, and negotiation skills.
Negotiation is a strategic game in which both the seller and the buyer aim to achieve the best possible outcome. This simulation allows participants to practice realistic negotiation techniques and improve their decision-making skills. Keep these principles in mind:
- • Do not give in too quickly. Make sure the other party feels resistance from your side. If the other party receives concessions too easily, they will start raising their demands and, fueled by dissatisfaction, may walk away from the negotiating table. You should never accept the first offer. However, there is no hard and fast rule on how many times you should refuse. Negotiation is an art, so you must observe the reactions of the opposing party and act accordingly.
- • Never give anything away for free. Act as though everything the other party wants from you is important to you. Therefore, always expect something in return.
- • Never show excitement or satisfaction. When negotiators see that the other side is happy with how things are going, they might assume they are being too soft. Consequently, giving off these signals can make the rest of the negotiation much harder.
- • Focus on the overall deal.If, during the negotiation, you conclude that the overall outcome is not favorable, you have the right to return to previous agreements and seek to improve them. Until the agreement is signed, you may revisit and change any prior understanding, even if you have already reached partial agreements.
Game characteristics
Team setup
Students should be divided into pairs. One person will play the role of the seller, and the other will play the buyer. If there is an odd number of students, you can have two people play as either the seller or the buyer, wh ile the opposing side plays alone. In this case, the two people will support each other while playing against one opponent. Because of this, the game will always be easy to implement.
Preparation
Students should thoroughly read the game description. They must be warned to keep their role sheets confidential from the other party. They should not show their priorities to the opposing side. It is essential to learn to keep the level of importance of individual negotiation issues confidential. Next, students should plan which topics they want to start with and how they want to conclude the negotiation.
The negotiation process
Once both parties are ready, the negotiations should begin. This game is designed to last 30 to 45 minutes. It is highly recommended that students do not rush the negotiations or shorten the game time. Good results are most often achieved by putting the appropriate amount of pressure on the other side. This game also teaches participants not to rush while negotiating.
Scoring and evaluation
After completing the game, students should be asked to write their names on the sheets and calculate their total points. Please keep in mind that some options include negative points, which must be subtracted.
Once you know the scores of all the teams, you can compare the sellers' results with those of other sellers, and the buyers' results with those of other buyers. You should not compare the seller's score with the buyer's score, as their individual scoring systems are different.
You may offer grade incentives (partial grades) for the best-performing sellers and buyers. However, students should be informed about this competition beforehand. This will increase the dynamics of the game and motivate students to compete.
Alternative scenario (extended time)
If the instructor has more time available, the game can be repeated. However, in this case, new role sheets should be distributed and the team compositions should be changed. This allows students to gain new experiences and observe the behaviors of different participants.
Post game debrief
After the game has ended, ask the students a few questions and encourage them to draw conclusions about negotiation, persuasion techniques, and sales. Below are some sample discussion questions::
[A] What impact did it have on the final outcome of the negotiation that you constantly assessed the value of all agreements (looking at the overall result)?
[B] What impact did conditional negotiating ("If you give me this, I’ll give you that") have on the final outcome?
[C] What impact did it have on the negotiation outcome that you resisted and didn't agree the first time around?
[D] What negotiation techniques could be used during this game?
[E] What persuasion techniques can be applied in this game?
[F] What lessons can be learned from this game?
Game download and terms of use
Free license for educational use. This material is free to use for educational purposes, on the condition that an active backlink to the source website https://www.cepolska.pl is published on the course, department, faculty, or university website. Redistribution of this material is permitted only if this copyright notice and these terms of use remain unchanged. Commercial use requires prior written permission.
Please place the link on your institution's website, an online syllabus, or any other webpage regularly accessed by your students.
Copy the ready-to-use HTML code for your website:
<a href="https://www.cepolska.pl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.cepolska.pl</a>
Open free game materials
The complete guide, rules, and all necessary game components are available to open and download in a convenient PDF format.
Open PDF fileAbout the author of this game
Company - Created by Centrum Efektywności – a Polish company specializing in sales training, negotiation training and business consulting.
Author - Mariusz Głowacki, PhD (graduated from the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw).
Specialization - Business negotiation, sales techniques, and procurement techniques.
Consulting experience - Over 30 years of consulting experience, including the successful completion of projects for more than 150 companies. He specializes in implementing consulting projects focused on improving sales performance.
Teaching experience - University lecturer specializing in negotiation and corporate trainer delivering programs for professional salespeople and procurement specialists. He has trained more than 10,000 managers, sales professionals, and procurement specialists.
Professional programs (Poland) - Apart from academic work, he conducts highly effective B2B workshops for companies. Learn more about his flagship programs:
szkolenia dla sprzedawców (sales training),
dedicated szkolenia dla handlowców w sklepie (retail sales training),
practical szkolenia dla przedstawicieli handlowych (sales representative training),
and results-driven szkolenia dla kupców (buyer training).
