Simulations are not a universal pedagogy and in some situations are unlikely to offer suitable learning opportunities. With this in mind, it is possible to identify three main benefits of using simulations, which in turn suggest where they might be used.
The benefits of using simulations
Firstly, simulations offer a very different way of integrating substantive knowledge about a subject. By taking on roles and requiring active engagement with the constraints within which actors have to operate, students can develop a much finer appreciation of situations that it might be possible to communicate through more conventional approaches.
Secondly, students can generalise from the specific instance of the simulation to develop a range of technical, interpersonal and social skills. This can cover research, presentation, public-speaking, negotiation, report-writing, management of data and teamwork, depending upon what the simulation covers. While usually incidental to the simulation per se, such skills are of clear value in post-education environments.
Finally, simulations can be a good way to break the ice for groups and subsequently to build group identities. This is very rarely the explicit or primary purpose of a simulation, but the shared experience is considerable and can have lasting impacts on student engagement.
When to use simulations
With these three purposes in mind, several options offer them as potential sites for simulations.
Most clearly, simulations are very good for exploring relatively complex topics, with many dimensions and factors. This might involve understanding of negotiations and group debates. The recreation of historic and contemporary events or of possible future actions are both possibilities here.
In situations where the main focus is the development of skills (most obviously in negotiation), simulations can be a very helpful approach. Here some care in needed to make sure that while space is given to skills, the simulation still works on its own terms.
Simulations can also be used to convey much simpler concepts (e.g. the state of nature and two level games are captured in two of the simulations). However, the relatively low density of this pedagogy means that it tends to be a relatively slow (if ultimately more memorable) learning experience, as compared to more conventional teaching.
In summary, simulations can potentially play wherever there is scope to stimulate student learning in an environment with emergent properties (i.e. one where ideas and concepts logically develop from underlying rules).