Overview
Activities transform your system dynamics models into engaging interactive experiences. Instead of simply experimenting with parameters, users step through a structured sequence of decisions, seeing how their choices affect outcomes in real-time. Activities are ideal for:- Educational games — Students make decisions and compete for the best outcome
- Assessments — Test understanding by having learners optimize a system
- Executive simulations — Decision-makers experience consequences of strategic choices
- Guided explorations — Walk users through a model step-by-step
Key Concepts
Steps and Turns
Activities are divided into discrete steps (or turns). At each step:- The player reviews the current state of the simulation
- They adjust available parameters (sliders) to make decisions
- They click Commit & Advance to lock in their choices
- The simulation runs forward by the configured time increment
- Results are displayed, and the next step begins
Objectives and Scoring
Activities can include an optional objective that gives players a goal to work toward:| Objective Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | Hit a specific target value | ”Reach 1,000,000 customers” |
| Maximize | Get the highest possible value | ”Maximize profit by end of game” |
| Minimize | Get the lowest possible value | ”Minimize carbon emissions” |
Parameter Visibility
Model creators control which parameters are visible during an activity:- Visible parameters — The levers players can adjust
- Locked parameters — Hidden or fixed values that simplify the experience
Creating Activities
Activities are created and managed from the Model Settings page, in the Activities (Game Mode) section.Step 1: Open Model Settings
- Navigate to your model in the Model Playground
- Click the gear icon or go to Settings from the model menu
- Scroll to the Activities (Game Mode) section
Step 2: Create a New Activity
Click Create Activity to open the activity editor:Enter Basic Information
- Activity Title — A descriptive name (e.g., “Supply Chain Challenge”)
- Description — What users will learn or accomplish
Configure Steps
- Number of Steps — How many rounds/turns to play (default: 10)
- Time per Step — Simulation time units per step (default: 1)
Set an Objective (Optional)
- Target Variable — The model variable to track (exact name from your model)
- Objective Type — Reach, Maximize, or Minimize
- Target Value — For “Reach” objectives, the value to achieve
Example: Creating a Business Growth Game
Let’s create an activity for a business model where players try to reach 1 million in revenue:| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | ”Growth Challenge” |
| Description | ”Grow your startup to $1M revenue in 2 years” |
| Number of Steps | 24 |
| Time per Step | 1 (month) |
| Target Variable | ”Revenue” |
| Objective Type | Reach |
| Target Value | 1000000 |
Managing Activities
Editing Activities
- In the Activities section, find the activity you want to modify
- Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the activity card
- Select Edit
- Make your changes and click Update Activity
Deleting Activities
- Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the activity card
- Select Delete
- Confirm the deletion
Playing Activities
Starting a Game
There are several ways to access an activity:- From Model Settings — Click Play Activity in the activity’s dropdown menu
- Direct URL — Share the activity link:
app.veydra.io/model/{modelId}/activity/{activityId} - From the Model — If activities exist, users can access them from the model menu
The Game Interface
When playing an activity, you’ll see a specialized interface:Activity Header
Shows the activity title, current step (e.g., “Step 3 of 12”), score, and objective progress
Game Controls
Parameter sliders filtered to only show the controls relevant to the activity
Visualization
Charts showing how the simulation evolves with each step
Commit Button
Lock in your decisions and advance to the next step
Making Decisions
At each step:- Review the current simulation state in the charts
- Adjust the parameter sliders to make your decisions
- Commit & Advance to lock in choices and run the simulation forward
- Observe how your decisions affected the outcome
- Repeat until all steps are complete
Game Completion
When you complete all steps, you’ll see:- Your final score
- Whether you achieved the objective
- A summary of your performance
Sharing Activities
Direct Links
Each activity has a unique URL that can be shared:LMS Integration
Activities work seamlessly with LTI-enabled Learning Management Systems:- Configure the LTI connection in your LMS
- Use the activity URL as the launch target
- Students access the game directly from their course
Best Practices
Designing Effective Activities
Keep it focused
Keep it focused
Limit visible parameters to 3-5 key decisions. Too many controls overwhelm players and dilute learning objectives.
Choose meaningful objectives
Choose meaningful objectives
Select objectives that connect to real-world outcomes players care about — revenue, health metrics, environmental impact, etc.
Balance difficulty
Balance difficulty
Set targets that are achievable but challenging. Too easy feels trivial; too hard feels unfair.
Test your activity
Test your activity
Play through your activity yourself before sharing. Make sure the pace feels right and the objective is reachable.
Activity Duration Guidelines
| Use Case | Recommended Steps | Time per Step |
|---|---|---|
| Quick demo | 5-10 | 1 |
| Classroom exercise | 12-20 | Varies |
| Executive simulation | 10-15 | Quarter or Month |
| Deep exploration | 20-30 | Varies |
Technical Notes
Session Management
- Each play-through creates a new game session
- Sessions track: current step, world state, score, and player decisions
- Sessions cannot currently be saved/resumed — complete in one sitting
Model Versioning
Activities always use the latest published version of the model. If you update your model:- Existing activities automatically use the new version
- Ensure parameter names remain consistent to avoid breaking activities
Future releases will add support for saving/resuming sessions and activity versioning.
Troubleshooting
”Target variable not found”
The objective variable name must exactly match a variable in your model. Check:- Capitalization matches exactly
- No extra spaces
- The variable exists in the model output
Activity not showing objectives
Make sure you:- Entered a target variable name
- Selected an objective type
- Saved the activity
Charts not updating
After advancing a step, charts should update automatically. If not:- Check your browser console for errors
- Refresh the page and start a new session