Drafts
To write and review the challenge before publishing it.
€0
Write a challenge freeIncludes
- MARA AI writes the challenge from a role or a problem
- You edit brief, criteria, deliverables and timeline
- No live challenge
Business games on real cases, for companies and universities.
On MARA a business game is a challenge in stages: teams work on a real problem for several weeks, with a submission and a deadline for each stage, and your people evaluate the submissions. MARA AI writes the story, brief, criteria, stages and timeline in minutes. Drafts are free, and you pay the subscription, from €67 a month, only while the business game is live.
- Free drafts, you pay only when it is live
- Your people evaluate, not the AI
- A verifiable certificate for everyone who submits
Used at
What is a business game? A team competition built on a business situation: a product launch, a marketing plan, a cost cut. Teams make decisions in stages over several weeks, and each stage builds on the previous one. You see how a team reasons over time, as well as the final result.
Off-the-shelf business simulations use the same economic model for everyone. On MARA the case is real: you describe it.
Business game, hackathon or hiring challenge?
| Hackathon | Business game | Hiring challenge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | A few hours to a few days; online, several weeks | Several weeks, in stages | Set by you, in proportion to the role |
| Deliverable | One final proposal | One per stage, each with its own deadline | A typical piece of work for the role |
| Who evaluates | The jury you choose | The jury you choose, on the stage submissions and, if you want, a final presentation | The people hiring for the role |
| Choose it when | You want ideas or prototypes fast | You want to see how a team decides over time | You need to pick who to meet for a role |
In all three, criteria are fixed in advance and apply to everyone. MARA gives no scores. Read more on hackathons and hiring challenges.
How to create a business game on MARA
01
Describe the situation.
Company, market, problem. MARA AI asks a few questions and proposes two directions.02
Pick a direction.
MARA AI writes the business game: story, brief, rules, criteria, stages with their submissions, timeline.03
Edit and approve.
Change stages, deadlines and materials. Nothing goes live until you approve it.04
Choose who takes part.
Publish the business game to the MARA student community, or keep it closed. A closed business game is reserved for a university's students, who sign in with their university email, or for whoever receives the private link. If you publish for a partner university's students, you use the code the university gives you.05
Follow the stages and evaluate.
Announcements and the timeline bring the new data for each stage; you answer questions from one page. Your people review the stage submissions on the criteria set in advance and, if you want, a final presentation. Everyone who submits gets a verifiable certificate and finds the work in their portfolio.
Two sample structures
Marketing a product, over four weeks
| Week | Stage | Submission | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Analysis | Market, competitors, audience: 5 slides | Friday, 6 pm |
| 2 | Strategy | Positioning and measurable goals | Friday, 6 pm |
| 3 | Plan | Actions, budget, calendar | Friday, 6 pm |
| 4 | Final | Presentation of the plan to your people | Friday, 6 pm |
Delivery costs at a manufacturer, over five weeks
| Week | Stage | Submission | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diagnosis | Map of current transport and warehouse costs | Friday, 6 pm |
| 2 | Options | Two alternatives compared on cost, time and risk | Friday, 6 pm |
| 3 | Twist | An announcement changes the scenario (a supplier closes): revised plan on one page | Wednesday, 6 pm |
| 4 | Decision | Final choice with budget and calendar | Friday, 6 pm |
| 5 | Final | Presentation to logistics and purchasing | Friday, 6 pm |
In both examples each stage opens with an announcement in the challenge that brings the new data, and has its own submission on MARA with its own deadline. The jury evaluates the stage submissions and, if you want, a final presentation. You decide the structure: MARA AI proposes a first version you can edit.
How do you use a business game in a university course?
A professor or a career services office can write a business game on a real case, their own or a partner company's. They reserve it for the university's students, who sign in with their university email, or for whoever receives the private link. A professor who works with a partner company can write it for the company, which approves it before it goes live. Alternatively, the university gives the company a code, and the company uses it to publish the business game for the university's students. Students never pay, and conditions for universities are agreed with the team. Keep the stages inside the semester, away from exam periods. At the end, everyone who submits gets a verifiable certificate for LinkedIn and finds the work in their portfolio. The guide on hackathons and challenges on your CV shows how to list them.
Who it is for
Companies
That want to watch students or candidates work on their problem for several weeks before hiring.Universities, career services and professors
That want a real case inside a course.Student associations and Junior Enterprises
That run student competitions.
MARA was also used for a business game by H-FARM College with The Lux Collective and for CX Campus.
Pricing
Launch
To publish your first challenge.
€67/month
Everything in Drafts, plus
- 1 live challenge
- MARA community, a university’s students or private link
- Workspace and participant submissions
- Evaluation by your people on criteria set in advance
- Verifiable certificates for everyone who submits
- Export to Excel or ZIP
Growth
RecommendedFor teams that run several at once.
€109/month
Everything in Launch, plus
- 3 live challenges at once
- About €36 a month per challenge, instead of €67
- Announcements, questions and candidates of every challenge in one place
EnterpriseOn contract
For large companies and programmes with many challenges live at once.
VAT excluded. No publishing fee and no fee per participant. Participants never pay.
For a shorter event, read the guide on how to organize a hackathon. Back to the MARA home.
Frequently asked questions.
01What is the difference between a business game and a hackathon?
A hackathon lasts from a few hours to a few days in person, or several weeks online, and asks for one final proposal. A business game usually lasts several weeks and runs in stages: each stage builds on the previous one and has its own submission, with its own deadline. On MARA the stages sit inside the same challenge, and announcements and the timeline bring the new data for each stage.
02Is MARA a business simulation?
No. Off-the-shelf business simulations run on a ready-made economic model. On MARA the business game starts from a real problem you describe, with real deliverables your people evaluate.
03Do I need to code to take part in a business game?
Usually not. The organizer sets the deliverables, and in a business game they are often analyses, plans and presentations. Check what the brief asks for before you sign up.
04How much does it cost?
You pay the subscription only while the business game is live: Launch at €67 a month for 1 live challenge, Growth at €109 a month for 3 at once, Enterprise on contract. Drafts are free, prices exclude VAT and students never pay. Conditions for universities are agreed with the team.
05Can a professor run one for a course?
Yes, the professor writes the business game on MARA and reserves it for the university's students, who sign in with their university email, or for whoever receives the private link. A professor who works with a partner company can also write it for the company, which approves it before it goes live. Conditions for universities are agreed with the team: write to info@marachallenge.com.
Your next challenge can start today.
Write your challenge in a few minutes. Drafts are free.
No commitment. You pay only when the challenge is live.