Training managers on leadership skills is never easy. But there’s a tool that might be able to help: computer games.

It’s one of the latest trends in management training: the use of computerized simulations for giving instruction or testing skills. There are a lot of vendors out there offering the service. Here are some of the big ones:

Capsim – offers products for both business schools and corporate customers, focusing on executives and managers.

Manage for Growth – makes simulations for general business management, as well as for specific functional areas, like sales and finance.

Forio – also sells simulation development software that lets customers build their own simulations.

With most vendors, you can either buy pre-made simulations or work with them to create customized modules. Typically, the simulations present hypothetical scenarios, ask the managers to make a decision, and then show the likely business results of those decisions.

Samsung recently adopted the software as a way to quickly train high-potential employees in leadership skills. The employees are put into small teams that perform simulations of a variety of management duties. You can more about the company’s efforts here.

The software isn’t cheap, especially if you go the customized route. But it’s a good way to get a lot of learning done in a little time. Rather than tell managers, “In this situation, do this,” they can learn by (almost) doing, which helps for making the lessons stick.