tabletop exercise
n.— «Emergency services, voluntary agencies, utility companies, health authorities, the Environment Agency and the RAF simulated what they would do to help the area recover in the event of a major flood. Exercise Brighid, as it was called, was a “tabletop exercise” based on the scenario of a coastal flood affecting the Taw/Torridge estuary and it focused on Barnstaple and Bideford.» —“Exercise prepares for flood emergency” This is North Devon (Barnstable, England) Nov. 17, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
There was a time when William Shakespeare was just another little seven-year-old in school. Classes in his day were demanding — and all in Latin. A new book argues that this rigorous curriculum actually nurtured the creativity that later flourished...