I think they teach this game at most business schools, and it seems to be a popular and eye-opening experience. If you hit wikipedia, there are a number of links to online versions you can play (some for free, some not).
In general, delays (i.e. lead times) and variations in orders will do that Beer game effect to any supply chain, no matter where it's located. Apple products are "made in china" because of various reasons -- comparative advantage, business cluster etc.
I'd highly recommend a good reading of systems dynamics (and business dynamics) for those looking for more info.
For those interested, two recommended books:
* "Clock Speed" by Charles Fine (MIT)
* "Business Dynamics" by John Sterman (also of MIT, and a great professor): http://goo.gl/K4OG (Amazon.com link)
Only by carefully coordinating resources can you get this to work - the same costs in the beer game apply here (making too much of the upstream resource (inventory) has an opportunity cost in you not being able to produce your own units, and not making enough of the upstream resource (backlog) results in poor teamwork and and having the other team eventually out-pace you.
Co-op RTS games sometimes have resource sharing, but I don't think I've ever seen one with a legitimate supply chain (maybe because it ends up being so difficult to coordinate).