  The aim of cosmological simulations is to reproduce the properties of the
observed Universe, serving as tools to test structure and galaxy formation
models. Constrained simulations of our local cosmological region up to a few
hundred Mpc/h , the local Universe, are designed to reproduce the actual cosmic
web of structures as observed. A question that often arises is how to judge the
quality of constrained simulations against the observations of the Local
Universe. Here we introduce the Local Universe model (LUM), a new methodology,
whereby many constrained simulations can be judged and the ''best'' initial
conditions can be identified. By characterising the Local Universe as a set of
rich clusters, the model identifies haloes that serve as simulated counterparts
to the observed clusters. Their merit is determined against a null hypothesis,
the probability that such a counterpart could be identified in a random,
unconstrained simulation. This model is applied to 100 constrained simulations
using the Cosmicflows-3 data. Cluster counterparts are found for all
constrained simulations, their distribution of separation from the true
observed cluster position and their mass distribution are investigated. Lastly,
the ''best'' constrained simulation is selected using the LUM and discussed in
more detail.
