Game Storm Business games

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We received electronic rights to the book “Game Storm. Games in which the business plays . "



Creating a favorable environment for creative thinking and innovation is not so easy. How to implement it in the conditions of your company? The answer to this question may surprise you: by searching for new ideas in the game. This book contains more than 80 games that help break down barriers, improve communication skills and generate new ideas, insights and strategies. The authors borrowed ideas and tools from world-class professionals whose teams perform real miracles. As a result, this unique collection of games appeared that inspired action and creativity and structured the working space.

Construction of games
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First you need to learn how to create your own games, suitable for specific goals.

Let's start with a general idea. Each game has a form. It can be compared with a pencil stub, sharpened on both sides. The goal of the game is the transition from the initial state A to the final state B. It is between the points A and B that the pencil core is located - and you should place your construction in this form.

• The final state. Construction of games should start from the end: you must know the purpose of the game. What tasks should be solved with the completion of the game? What will the victory look like? How do participants get out of the game? All this relates to the result of the game, its final state. I like to think of this state in tangible terms as a kind of prototype, project plan, or list of ideas. I think you have already remembered that tangibility helps you to feel the goal better, gives you a feeling of satisfaction. After finishing the work, the team can see what it has created.
• Initial state It is equally important to know what the initial conditions look like. What do we know? What we do not know? Who is in the team? What resources does the team have?

Having gathered as much information as possible about the initial and final states (remember that often the goals are vague!), You can do the filling of the game form. As in a good movie, the game can be divided into three parts.



In the first act, the installation of the scene, familiarity with the players, the development of themes, ideas and information about the new world takes place. Then comes the time of research and experiments with these topics. In the third act, they come to conclusions, make decisions and plan what happens next - this could be either the next game or something else.

Each of the stages of the game has its own purpose.

• Opening. The entire first act is devoted to this aspect - the discovery of the intentions of the participants, the discovery of opportunities. Participants appear in the room, cards are laid out on the table, outlines information and ideas. This stage can be compared with an explosion of fantasy and possibilities.
  
  The more ideas you put forward at this stage, the more material for the work will be in the future. There is no place for critical thinking or skepticism, it is a time of creativity, brainstorming, energy and optimism. The key word of the stage is “divergent” (discovery), since we need the broadest possible perspective. A new world should be populated with as many different ideas as possible.

• Study of. Having filled the space with ideas and energy, you need to explore them and conduct various experiments. It is at this stage that the search for patterns and analogies begins, attempts are made to look at well-known things from a different angle, ideas are sifted out and sorted, models are built and tested, etc. The key word of this stage is “derivative” (study). You are trying to create conditions that will allow unexpected, surprising and amazing things to appear.

• Completion. In the last act, there comes a time for conclusions - decisions, actions and next steps. It's time to evaluate ideas, look at them with a critical or realistic look. You can not realize everything and chase after every opportunity. You should choose the most promising. What is the best way to spend your time and energy? The key word of this stage is “convergent” (completion): you narrow the field of view as much as possible by choosing the most promising things for future work.

When developing an exercise or a workshop, think like a composer who distributes different types of activities to achieve the desired harmony between creativity, reflection, reflection, energy, and decision making. There is no one correct way to design games. Each company and each country has its own unique culture, each group has its own dynamics. Some can move faster than others, while others need more time to think.

For example, in Finland you may encounter long pauses, during which the interlocutors consider the answer to the question. People with other cultural characteristics in such a situation often feel discomfort. As a homework, come up with a procedure suitable for both the group you work with and the situation you are working on.



Discovery, study and completion are key principles that help build a procedure and get the best possible results for any group. A typical one-day seminar can consist of an endless variety of games, connected to each other in a variety of ways. You can build a chain in which the end of one game will create the initial conditions for the next.

The figure below shows a chain of three games. Each has clear stages of beginning, learning, and completion. The result of the previous game is the beginning of the next one. This is a very simple construction that any member of the group can understand.



And so schematically looks like a situation in which three long intense games are interspersed with two shorter ones. Short games can be used as a way to rest the group before more strenuous activities.

Sometimes, especially in large groups, it makes sense to consider several goals simultaneously. The key to constructing games is the idea of ​​varying the openings and closings of games, referred to as the division / report of results. At the same time, a large group is divided into smaller subgroups, which, after one or two games, unite again and inform everyone about the results achieved. With this parallel approach, groups remain small and dynamic, and ideas become more variable.



We should not forget that people need time to think. Therefore, it makes sense to take breaks. The process of dividing into smaller groups and the subsequent gathering for a general report just allows us to strike a balance between the exchange of ideas and their reflection, giving along some free time. For example, you can ask group members to perform individual exercises, the result of which should then be announced for everyone.

In the following diagram, in the process of opening the session, three different goals were identified, on which three small groups began to work in parallel. After the group was completed, they reunited, and each reported on the results of their activities.



The following diagram shows how the result of the first game turns into initial conditions for five games, which, in turn, generate conditions for two more games. The result of these two is used as a start for one, longer game. This type of connection may correspond to a seminar, in the course of which numerous ideas and programs that need parallel elaboration are considered.



But how does a game one day long look schematically, in which the morning part is given mainly to diverging actions, generating ideas and information, while the research phase is divided into two parts with a break
for lunch. It is followed by evening convergent actions, leading to a single result. The group has lunch together at four tables, which provides an opportunity for informal conversation and reflection on morning activities. Such a construction is acceptable for a group, each member of which is more or less interested in all stages of the game and no one wants to leave the playing field until the process is complete.



It also happens that the game is already in full swing, when suddenly something is found that causes it to change direction. In the following diagram, the result of discovery and research was an additional, quite unexpected goal. Therefore, the group decided to split into two parts; one team continued to work out the old goal, while the other took up the new one.



Well, it's time to create a game or even a series of games. Where do we start? What tools do we need? Remember that the search for new ideas in the game - this is the approach to work, as a result of which you want to get unpredictable, amazing achievements. This is a method of research and discovery.

For a moment, remember the people who explored our world, such as Columbus, Lewis and Clark, Ernst Shackleton and Admiral Byrd. Try to imagine what they could feel. You are also in search, which may not be crowned with results. But at the same time you will most likely find things that you did not expect to find. You only dimly imagine what you will encounter along the way, and therefore you have to carry with you everything you need.

Below is an example of one game.



The book is on the publisher site.
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