The Conservative Bunch of Consultants...
You are always using the same games, with the same content with all your clients and in all your sessions!
“I don’t understand why you do not innovate on the games you are choosing to use in your training sessions”
Would you ever tell your clients that you are too lazy to investigate a potentially better game fit for the learning outcome?
Let me show you why I can see the lack of consultants looking for the best fit for the context related to sessions where games are used…
Looking at the most-used games graph back to 2018. I discovered some surprising information (see below graphs 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018)
The top two played Actee games have been the same game for 5 years…… the same game is in two versions a long and a short version of the “Destination CRM”. The games are about the implementation of a new IT system.
I refuse to believe that we made it to the top with this game. That we just simply hit the bullseye on games, and it is now impossible to do better. I do acknowledge that 60% of most changes are related to IT projects and therefore the game is and has been very relevant for many changes out there.
But let’s face it, the times are constantly changing; the dilemmas we address change, the way we deliver learning changes (online vs physical), and the desired outcomes of learning also evolve.
You have been handling, Corona, and the recession, we are in the middle of a sustainable crisis, there is a D&I revolution going on. All subjects we cover with our 120 public games and the 400 being built and not published on the platform.
We cannot excuse the lack of use of other games by the games being specific to some markets since Actee is focusing on new markets and growing super-fast - we have 100 countries per month playing.
But they all play the same game!!!
So how can it be that these two games have stayed on the top of the list for so long?
Is it really because you don’t want to make new games? Or the games we have are not meeting the need?
We have 400 games being copied per year – that sums up to two per day and one of those is being published to people's own accounts.
Game development is not too difficult!
It might be resource expensive, yes, but durable and important. Just imagine you did the next CRM game and your game stayed on top for the next 5 years. That would mean your story, your theory choice, and your idea and approach would be spread to the whole world.
My hypothesis on why you keep playing the same game is that it’s a little intangible and unmanageable to get started with building games.
I believe and hear in my dialogues with all you great consultants that you have great ideas, and you know exactly what the market demands of the L&D industry right now, and thereby what the game should focus upon. You have the Actee certification, and you have your own free subscription. Your toolbox is full of all the tools needed to create a game or choose a new game covering the need better, yet you don't build games and you don’t change the game you use.
I think you might be overloaded with ideas and input to your game, that you don’t know where to start.
You might also have a little fear of building a bad game. One that will reflect negatively on you, or just won’t be relevant to the clients you work with.
Let me tell you something you often tell your clients:
Starting in a new team sport, taking on more demanding work assignments, changing career path, starting a family, getting a pet, moving country, bungee jumping, implementing a new IT system – It's all scary, but do we let that fear hold us back from a goal?
No! We lean into these changes with risk and good faith that it will all work out. And let’s face it, you’re never alone! You will always have your friends, family, co-workers or Actee support team, right there on the phone, waiting for you to call for help!
Game development or adding a new game to your process is exciting, it’s fun and will give your process a higher level of transfer of the leanings to everyday work life. That is cool for you, for your client and for the learner.
Below you can see, the most played games from 2022 – 2018, not many changes on there though... Do you see what I mean?
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
All new games being published reflect the current year's challenges (green change, people sustainable development, D&I, COVID, hybrid working etc.).
These are the steps to customize a game to ensure they have the coolest game to match the learning goal for the training.
1. Get to know the platform
2. Start testing a game you
3. Look at the possibilities, theories, movements etc.
4. Take those findings and copy the game you like and know the most.
5. Start making small corrections to a game
Find more info here.
Once you start playing the games with clients you’re continually updating and iterating the game to ensure constant accuracy and reflection into the “real world”.
The game is then potentially used by more clients, and you can sell the game to your clients, to ensure the game keeps getting better!
Even a small thing like the name of the company you meet in the game can mean a lot to the player!
Here is a list of some of the new games added to Actee.
Six Cool Actee Games
The Transition – Hybrid Working
You are leading a transition back to the office and will be faced with change management issues in regard to a work transition plan. Topics to handle include motivation, communication, and rebuilding the office culture. This game fits perfectly when companies are trying to implement a Hybrid working model.
Gender (In)Equality at The Office
You are tasked with leading a small department through a change scenario to create a satisfied team in a healthy work culture - as part of the company's sustainability goals. Your goal is to create diversity and inclusion (M&I). At the end of the game, you will be presented with a personal leadership profile and an equality index.
Canteen Going Green
In this game, the goal is to lead the well-established restaurant through some green changes that are brought to your attention by your new employee Maria.
Maria is an environmental activist which means she knows what she is talking about and is prepared to act, however, this also means that radical changes must be applied in order to turn the kitchen into something sustainable, and not everyone will see eye to eye on these changes. Your job is to figure out how you make the kitchen understand the importance of the changes and ensure that they get on board the mission.
Onboarding Alex – A Collogue with Different Functional Abilities
This game touches on themes like - Onboarding and retaining a thriving workforce with diverse functional capabilities. The game is based on first-hand experience through ongoing employment of a special needs employee with autism.
When you play the game and make a choice you get feedback from Alex, from Actee and from the system caring for Alex on the choice you made. After the game, the learning goal is to give you an idea of how a person with diverse functional capabilities is thinking and acting as an employee.
Full Speed Ahead on the Climate Agenda
As a player, you are responsible for the quality and environmental impacts of a company called Plastastic. They produce moulded plastic items for a range of companies internationally.
Your job is to decide how to lead Plastastic into a more sustainable future. You must navigate compromises and decide which aspects of the company need to change the most. As a player, you must understand the wants and needs of your stakeholders who represent a broad palette of suppliers, clients, employees, and managers.
The Carpool Challenge
This game is about change management, sustainability initiatives, and decision-making in a larger corporation, The People Company. As the player, you play the role of sustainability manager at the company, and it is your task to implement carpooling while managing the wants and needs of the stakeholders which represent both managers and employees at the company.
These six games are some of the newest games we have published on Actee, and all focus on what we in Actee believe to be demanding topics in the L&D industry.
Your colleagues might be on the move!
We see a lot of game-building session getting started – this means you might get challenged by your colleagues if you keep being lazy…
There is still a clear favourite gameboard being utilized, the Cycle board – formerly known as Actee Change but now called Circle is still the most used gameboard – but we start seeing the other gameboards coming more and more into play.
There seems to be a trend, the most copied and altered games are based on short-cycle games.
A guess would be, that short games are trending more, as they are better suited for online sessions, which there has been an increase in ever since Covid-19.
The length of the games I have touched upon in an earlier blog here.
Below you see the gameboards being used for game building looked at over years. The strange thing is the decreasing number of games being built and at the same time, we see a +100% increase in usage….
I think it’s due to the time constraint for consultants, who simply haven’t got the time and don’t see the money in the process. But listen to this - the game-building process is a 15.000€ process, and puts any consultant in a new revenue stream!
In 2022 we have seen 60 new games get published until now. The game-building is picking up, slowly, but surely. We expect to see a much higher level of games being built and more being published in the next year. We are hoping, as we advance, that in the future we will see fewer copied and alternated games, and more highly researched and relevant games made from scratch!
Don’t let yourself be held back from creating a game for any reason! Come to Actee Partner Day 2022 and see how other Actee’Vists have made cool games! And get inspired by Katia Dupre's insights on how to use games for research!
The Partner Day 2022
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