The original idea for this game was as an in-class activity to run with first-year undergraduates. I failed in a search for ways to promote a discussion of management influence, motivation and power that I liked and which fitted with the ways I wanted to introduce them to my students. The result, partly driven by a urgent need to have something to deliver, was the first draft of this game.
The Game in Brief
The game is playable in several ‘levels’ that increase the complexity and which change the focus of discussions with the students at the end of the activity. In the first level, students create ‘managers’ who then attempt to persuade imaginary colleagues to undertake a series of tasks. As they do so, succeeding and failing along the way, they experience the impact of increasing experience (or knowledge) and can explore different patterns of skills and influence - representing different types of manager and different levels of seniority.
The second level introduces employees to the game and the students then explore the impact of colleagues that are more, or less, engaged (and therefore easier or harder to influence).
Over time, my plans are to develop the core mechanisms and the playing materials and to produce resources to support those running the game with students (research shows that the reflection and discussion components of ‘serious games’ are critical to ensuring meaningful learning is taking place - and students don’t just have fun!)