Bored (with) games

?? “I HATE games!!” ???

Quite a startling response to my question about what people like and don’t like about team days.?

I was facilitating a discovery workshop with a team to co-create their away day.?

The ranter went on to list what they didn’t want:??

?? Don’t make us put on blindfolds!?

?? Don’t make us hold hands!?

?? Don’t make us build things with cotton wool and straws!?

?? Don’t……?

You get the picture.?

I appreciated their honesty.??

I’d been thinking about a game for this group. After this rant, you’d think I’d ditch it.?

I didn’t.??

Because the game I ask groups to play has a clear purpose, a clear structure and results in practical actions that the team can implement after the session.?

I’ve seen it work over and over again. It worked a treat with this team too.?

A month after the ‘away day’ I met with them to see how they were travelling and how their agreed actions were coming along.?

The ranter asked me for suggestions on how to ‘gamify’ their team meetings a bit more.?

A colleague laughed and clapped:??

‘Kudos for getting the one who hates games to ask you how to use more of them in our meetings!’??

What caused the shift??

No shift. I think it was just about expectations.?

Turns out, the ‘I hate games’ ranter loves board games. The team played quite a few the night before our session.??

Board games have a clear purpose, rules and are fun. They are social, test your thinking, you can touch and feel them and they offer variety*.?

Just like my Game for Solutions.??

?? The goal is for one team to finish first.?

?? Teams stand up, in a square, on a grid of masking tape.?

?? They write their 3 solutions to one challenge on a card.?

?? The ‘runner’ walks fast, some run, to the coaches to pitch their solutions.??

?? The coach gives them the ???? & the team progresses. A ???? and the team has to try again.?

?? Everyone takes turns to scribe and pitch.?

?? Every team gets three to five turns each.?

This team played it after lunch and ended up with 60 solutions to challenges that they’d identified at the discovery workshop.??

They identified their top five and outlined action plans for each by the end of the day.??

Just as importantly, they:????

• Collaborated?

• Contributed equally?

• Had fun solving problems?

• Strengthened trust?

• Engaged fully – even after lunch!?

If you’re keen to play, there are two ways:??

?? Play the game with your organisation, team or project. Here’s how .??

Thanks for reading this far.?

Stay (fl)awesome!?

*name changed to protect the ranter ???

**Source: Melissa Rogerson,? Board Games are Booming: Here’s Why The Conversation, 8 January, 2020. January 8, 2020.?

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Facilitation is an essential skill for life and work. I share content that shows its amazing impact and backstage tips to make you a (fl)awesome facilitator. Because if you’re (fl)awesome, you create real engagement.

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