Mini Games

Long overdue report on mini games from the Great Game of Business conference.

Why have Mini Games?

• To foster teamwork and communication
• To teach and reinforce business skills
• To instill the desire and habit of winning, not of competing with each other
• To let “cave dwellers” know they can’t bring the group down

Mini Game Design:

1. Choose the game.
2. Set the targets.
   It is also important to teach the impact of winning to the bottom lines.
3. Identify who is involved.
   Anyone who is able to influence the score should be in the loop. It would be upsetting to have another department ruin the players’ chance of winning because they didn’t know what was going on.
4. Determine the time frame.
   Long enough to be able to change behavior but short enough to see results. A longer-term game could have some milestones celebrated to keep people involved. Create frequent wins.
5. Decide on prizes.
   Consider creative incentives that will be motivating for different kinds of people. Having t-shirts as prizes gets old, especially for staffers that have been here longer.
   Do a cost analysis of prizes and potential savings as a result of the mini game.
6. Design a scoreboard.
   Everyone should know how to calculate the score.
   Review the score regularly so everyone knows if we’re winning.
7. Play the game.
   A kickoff meeting to launch the mini game will create enthusiasm.
8. Evaluate the results.

Mini games must have qualifiers or things that should not be allowed to slip. For example, if the mini game is focused on going the extra mile for every trouble ticket, one qualifier could be that average resolution time should not drop below 1.6 days.