Get Your Team Up to Speed on Games–Hold a GameFest

People often ask me how they can get started making learning games, the best way to get started making learning games it to begin to play games with a critical eye. One way to provide people within an organization to lots of different games is a GameFest. It is a quick method of generating a lot of game ideas for creating a learning game.

To conduct a gamefest, you need a large conference room with a table in the middle and then the ability to have space for board games, console games and laptops for playing computer-based and web-based games. Some games will be multiplayer and some single player.

In the room, place a flip chart and sticky-notes. The idea is that the players get 15-20 minutes to play a game to which they are randomly assigned. After the play time, the players must go to the flip chart are write down a major idea, rule, game mechanic or any other element they would like to include in the instructional game they are to be designing.

Once everyone has written down a major idea, rule, mechanic, etc., they switch games and play the new game for 15-20 minutes. After that play time, they again write down ideas on the flipchart. If major ideas are taken, the players then can write refinements or smaller ideas on the sticky-notes and add them beside the major ideas.

This method is especially effective if the individuals working on the game, gamification or simulation are not overly familiar with games. The forced play exposes them quickly to many different game mechanics and game elements. Use the list of recommended games above as a starter for the gamefest.

To help speed up the process, you have have people watch instructional videos on how to play specific games so that when they come to the GameFest, they are ready to play. Here are a couple of videos on my favorite games to help you get started with the GameFest.