Business Game

After I finished the Business Model Generation I had an idea: Why not creating a board game for visionaries, game changers, entrepeneurs and whoever likes to create some business idea in a fun way?

 

I am a board game passionate especially in the more sophisticated, strategic sector. I had the idea long ago to create a game where managerial decisions are reflected in a board game in order to show managers how their decisions impact the company as well as the lives of their employees. Unfortunately it never saw light.

But now I am thinking about creating a game with certain mechanisms where players create their business models in a fictional/abstract market. The business models can then tap to some pre-defined market streams (which generate revenue streams) and compete with each other.

 

The idea is to generate an environment where business model can be tested and competed where the player can decide if the want to tap on or more market streams or tap another players business model creating a b2b supply chain. This game can be played at home, in meetings as well as in workshops with discussion rounds afterwards. The key is to design mechanisms which allow for a huge amount of iterations but also standardization in order to pour the concept into a board game which shall be educating and fun.

 

The whole idea is still in its ideation phase but I'd like to check if people are interested in joining this project. Everyone is welcome to be a part of this. Looking forward for feedback.

 

CU at the gaming table

Views: 797

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Renske Valk on August 12, 2011 at 1:11pm

hi Patrick,

I am not sure what you mean with "type of game"? 

I think it is especially important that players understand the result of their decisions to optimize the learning element. I have seen some business games that look close to real life which ofcourse has its advantages but at the same time, due to the number of the variables involved, make it complex and does not give everybody a feel for the model used. This is ok if it is the competition and playfull element that is important as well as getting an experience about "entrpreneurship". If you however use the game as part of "understanding" business modelling and getting familair with the blocks I guess it would be better to make it less complex. 

Some individuals do need to have a bigger picture presented in order to feel motivated (WHY does this happen?). Others want to try and see what happens on a more pragmatic level (WHAT happens?). The game should accomodate both aspects. 

Hope this answers your question a bit? 

 

Permalink Reply by patrick quinn on August 12, 2011 at 1:24pm

Renske... yes, you explanation answers the question.

Next question. Do you think clients prefer the more complex challengeing games or the one's were they have fun, which do you prefer. How long did the games take to play?...PQ  

Permalink Reply by Renske Valk on August 12, 2011 at 1:48pm

I would prefer to keep the complexity minimal but make the competitiveness high so people who are more clever still are being challenged. OR you could work with teams playing against each other. Anyway, the games I have been involved in where all 2 day or even 4 day games and no board games. So I don't have a clear idea yet on how to construct a boardgame that is as well as educational / informative as competitive in a shorter time span. But "it feels" it should be feasible with a bunch of people that combine their knowledge and creativity don't you think :)

 

 

Permalink Reply by patrick quinn on August 12, 2011 at 1:10pm
M... what are your favourite board games and why... it might help me get my head around the direction you are trying to go with the BMG concept...PQ
Permalink Reply by Manuel Grassler on August 16, 2011 at 10:46am

P... Well what are my favourite BG?

At first there is imho the best and most complex board game I know: Twilight Imperium. It is a fictional game where players struggle to earn victory points to become universal emperor. The core mechanic of the game allows players to win by technology, war, production, politics, trade, diplomacy supremacy or by a combination of those things. Players must revise their strategy turn by turn as after each round new victory conditions are drawn so they don't know at the beginning which strategy will earn the most points. There is a deck of cards with different objectives and they change every game, so this mechanic may possibly be a solution for the different market dynamics for the Business Model Game.

 

Then there is Starcraft which is a BG version of the video game and based on tactical decissions. It is quite aggressive though. But here the interesting mechanic is that there are no not-calculable chances like in dice based games. Each player knows beforehand which values he can possibly achieve (in terms of fighting) and revise his strategy around that information. Based on the fact that there are no chances involved the game becomes calculable and each advantage is directly related to the players decisions. More important than fight is Micromanagement or the production of units and buildings where players seek to use their economy to the most possible potential.

Then there is Brass or Kohle in german. It is a game taking place during the industrial revolution where players are entrepeneurs building different industries. The interesting thing here is the mechanic that player build their industries which generate e.g. a certain amount of brass. The other players need these resources in order to build their industries and can use the amount of brass available on the board independently of who started the business. e.g. Player A builds a brass factory which creates 3 brass tokens. If somebody needs the brass they take it from the factory if they have the possible infrastructure. As soon as the 3 brass tokens have been used the factory token is flipped over and Player A increases his monthly income without producing further brass tokens in that factory. This resembles the fact that the business has really started and launched effectively.

 

I'll post links to the three games rules if you want to read a little bit about it:

 

Twilight Imperium: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/Twilight%20Imperium%2...

 

Starcraft: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/StarCraft/StarCraft_r...

 

Brass:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28720/brass 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Cesar Picos on August 12, 2011 at 7:59pm

Hello,

 

I think the best idea is try to increase the value proposition: let´s try to achieve both objectives if possible.

Cesar

Permalink Reply by Jon Swift on December 5, 2011 at 4:18am

Something to keep in mind if this game was developed for a computer environment...it would be cool to offer a multi-player online mode. Different entrepreneurs could face off against one another in certain industries for example. Just a thought, sounds interesting. 

RSS

© 2013   Created by Alex Osterwalder.

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service