Build Teams by Building Games

Give Filament's Game Building Exercise a spin if you’d love a creative activity that drives engagement and creative problem-solving while keeping everyone talking about an important topic or idea.

Here’s how it works:

• First, run to your local thrift store (Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) and buy about a dozen used board games. You can also ask your team to "donate" old games they no longer play to the cause.

• Next, separate all of the playing pieces of the board games (cards, tokens boards, etc.) and place everything on a large table. Add blank notecards, poster boards, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, and anything else fun and crafty to the mix.

• Once your group arrives, divide them into groups of 4-6 and tell them each team has just 90 minutes to build a board game, using as many of the parts and supplies from the table they want.

• Then give them these instructions :

• Your board game must be about ________________. Select a theme relevant to your team’s work, such as customer service, innovation, beating your competitors, etc.

• The game must be playable by at least four people in less than an hour.

• Your team must give the game an awesome name.

• It can have no more than seven rules. This constraint is the most important part!

• After everyone has built their games, each team must “pitch” their game to the room.

• Award prizes for the best/silliest/most unique game(s).

• Finally, if time allows, break into new teams (leaving one of the original designers with each game to help everyone else understand the rules) and play!

Apart from a really fun time, the conversations during the game-building will uncover insights about your theme and will generate great ideas you’ll keep discussing long after the game play is finished.