The 3 single best Gamestorming exercises — 6-8-5 for ideation, Poster Session for envisioning the future, and Start-Stop-Continue for decision making problems.

1. Gamestorming,
not Brainstorming
Brynn Evans UX4Good
gplus.to/brynn May 4, 2012
twitter.com/brynn #gamestorming

2. Hi, I’m Brynn Evans

3. gogamestorm.com
@davegray
@macgeo
@sunnibrown
The Book
amzn.to/GamestormingBook
My “Cheat Sheet”
bit.ly/GamestormingGuide

6. 6-8-5 sketching
for IDEATION
Poster Session
1 2 3 4 for ENVISIONING
Before / After Process System
5 6 7 8
Start, Stop, Continue
for TAKING ACTION

7. 6-8-5 sketching
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
6-8-5 sketching: gogamestorm.com/?p=688

8. 6-8-5 sketching
Object of play:
1 2 3 4 A generative game to come up
with as many ideas as possible
5 6 7 8 How to play:
(1) Create a grid of 6–8 boxes
(2) Set timer for 5 minutes
(3) Sketch silently, goal is to create
6–8 sketches
(4) After 5 minutes, share ideas
with rest of the group

9. 6-8-5 sketching
Goal:
1 2 3 4 To find a jazz show to attend tonight
3 Considerations:
5 6 7 8 • Will be a mobile app
• Shows need to be marked as open /
private / full / etc.
• Display events to the user

11. Games for ideation
Brainwriting (p. 82)
includes everyone in evolving an idea (silent brainstorming,
followed by collaborative building on ideas), all done in silence
3-12-3 (p. 78)
good for generating & developing lots of ideas in only 1 hour
Post-ups (p.19, 69)
to generate a lot of ideas; one idea per post-it.
Party Invitations
improve the onboarding process of a product or service
gogamestorm.com/?p=297
(Page numbers reference the Gamestorming Book. See bit.ly/GamestormingGuide for more)

12. Poster Session
Poster Session: Gamestorming p.114

13. Poster Session
Object of play:
To create a compelling image that
summarize a challenge or topic for
further discussion**
How to play:
(A) Each person creates 1 poster
(B) Or...people start with small
individual posters. Then share with a
group; discuss important ideas, build
** Poster has to be mostly visual upon others ideas. Create 1 poster per
** Poster has to be self-explanatory
group (20-MINS)

14. Photos by: flickr.com/photos/abovethefold

15. Before & After
Describe “why” someone should
care in terms of drawing the today
and tomorrow of an idea
Process
Describe the “how” of an idea in
terms of a sequence of events
System
Describe the “what” of an idea in
terms of its parts and their
relationships
Photos by: flickr.com/photos/abovethefold

16. Games for envisioning
Design the box (p. 161)
teams imagine the package for an idea in order to make decisions about
important features & other aspects of their vision that are difficult to articulate
Cover Story (p. 87)
to think expansively around an ideal future state
Storyboard (p. 71)
players use a storyboard format to tell a story about an experience, how to
solve a problem, etc.
Bodystorming (p. 59)
using improv or “play acting” to feel out what might work in the real world
Elevator pitch (p.166)
uses madlibs to come up with a short, compelling description of the problem
you’re trying to solve
(Page numbers reference the Gamestorming Book. See bit.ly/GamestormingGuide for more)

17. Start, Stop, Continue
START STOP continue...
• daily standups • weekly status • prioritized
meetings buglist
• Friday “Flash”
Report • tracking bugs • lessons learned
& builds with at milestones
email
Start, Stop, Continue: Gamestorming p.249

18. Start, Stop, Continue
START STOP continue... Object of play:
A closing game to come up with
• daily standups • weekly status • prioritized
meetings buglist next steps
• Friday “Flash”
Report • tracking bugs • lessons learned
& builds with at milestones
email
How to play:
(Start) What are the things we
need to START doing?
(Stop) What are we currently
doing that we should STOP?
(Continue) What works today and
we should CONTINUE?

20. Games for decision making
Challenge Cards (p. 158)
used to identify and think through potential challenges and pitfalls
of a product
Plus/Delta (p. 246)
generate constructive feedback by focusing on what what positive
or repeatable about an activity, and what you would change about
the activity
Impact & Effort Matrix (p. 241)
possible actions are mapped out on a 2x2 grid based on: effort
required to implement & potential impact of an idea
$100 Test (p.232)
uses the concept of cash to help prioritize a list
(Page numbers reference the Gamestorming Book. See bit.ly/GamestormingGuide for more)