Learn the Basics - Game Thinking
Game Thinking is a powerful innovation methodology that combines elements of game design, systems thinking, design thinking, and agile/lean practices to accelerate product development and validation. It helps businesses identify and engage with the right early adopters, plan their product lifecycle around a mastery path, and build minimal viable products (MVPs) that focus on core customer interactions. This approach allows for faster and more accurate feedback, enabling businesses to determine product viability within weeks rather than months or years.
Game Thinking's three key steps involve identifying superfans who are passionate about the product, planning a mastery path that guides users from beginners to experts, and playtesting the core learning loop, which represents the daily interaction between users and the product. This methodology has proven successful in diverse industries, including automotive, beauty, education, entertainment, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology, demonstrating its versatility and effectiveness in driving innovation.
What is Game Thinking?
Game Thinking helps you validate your idea by testing the right prototype on the right customers.
Learn how this powerful methodology works – step by step.
You don’t have to be a game designer to think like one
You’ve got a hot idea for an innovative product.
But how do you know if it’s what your customers really want?
Will it keep them engaged? What’s the best way to test that — and who should you test it on?
The only way to answer these questions is to validate your idea with real customers.
But prototyping and testing can be expensive and time consuming. We need reliable methods for bringing compelling ideas to life – faster and smarter.
Finally, I have a method to track innovation projects & help my team build hits
George Ogbonnaya
VP @ First City Monument Bank
Enter Game Thinking
Game Thinking is a proven innovation system that blends Game Design, Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, and Agile/Lean Practices into a potent recipe for accelerating innovation.
Game Thinking speeds up product validation and customer discovery by showing you how to:
- partner with the right early customers and leverage their investment to tune your systems
- plan your product lifecycle around a mastery path – and zero-in on the right parts to test first
- build a stripped down, high-learning MVP that drives engagement from the ground up
The Process
Validate your product ideas like a game designer
The Game Thinking process is fast, targeted, and confidence-boosting.
You’ll know within weeks (not months or years) if you’re on the right track.
1. Identify your Superfans
DO THIS. Identify your superfans — the group of passionate early customers who need your product so much that they are already trying to get their need met, and will eagerly tell you what’s wrong or right about your idea.
NOT THIS. Don’t go after the mass market first — go deep with high-need, high-value early customers. You’ll waste money trying to scale too early; follow the successful innovators & start with a micro-vertical.
2. Plan a path to Mastery
DO THIS. Clarify what your customer getting better at over time. What is the learning path that will take them from beginner to regular to expert? Plan the path to mastery, and double down on the point where customers have settled into a daily habit.
NOT THIS. Do not ignore this step. Most products have a learning curve, and successful products support customers throughout the entire learning process.
3. Playtest your Core Learning Loop
DO THIS. What is the innermost daily interaction that forms the core of customer interaction with your product? How can you craft that loop so it compels people to keep coming back? Build an MVP of your Learning Loop and test it early.
NOT THIS. Do not start with a fake landing page or on-boarding — that can come later. First, build and test the middle of the experience This might be something mundane, yet foundational.
The Application
You can make Game Thinking work for your idea
Game Thinking isn’t just for games. Teams who work in automotive, beauty, education, entertainment, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, & technology have launched successful products using Game Thinking.
Game studios, hot startups & global brands worldwide have used Game Thinking to build breakthrough innovations. And you can too.
I got powertools to validate my idea & find product/market fit
Myriam Pauillac
Founder @ Anaphore
Case Study
What insights did digital health startup Happify gain through Game Thinking?
Case Study
How did leading beauty & skin care company Shiseido apply Game Thinking?
Is Game Thinking like Gamification?
Not at all. Game Thinking distills the development process behind hit games into a step-by-step system.
Gamification can open the door & gets people interested in the power of games. Game Thinking is the next step.