We all know them and love them. Gamers, I’m speaking of…people who love spend time at the computer playing against online villains, trying to work their way through a maze or move up to the next level.
According to the Entertainment Software Association:
- 58% of all Americans play video games
- The average age is 30 and that individual has been playing games for 13 years and
- 36% play games on their smartphones.
And according to Big Fish, a gaming blog site, this trend is going to continue to increase as more families and women start to play games.
So, what is the lure of games and how can gamification be used at your next meeting?
In a nutshell, gamification is the use of game thinking and mechanics to engage users in solving problems. Gamification is applied to improve user engagement, return on investment and learning.
Let’s break down each of these elements to describe the benefits of gaming your next event:
Brilliant Benefit #1: User Engagement
Games automatically set up a competitive environment with built-in challenges.
What if you rent iPads and form small teams at your next meeting whose mission is to collect points and complete the tasks in front of them? Imagine an environment where the company or association challenges are integrated into a game and teams need to collectively solve the problem. Can you see a setting where a leader board is in the front of the room and it dynamically changes as different teams take the lead? This can happen at your next event. It just requires time to plan and implement the program.
Brilliant Benefit #2: Return on Investment
Here are a few real-life examples:
- Galderma, a dermatology company, used gamification to train their sales division for a product launching event. Despite the voluntary participation, 92% of targeted employees ended up playing
- Deloitte’s training programs, that were gamified took 50% less time to complete and massively improved long-term employee engagement.
- BlurbIQ introduced interactive video Interruptions and within two weeks obtained 915% more interaction and 95% increase in recollection.
- GMIC at their annual conference provided more concise presentations to attendees, allowed for better group discussions, and provided networking time, which resulted in positive feedback about their gaming app.
Brilliant Benefit #3: Real Learning Occurs.
According to TeachThought, a learning and technology organization, the following learning objectives are reached through gamification:
- Increases Memory: Games often revolve around the utilization of memorization Individuals need to track critical sequences or narrative elements in a game.
- Promotes Risk Taking: Playing a game allows attendees to take risks they might not take in a general discussion which allows real learning and brainstorming to occur.
- Helps With Strategic Thinking and Problem-Solving: Most games require quick thinking. Moreover, attendees will have to utilize their logic in order to think three steps ahead to solve problems and complete levels.
SmartSource Rentals is your Total Technology solution provider and can provide you will the right interactive technology tool rentals to make gamification an easy option at your next meeting or event. Give them a call at 800.888.8686 to get the process started!