The Power of Games: How to Play Your Way to a Better Life

When you hear the words “play” and “games” what do you think about? Most adults think of those things as trivial or even dispensable: they shy away from anything “frivolous” like playing games. Here at Patchwork Adventures, we know the powerful effect games can have, on everything from your brain chemistry to your interpersonal relationships. Here are some of the reasons we love playing!

Play helps us regulate our emotions.

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We’ve all seen (or been) that furious kid who flips over the board and storms off in a huff when they lose a game. But over time, we grow to understand that the stakes are low when it comes to play. (Unless maybe you’re a professional card shark.) A game may feel intense in the moment, but win or lose, the consequences are minimal. And eventually, with time and practice, play teaches us how to work through those feelings in a healthy way and respond in a more socially-appropriate manner.

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Play teaches us empathy.

When we play with others, everyone experiences their own unique range of emotions, which might be different from or even contradictory to ours. This is a great opportunity for players to learn how individual people express emotions, how behavior impacts others, and what it means to be a good sport. 

Adults benefit from this too: empathy and compassion can always be deepened, and emotional intelligence is vital across all areas of daily life. Whether you’re sniffing out spies playing The Resistance or giving someone a tough performance review at work, it’s all about being able to read people and relate to them.

Play develops critical thinking skills.

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Play is a microcosm of the world in a lot of ways. In games like Risk, we decide on a trajectory, and we have to make choices based on the changing opportunities and people around us. But unlike the real world, the consequences happen much more quickly. This continuous feedback is an excellent way to quickly get better at contingency testing and risk calculation in a low-pressure environment. And once you develop the skills, moving on to tackle real-world issues is a logical next step.

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Play rewires our brains, literally.

Neuroplasticity is our brain’s ability to grow new neurons and reorganize neural pathways. This is important because it’s how we’re able to learn new skills, form new memories, and internalize new information.

Brains of children and young adults are inherently more flexible and have higher neuroplasticity compared to the brains of older adults, but there are some behaviors that can increase anyone’s brain plasticity. Novelty is a major theme: biking to work a different way, taking salsa lessons, learning a new language, all of these things will increase brain plasticity. 

Play is fertile ground for introducing this type of novel stimuli into your life. Whether it’s learning the mechanics of a new puzzle game or practicing a new ball handling technique in soccer, play is an excellent way to work out your brain and improve your neuroplasticity.

Play builds creativity.

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Dungeons & Dragons, Pictionary, murder mystery games, the list goes on: so many games are great ways to exercise your imagination. Whether through drawing, role-playing, or just an fun original strategy, games offer endless opportunities for creative expression. (And trust us: perfecting your elf wizard voice will definitely help you level up your next work presentation.)

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Play encourages cooperation.

Cooperative games like Pandemic or escape rooms are becoming increasingly popular. Players work towards a common goal, and they need their teammates in order to succeed.

Playing games will help teams learn more about each other, build their cooperation and consensus building skills, and just have fun together! This can be a good option for groups aiming to grow more calibrated with each other, like a team of new coworkers or a basketball team.

But even with games that are not explicitly cooperative, cooperation is still an important skill being developed. In Settlers of Catan, for instance, even though it’s a competitive game, players are required to work with each other in order to achieve their own goals.

Play makes us more adaptable.

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Games involve unpredictability: dice rolls, card shuffling, the variability of other people’s choices, etc. It all adds up to constantly shifting circumstances. Players continuously need to reassess and adjust their strategies based on these changes. (If someone just took the last open route to Atlanta in Ticket to Ride, you should probably focus on your west coast destinations instead.)

This ability to change course and reevaluate is undoubtedly a life skill that can be applied to more than just Monopoly or Agricola. Studies show that mammals who play more are better able to adapt to changes in their environments. With a flexible mindset, you can roll with life’s obstacles more smoothly, instead of having to reset back at square one every time you hit a snag.

This is a really useful skill in the workplace, since businesses frequently have to pivot projects and programs. It pays off to develop this resilience ahead of time; practicing with low-stakes games now will make it way easier to manage when shit really hits the fan.

Play teaches children (and adults!) social norms.

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Early in life, puppies learn from adult dogs how hard is too hard to bite when playing. Without internalizing that important lesson, a dog might grow up to unintentionally hurt their peers, and thus be ostracized from the group. Acceptance from the group and a sense of belonging is crucial to animal survival, and that includes humans.

Play helps with that: it’s a fun, informal opportunity to read social cues. It teaches and reinforces valuable lessons about how to treat other people, and you learn it’s okay to be silly in certain contexts, even once you’re an adult.

Play puts us in a flow state

We’ve all been so intensely focused on an activity that we look up at the clock and are shocked to realize three hours have gone by. This is flow, and being in this state is linked to a huge range of benefits, including higher productivity, elevated levels of happiness, and increased intrinsic motivation.

Games are an ideal setting to achieve flow state: they’re immersive, the objectives are clear, and you get fast feedback and rewards. (Turns out, playing Fortnight can actually be good for your productivity? Who knew?!)

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Play builds confidence.

One of the most challenging things about growing older is the increased responsibilities and expectations. There are areas in your life where you’re expected to show up and be successful: your boss counts on you to meet recruitment quotas, your kids expect you to keep the snack cupboard stocked, and you better not be late on your mortgage payment.

Those obligations come with baggage: if you make mistakes, there are real-world consequences that impact others.

Play puts a person in a low-stakes, novel environment, where it’s okay to make mistakes and look silly. Especially in adulthood, this type of environment becomes harder and harder to come by. If you’re learning a new game, it’s expected that you’ll make mistakes at first. Understanding the rules takes time, and there’s room to figure it out as you go.

Making mistakes in a relaxed environment is an important outlet, when so many other areas of life don’t allow for that imperfection. (Admittedly, making mistakes should totally be more accepted in the real world too, but that’s a whole other discussion.)

Play is a powerful bonding experience.

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Playing games is an excellent way to form or strengthen your relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. With acquaintances or new colleagues, playing a game is a great way to break the ice and ease the initial awkwardness that sometimes happens among new people. When the focus is on playing a game, no need to bother with small talk, and you avoid those dreaded conversation lulls!

Play is inherently not a serious activity, and it usually involves at least some level of silliness. Maybe it’s acting like a duck during charades, a Mario Kart race victory dance, or belly-flopping on the twister mat. Whatever it is, you usually have permission to act a little goofy!

This type of behavior can be vulnerable, which necessitates a certain amount of psychological safety among the participants: it establishes a mutual baseline of trust, which is crucial for building connection. When you and your coworkers have all seen each other get taken down by a kickball, it’s impossible not to feel more comfortable with them. And through play, you have a shared experience, you start having inside jokes, and you just get to know someone so much better. Playing games is a foolproof way to develop deeper bonds with people.

Want to boost your brain power, jumpstart your creativity, and connect with your team?

11 Ways to Build the Coolest Virtual Internship Program Ever

With summer right around the corner, many companies are looking to develop and grow their internship programs.

Given the current employee shortage, good interns are even more valuable right now. Finding interns that transition into full-time employees can save companies both time and money in recruitment and onboarding budgets.

But the best strategies for managing regular employees don’t always apply to interns, and vice versa. And how do you establish good norms for an internship program that’s fully remote or hybrid? Here are eleven tips for building a thriving virtual internship program at your company.

Make it fun!

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Typical interns are young, in or just out of college, and likely not accustomed to the typical 9-5 office grind. Inevitably, they won’t be as committed as your veteran employees close to retirement. So it might backfire if you immediately assign them piles of mindless data entry or force them to sit through back-to-back zoom meetings.

To retain your interns, you’ve got to add a little sparkle. Incorporate regular opportunities to connect outside of work through virtual team-building games, icebreakers, or GIF-only slack channels. Keep the grunt work to a minimum. Vary the tasks you assign so their responsibilities stay fresh, and they can get a taste of how different teams operate.

Onboard efficiently.

Because internships are typically time-bounded, the orientation process needs to be both concentrated and streamlined. Investing time at the beginning makes for a smoother and more integrated process throughout the internship.

You don’t want to be working on a project with an intern, only to realize that no one ever sent them the most current spreadsheet, and they’ve been working from obsolete data for the past two months. Get new interns up to speed with relevant projects, and make sure they understand their workflows as much as possible from the outset.

The best onboarding experience helps interns know what they need to do, what success looks like, and also how their small task or project relates to the company and helping the company achieve their goals. An intern’s first day/week should include a brief company overview, getting introduced to everyone, and some fun team activities.

Make expectations clear.

Having defined expectations for interns from the start goes a long way. This applies to their assigned tasks of course, but it’s important beyond that as well:

• Interns should be aware of company norms for different communication channels.

• They need to know which meetings they’ll be required to attend and which are optional.

• Get on the same page about deadlines and timetables for assignments.

At this stage, interns don’t usually have much office experience, so consider offering a bit more guidance at the beginning. By providing enough information early on, it saves you having to repair the damage when an intern accidentally sends an urgent message to the meme channel or sends the client mailing list a typo-filled newsletter.

Set realistic goals.

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Assign interns discrete, project-based tasks. Ideally these should be projects that they can wrap up (or at least hit key milestones on) by the end of their internships. During their onboarding, set concrete objectives (think SMART goals) for their time at the company. Come up with these goals together, and take into account their skills, experience level, and areas of interest.

When breaking these objective down, give them achievable, realistic tasks, especially early on. If it’s clear they could use more of a challenge, you can always increase their responsibilities down the road. Using this strategy will set them up for success, and they can leave the company feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Offer frequent and constructive feedback.

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Along with initial expectations and goals, it’s important to give interns feedback on their work as they progress. Feedback should be ongoing and transparent, and be sure to recognize their successes as well as their areas for improvement. Too much criticism at once can be daunting, especially for those new to the workforce.

Internships are meant to be learning experiences, and if interns feel discouraged early on, this can inhibit their performance later. Even when offering feedback on things they need to change, emphasize that this is all an expected part of the learning process.

Open the door for imperfection. 

By the same token, allow room for error. Make it clear that it’s okay to make mistakes. Occasional errors are inevitable no matter how senior an employee is, but with internships, it’s especially important to create a culture that embraces imperfection and growth.

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Research has shown that employees and teams with the psychological safety to make mistakes are more effective in the long run.

Who’s more productive: an intern who spends half the day agonizing about the perfect email subject line, or an intern who gives it their best shot, gets constructive feedback, and then keeps plugging away at the rest of their task list?

Invite questions.

It’s always better and more efficient to ask questions than to make incorrect assumptions. The alternative: an intern who pretends to have it all figured out, but then spends hours trying to figure out the answer to a question you could’ve answered in two minutes.

Establish early on that you’re available for their questions, big or small. If you stay approachable and encourage interns to ask for clarification when they need it, you’ll save everyone time in the long run.

Provide mentorship.

Especially at a big company, it’s easy for interns to get lost in the shuffle, and it’s important to identify people they can turn to when they need support. If your company’s structure allows for it, pair each intern with a mentor (someone in addition to their supervisor).

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This person can help an intern feel more connected to company culture and make the most out of the position. They can serve as an advocate and extra resource for the intern in challenging moments. And it’s a mutually beneficial relationship, since it’s an opportunity for mentor employees to gain advising and leadership experience as well.

Make sure mentors are proactive about checking in with their mentees regularly. The interns may need that reassurance (especially in the beginning) before they feel confident initiating communication themselves. Mentors reaching out first will help keep the communication lines open.

Welcome their ideas.

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Especially in a virtual setting, it’s important to be flexible in your approach, and make changes when they’re warranted. Interns can be resources for employees and supervisors as well, not just the other way around. A pair of outside eyes might be what it takes to realize how inefficient your daily all-hands meeting has become. Maybe your team is stuck in a rut, and a fresh perspective is just what you need in order to shake things up.

Encourage interns to ask for what they need as well. Establishing clear structure and expectations is important, but allow space for their input and preferences too. Talk to them about their ideal work schedule, and when they feel their most productive. Be open to making changes if need be, and keep an open dialogue with them about what’s working and what’s not.

Make time to connect with peers.

Give interns opportunities to connect with their peer group. If your company has more than one intern, allowing space for them to socialize with each other is a great way to increase their job satisfaction and interest in the company. Try hosting a virtual team-building game or a fun onboarding event early on, so they can get to know each other in a playful, low-stakes environment.

This is something that can often get overlooked when a company is fully remote or hybrid, especially when it comes to temporary employees and interns. But establishing good rapport in the beginning will start interns off on the right foot together. It can also lead to good working relationships, and having interns work on collaborative projects can build off of that foundation and keep them engaged.

Don’t overwhelm them.

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Be intentional about how and when to involve interns in company communication. Because an internship is typically a time-bounded experience, there’s no reason to CC the interns on company-wide emails about your five-year plan, nor should you expect them to attend your quarterly business review, unless that’s the specific focus of their internship.

Overwhelming interns with information is counterproductive: if you throw too much irrelevant information at them at once, they might start skimming emails and tuning out at meetings.

Instead, keep them up-to-speed only on the projects they’re directly involved with, and allow them the agency to explore areas of interest in more depth if desired.

Want to start off your summer internship program with a bang? 

We’ve hosted games for hundreds of internship kickoff events and onboardings.  Our professional actor/facilitator hosts will help your new interns integrate smoothly and start off strong with the company. Our Great Zoom Challenge Game is a great energizer to bring new teams together, and we can customize Escape the Zoom or our Battle of the Brains Virtual Team Trivia Challenge Game to include content that’s specific to your organization. Book one of our games today!

The Dos and Don’ts of Building a Thriving Remote Team

The pandemic left companies around the world scrambling for a playbook on remote work. Suddenly, teams had to stare at little boxes on a screen instead of gathering around conference tables. Slack channels and email avalanches replaced water cooler gossip and onsite meetings. We learned more than we ever needed to know about our coworkers’ sourdough starters.

So how do you work together as a team and integrate a sense of community into this new virtual normal?

There’s more to building a remote team than just coordinating Zoom backgrounds. Having surveyed, interviewed, and worked with more than a thousand remote teams over the last five years, we’ve learned a thing or two about best practices for remote teams:

Don’t just default to business as usual.

Many in-office strategies are bound to fall flat when attempting them with a remote team. Casual Friday doesn’t really apply if you’ve been wearing pajama pants all week anyway, right?

And let’s be real: a virtual “happy hour” and an actual happy hour feel about as similar as a virtual hug and a real hug.

Remote teams have different needs and priorities.

Trying to impose the same workflows on a dispersed team is a no-go. Instead, try strategies that are specifically geared towards remote teams and virtual environments.

Establish communication norms for digital channels like Slack and email, and have clear expectations for response times. Make space for employees to socialize, but do so in ways that are more conducive to a remote setting, like playing a virtual board game together or making a collaborative comic on a digital whiteboard.

Check-in often.

When you don’t see your team at the office every day, it’s all too easy to fall into the habit of communicating with coworkers only when there’s a deadline or a fire to put out. 

But if employees feel isolated, it leads to job dissatisfaction, worse performance, and more turnover. The data is clear: prioritizing employee well-being is good for business.

So how do you do that when your team is virtual? Without the daily casual interactions that happen organically in the office, be proactive about frequent 1:1 check-ins. That might be different depending on the employee. For some, a quick daily video chat will be easiest, while for others, regular email updates feel more comfortable.

Remote work makes it easier for individuals to set up their own ideal communication patterns. Just make sure your team knows your (virtual) door is open whenever and however they need support.

Maybe responding to superfluous reply-alls with memes isn’t actually as helpful as you think it is.

Ask for suggestions.

Along the same vein, be intentional about soliciting feedback from your team.

It’s impossible to anticipate every need that might arise.

A chronic frustration for one team member might be a quick fix for you, but you need to actually be aware of it first. And that’s inherently more difficult with virtual work. Who knows, buying a good set of headphones for Gerald (AKA Sir Echos-A-Lot) could immediately boost everyone’s job satisfaction by 10%. But you won’t know unless you ask.

Giving people the agency to engineer their own solutions to problems goes a long way too. Employees will be more invested in outcomes if they came up with the ideas themselves.

Make time for collaboration and socializing.

Virtual face time is still face time, and our brains respond to it very similarly. Even if you’re not in the same room together, you can still integrate brainstorming sessions and spontaneous communication into your team’s workflow.

Tools like Donut or Sococo can help facilitate this by making space for serendipitous conversations and simulating the office environment virtually.

Spending time with colleagues outside of work mode can also help TEAMS significantly.

Fun virtual team events get creative juices flowing and increase employee motivation. And time and time again, employee engagement is one of the best predictors for company profits. That’s where virtual team-building activities come in.

Prioritize company culture.

Arguably the most important way for a remote team to stay connected is to foster a strong company culture. Employees that connect with the mission of their company and feel like they belong will stick around for the long haul. And hiring new employees is expensive and labor-intensive, so investing in a solid company culture is both a kind and pragmatic way to engage your team.

It takes more intention and awareness to shape the values of a company remotely, but you’ll be glad you took the time.

Check out #3 on this list for more tips to build a strong virtual work culture.

Let’s be honest; we can all probably relate to this meme. Try a daily stretching routine with your team!

Embrace new rituals.

Without the glue of an office hub, work at a remote company is at risk of becoming transactional and impersonal. That’s why company rituals are crucial.

This can look different for different teams:

• Break up long meetings with icebreaker questions

• Do micro-workouts together in the afternoons to boost your energy.

• Unwind together at the end of every workweek with some games.

What matters is creating routines that are enjoyable, personalized for the individuals on the team, and sustainable over the long haul.

Let go of the strict 9-5 schedule.

One of the best things about remote work is the versatility. (Plus, no more long hours commuting next to somebody on the train eating a tuna sandwich!) Instead of a rigid, one-size-fits-all schedule for the whole team, take advantage of that versatility.

It’s obviously still helpful to have some overlapping hours with your team so they can collaborate (see above), but work together to figure out a healthy mix of coordinated hours and flexibility. Maybe some night owls find their best creative flows at 2am, while others have a burst of energy after the morning meeting.

The science is clear about this: putting nose to the grindstone for 40+ hours every week isn’t healthy, nor does it lead to higher work output.

It’s much better to adapt to the natural rhythms of our bodies and our brains.

Figure out a way to have a good balance between flexibility and enough overlap so that you can still work together in real time when you need to.

Don’t micromanage.

Some of you may be stuck on that last point, worrying that employees will slack off if they’re given such a long leash. That’s where a solid company culture and trust come in.

If you can’t trust A team member to stay on task while remote, being in the office probably wouldn’t change that.

With an established baseline of trust, you can give your team the space to figure out for themselves how and when they do their best work. And it’s a win-win: trusted employees are more engaged, more productive, and more likely to stay with a company long-term.

Organize company retreats.

If employees feel safe doing so, planning annual or quarterly retreats together is a great way to rejuvenate your virtual team.

As flexible and versatile as remote work is, there are some things that just don’t translate. And while it’s possible to build connections virtually, the concentrated team bonding that comes from a corporate retreat or a company offsite is hard to beat.

The connections built there will have a lasting impact on a team, continuing long after they return to a remote workflow.

Even if some folks aren’t able to join in-person, there are team-building options that are specifically designed for hybrid teams. These events allow remote employees to play an integral role in the game flow and stay connected to the rest of their team. Games like this are inclusive of those who need to stay remote due to logistical challenges, personal preference, or health concerns.

Experiment. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Many teams have been remote for over two years now (and some for much longer), but there’s still plenty to learn. The virtual charades tournament that’s a hit with the sales team might be a flop with the accounting department.

Explore different strategies and play around with the ones that show promise. Or just throw spaghetti on the wall, and see what sticks! (Maybe not literally.) You may be surprised at the things that end up having the biggest impact on your team.

Want some help with your remote team engagement?

We've worked with over 850 teams in the past two years, hosting games like Escape the Zoom, Cocktail Party Murder Mystery, and Great Zoom Challenge Game. Our games are hosted by professional actors and are customizable, fun and engaging!

7 Pandemic Lessons: Adventures in Team Building, T-Rexes, and Remote Work Culture

It’s been two years since COVID-19 completely changed the way most of us work, socialize, and interact with the world. At Patchwork Adventures, we started working on virtual team building in 2017, but in March 2020, our number of remote clients exploded. Over the past two years, we’ve worked with 850 clients from companies all over the world, expanded to a pool of over a hundred talented actor/facilitators, and learned so much along the way.

These are some of our takeaways for how to thrive in this new work reality:

1. It’s all about trust.

One of the main arguments against remote work is "how do I make sure my employees are working?" The real question should be, “If you can’t trust someone to work when you’re not meticulously supervising them, why are they working for you at all?”

That’s why giving employees space to connect outside of work is so vital to remote workplaces. As our founder says, “it's all about creating something that feels like a non-work environment, a safe space for people to play and let their guard down.”

Being in that setting together allows people to build deeper relationships that are based on more than just quarterly reports and bottom lines.

When you’re being silly together and working towards a common goal, it allows you to see Bob from accounting as an actual human being instead of just an email signature. (Plus it turns out Bob also does an awesome impression of a T-Rex!) 

When we started the company, we knew we were helping corporate teams build psychological trust amongst themselves. Scientifically this is the most important factor in building an effective team. In order to generate new ideas and admit mistakes, team members need to feel safe to take risks around each other.

But what we didn’t realize is how much of the whole event cycle was also about trust:

• Clients have to trust that we’re a legit company who has experience creating events and that we know what we’re doing.

• Participants have to trust that our team of actor/facilitators will host a great game for them.

• Our actors have to trust each other to convey the right puzzles and game information to the participants.

• The participants have to trust each other to solve puzzles and clues together.

Having those shared experiences and compassion for each other is key to developing mutual trust. And once that’s established, it’s easy to let go of the micromanaging: happy employees want to support each other; they don’t want to let their team down.

2. Everyone is burned out.

We’ve gone through a global trauma. Everyone’s lives have been impacted, and people are still recovering.

Making space for teams to have fun together and take a break from the work grind is now more important than ever.

The preferences of our clients reflect this: in the beginning of the pandemic, we saw a ton of virtual escape room bookings. Puzzle games can mimic real workplace dynamics and build problem-solving skills in a fun, low-stakes environment. They’re entertaining, and have the added perk of increasing a team’s efficiency and performance.

But over the last six months, our Murder Mystery and Zoom Challenge games have become our most popular events. These games are less about solving puzzles and more about having fun and enjoying theatrical performances together. Yet that in no way makes them less effective as team-building games. Being playful together and boosting employee morale is crucial too, especially in this time when there are so many other external stressors.

3. Creating company culture is a process.

It’s not enough to just book a one-off event and put a checkmark next to your “build culture” to-do item. Culture is embedded in every part of an employee’s time at a company, from beginning to end. Job descriptions, interviews, the onboarding process, social interactions, team workflows, advancement opportunities, etc. etc. etc.: all of these areas reflect a company's values and ethos. At every point, there are opportunities for a company to be intentional about the culture they’re building.

We’ve worked with companies throughout the world, and even before we begin a game with a team, it’s obvious what kind of work environment they’re fostering. We see whether the group has high emotional intelligence, and we can tell whether the people on a team genuinely care about each other. These markers are vital to a team’s success.

happy employees who feel a sense of community are more engaged, more productive, and much less likely to leave a company.

Here at Patchwork, we know we don’t have everything exactly right, but we like to think we’re doing a pretty good job of establishing our own team culture. We onboard through playing games. We pair new facilitators with seasoned ones so that they can learn from each other. Our design team plays games together regularly to generate inspiration for future projects and build community. We have fun job titles like Chief Puzzle Officer and Director of Pandemonium.

It’s also clear that our founder truly cares about her team. She pays her actor/facilitators more than five times the industry standard, and even offers sick pay, which is pretty exceptional in the gig economy. She gives her team enough autonomy to develop their own projects and skill sets, but she offers encouragement and support along the way. (Full disclosure: she's also co-writing this blog post, but I promise, it’s all still true!)

4. Remote/hybrid work is here to stay.

Some have struggled in the new remote work environment, while others have thrived.

But love it or hate it, fully remote and hybrid work is quickly becoming the new normal. Giving employees the option of remote or hybrid (for instance, 3 days in the office and 2 days at home) work is now expected, and top performers are leaving companies that don’t allow for that flexibility. This shift is more than just a convenience for employees: it’s also more inclusive, allowing caretakers and those with chronic illnesses to better integrate work into their lives.

This new reality of remote/hybrid work also brings inherent challenges along with it. It can be more difficult to create solid company norms, especially when it comes to team communication and bonding.

With that in mind, Patchwork has developed several new types of team-building games specifically designed for the hybrid working model. In our Art Heist Street Team game, most of the group meets in person while team members calling in from home act as remote operatives. We’re also developing games for in-office teams that can incorporate remote team members as well.

5. Follow the golden rule.

We strive to treat each one of our clients the way we would want to be treated. That's why we're fully transparent about our pricing. There's no "contact us for a quote" button; all the pricing info is clearly spelled out on our website. 

We understand that nailing down participant numbers for your team building event is impossible right now, so we create games that are flexible and can take a group of 5 or a group of 50.

This is also why we make sure we're super easy to work with: send us the date, time, approximate number of players and game type, and we'll take care of the rest. We'll send you an invoice, a game introduction to share, and a zoom link. All you have to do is make sure the participants show up on the zoom call, and we'll make sure they have a great time!

6. Aim for digital first, not adapted.

In addition to designing games, we also play a lot of virtual games (both for fun and for research). The games we gravitate towards the most are specifically designed with the digital medium in mind. Virtual games adapted from IRL games always feel slightly jarring or disjointed, like we’re not getting the full experience. In contrast, the digital-first games tend to flow more smoothly: they feel like they SHOULD be on this medium. For instance, our Escape the Zoom game was created to be played on video chat, and the unique interactions, jokes, and puzzles just wouldn’t work as an IRL activity.

It’s the same thing with your work culture. If you’re expecting to just adapt IRL to virtual, it’s going to be rough and feel like something is missing. But if you design for a digital (or hybrid) environment first, then every interaction, every meeting, every task will already feel like it belongs and makes sense from square one.

7. Check your Zoom norms.

It’s so interesting to see a team come into one of our games with their cameras and their mics off. We get it: maybe your kid has Dora the Explorer turned up at full volume or it looks like a tornado just tore through your kitchen.

Image via https://youtu.be/9GJAiiTTpr4

But bringing your whole, messy self to work has its advantages, too. At this point, nearly all of us can relate to juggling chaos in our house while trying to work, especially if you’re a parent or caretaker. And the benefit of seeing that reflected among your coworkers is clear:

After seeing a coworker’s son do cartwheels behind her in a business meeting, it’s that much easier to build empathy and compassion for your colleagues. While zoom meetings could never fully replace the community feeling of in-person events, they still go a long way, especially if they’re organized with intention.

Whether it’s a one word check-in to kickoff your Monday all-hands meeting, a quick scavenger hunt for items around your home, or using icebreaker questions to help coworkers drop in together, adding small rituals that break down those work walls goes a long way.

No one wants to give a presentation to a bunch of headshots and black screens, and it’s crucial to make the most of the remote connection tools we have at our disposal.

The pandemic has upended so much about our lives, and learning to do well in this new “normal” isn’t easy. So if it still feels too overwhelming, remember to take regular breaks from work mode with your team. Trust us: cracking a murder case or acting like dinosaurs will help you click with your teammates in a way that spreadsheets never could.