Gamification

Specificities of games in training

When gamifying training, it is important to obey the “3 Es” rule:

• Educational: The fundamental purpose of games in a training context is to teach new skills.
• Entertaining: Making activities fun encourages learner engagement. Games are also an amusing and stimulating way to improve and develop a competitive spirit. Last but not least, because the stakes are lower in a game than in real life, learners tend dare to be bold and are more creative.
• Effective: All learning serves specific, quantifiable objectives, and games lend themselves perfectly to this purpose. For example, a system of points and medals can be defined to reward the most successful or creative learners.

 How to introduce games in a training context?

The “3 Cs” rule below is a good starting point for introducing an element of play into a training course:

• Challenge: Prefer this term over “competition”. The aim is to establish the idea of progressing towards a goal.
• Credit: Set up a reward system. This strengthens players’ motivation.
• Curiosity: All games are also an exercise in intellectual curiosity, as players seek a solution to a set problem. Curiosity increases engagement and stimulates emulation.

What types of games are used in training?

• Brain games: These are typically variants of board games where players have to answer questions or solve puzzles. This type of training game is ideal for assessing how well skills or knowledge (decision-making, product knowledge, etc.) have been learned.
• Simulation games: The game is a simplified model of a real-life situation. In training, simulation is a great tool for learning knowledge or adopting particular behaviors. This format can be useful for onboarding new employees into an organization, for example.
• Role-playing games: Learners become actors in a scenario. These formats embody a trial and error-based learning philosophy that gives learners the freedom to make mistakes and adopt new behaviors.
• Serious games: The learner is placed in a virtual environment where they can interact with other people. This allows them to reproduce certain real-life situations and make mistakes without dramatic consequences. Serious games are often used as a transitional phase between training and the practical application of skills in a work situation.

What are the pros and cons of games in training?

Benefits of introducing games into training

In a training context, games offer many benefits for learners (we have listed five, but there are many more):

• A fun and informative learning experience. Games are a great way to encourage interactivity between learners and create a “competitive” dynamic between them.
• Practical applications for what has been learned. Games are ideal for trying out the new skills and knowledge acquired during the course.
• Enhanced learner engagement. Learners engage more easily in a stimulating environment than in a more traditional training context, in which they do not have an active role.
• Better cooperation between learners. Games can be collaborative, requiring learners to work together to solve specific problems.

Disadvantages of gamifying training

As with any teaching approach, there are limits to how games can be used in training:

• The game must address a specific learning objective, which should be clearly identified before training begins.
• The game must be appropriate to its target audience. In a training situation, the game should be chosen according not only to the trainees’ proficiency but also to the time of day the game is to be played (the degree of tiredness of trainees should obviously be taken into consideration, and games that require too much effort should ideally not be scheduled for the end of the day, for example).
• Some games can be expensive to implement. As well as the need to purchase equipment or simulation software, for example, there may be costs associated with the human resources used, meaning trainers may have to seek approval to use games in their courses.