Do’s and Don’ts:
Do introduce basic game concepts, such as Brain Architecture, Serve and Return, and Toxic Stress. It really helps reinforce what is in the game. We don’t use difficult science words, but our concepts and metaphors may be new to some people.
Don’t overwhelm people with game directions. Teach the game as it happens, step-by-step. Start with the goal and intro paragraph in the directions and then get interactive right away.
Do engage players to discuss the experiences in the cards. Players may initially just focus on the consequences to the game (e.g., getting weak materials) instead of what the life experience actually is.
Do have a set of simple questions after playing. You can stimulate discussion even with simple questions: ‘What did you like about the game?’, ‘What did you not like about the game?’, ‘How does this relate to your everyday work?’.
Do ask people to take pictures and post them. It helps build an emotional connection to the experience and to the team.
Don’t worry if people break some rules. The game is resilient to some amount of cheating.
Don’t modify the game without asking. We have spent many years testing it and have some good reasons behind its current form. Also, its concepts are based on more than a decade’s worth of research by science communicators.
