book

New Book and some Slides

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The Little Cog book square Cover New Book and some Slides

Quick update of stuff!

First, I have a new book out called “The Little Cog”. You may recognise that as I have told the story here before. It is about a little cog who is trying to understand his purpose in the wider world. It is a tongue in cheek message for managers everywhere – but my kids loved the book as well. Here is a link to get it from Amazon and also a video of me reading it!

The second part of this post is about Marczewski’s Core Principles of Gamification. This is a short series of slides I have released on SlideShare that goes through some of my core principles. They are a condensed version of blog posts on the site AND will be coming out as a small colour book in the next few days as well. Here are 3 of the 4 sets of slides that are in the book. Read More ...

What’s With the Ninja Monkey?

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Ninja head What 8217 s With the Ninja Monkey

A question I am asked a lot (I get asked all sorts, you may have noticed), is why did you call the book Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play?

There are actually two answers to this, the “official” one and the “Unofficial” one. The official one is in the book and reads

I went through many iterations of the title. I went on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and more asking for advice. Then my daughter made an amazing comment. “Daddy, when I grow up I want to be a ninja or a unicorn with wings called Princess Unicorn.” Read More ...

As Promised – Signed Books for Sale

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Even ninja title As Promised 8211 Signed Books for Sale

Hi all.

Just a quick one here, as many of you know who were at GWC16, I was waiting for a shipment of books to sell there. Well – I finally got them at the end of last year. If you would like to purchase one, please fill in the form below and I will get back to you with payment and delivery details.  The books are 15 euros each, with your message – plus delivery.

So if you are interested, there are only 20 and this is a slightly different print to the one on amazon, as it has an updated Game Thinking chapter to include some changes I made around simulations! Once they are gone, they are gone – I will keep a count here as well Read More ...

10 Top Gamification Tips – And A Question

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10 gamification tips 10 Top Gamification Tips 8211 And A Question

Hi there you lovely, lovely gamification enthusiasts! First off, I wanted to collate 10 tips for gamification greatness that I published on Twitter not long ago. Keep these in mind and you are destined for great things… probably.

  1. Recognise don’t bribe.
  2. Challenge don’t patronise.
  3. Focus on solving the problem not on forcing fun.
  4. Record everything you can, but be sure to define clear metrics to measure success and failure.
  5. The rules of the system need to give everyone the same opportunities to thrive.
  6. Let people fail, but make sure they can learn from it.
  7. Gamification should enhance, not annoy.
  8. Bring your solution together with a strong theme and narrative.
  9. Collaboration will encourage a more diverse group of players and deeper engagement than pure competition.
  10. Gamification should be an intrinsic part of the design, not an aesthetic afterthought.

Secondly, I am starting a new book and have a question for you. It is a companion book for Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play, focusing on the practical aspects of gamification. It is going to be shorter and will have less of an academic feel (don’t look for  along citation page at the end). Read More ...

Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play: Errata

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Even ninja title Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play Errata

I would like to thank Alisa Odincova for pointing out an error in the references for Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play.

“[…] a word like “game” points to a somewhat diffuse “system” of prototype frames, among which some frame-shifts are easy, but others involve more strain”
Ludwig Wittgenstein

Marczewski, Andrzej (2015-10-12). Even Ninja Monkeys Like to Play: Gamification, Game Thinking & Motivational Design (Kindle Locations 357-359).
Gamified UK. Kindle Edition.

I referenced this as Wittgenstein, L. Philosophical Investigations. GEM Anscombe, (1953). Read More ...