Play at Work: How Games Inspire Breakthrough Thinking

PandoDaily.com editor Penenberg (Viral Loop) sets out to help break the cycle of negativity in the work place, claiming that the integration of gaming into workflow can create a more productive, happy, and motivated workforce, and lead to higher profits. Here, he discusses some of the neuroscience behind the benefits of games, exploring why our brains respond so well to play, and providing examples of how it has responded well in the past. He cites the success of Weight Watchers and fantasy football as dependent on some integration of gamification. The book's highlights include sections explaining the social satisfaction of gaming, from life-simplifying inventions for "common, everyday struggles," to video games such as Angry Birds and World of Warcraft, and processes whereby Nintendo Wii has helped rehabilitate injuries, as well as an exploration of how even the simplest point systems can provide necessary motivation. Intense and dense, Penenberg's hat tip to Gabe Zimmerman ("Game mechanics cannot solve fundamental business problems") is a reminder that, though game mechanics is not the ultimate solution, it can help us all work better. (Oct.)