Interested in how a shared hobby among different team members can unexpectedly turn into a unique idea, and how it can materialise and become a distinctive phenomenon of internal company culture? Wondering what we’re talking about? It’s about a special Sėkmingi version of the widely known ‘What Do You Meme?’ game. Although it may seem just like a game, it’s actually much more. How did this unique idea come about, and what benefits does the use of gaming elements bring?
The history of the idea’s emergence
Our team is united, among other things, by a huge love for board games. We have a whole bunch of them in the office, so choosing what to play during lunchtime is often not an easy task. Once, while playing one of our favourite games – ‘What Do You Meme?’, colleagues loudly pondered how fun it would be to create our own version of this game.
If you’re not familiar with ‘What Do You Meme? ‘ – it’s a very witty board game consisting of two types of cards. One type is used to describe a particular situation, and the other type features various memes on them, which players use to react to the situation presented to them. Each player takes turns reading a situation card, and the other participants compete to come up with the funniest reaction to each situation.
Gradually, we started collecting various situations, sayings, jokes, and pictures/photos from our agency’s life that could become part of the Sėkmingi game version. After gathering enough material, the game took on its physical form and became ‘What Are You Meming?’.
What benefit did this project bring us?
The first version of the game didn’t mark the end of this project. It is continually being updated with new text and visual cards, so we have already accumulated a significant part of our agency’s history. This is particularly beneficial for new team members joining the collective, as it allows them to familiarise themselves with the company culture, get to know customers, and various workplace situations.
The creation of the game reveals the creativity of the collective, as various situations and events are discovered or remembered. It’s like a diary in which all team members participate in its creation, thus learning, discovering new things, and having fun. Among other things, this contributes to team motivation, team building, and engagement.
Use of gamification practices
The game we created is just one of many examples of how cleverly using gamification elements can become beneficial tools in a company’s operations. However, there are many different gamification methods and ways to use them. To encourage employee engagement, strengthen team spirit, you can use point systems, leaderboards, team challenges, offer rewards for achieving individual or team goals, and create various new gamification projects tailored specifically to your company and its employees. In external activities aimed at attracting potential customers or newsletter subscribers, you can try methods such as a wheel of fortune or a loyalty program.
The possibilities for using gamification are extremely wide, and the benefits are significant. It just takes a creative approach and a willingness to experiment until you find the practices that work best for you. If you want to learn more about gamification elements and how you can effectively apply them in your operations, we are ready to advise you – let’s get in touch!