Tag: Game Development

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Harnessing the Power of the High Engagement Game

Tabletop gaming is extremely varied. Within this genre exists a diverse array of experiences that deeply engage players, fostering cognitive growth, stress reduction, skill development, and community building. In this article I explore the benefits of a high engagement game. Before we delve into how they’re utilized in military training and the implications for leadership development.

What is a High Engagement Game

First off, what is this concept that we’re discussing? A high engagement game is a type of game that deeply immerses and captivates players, fostering intense involvement and interaction throughout the gaming experience. Unlike more casual or passive forms of entertainment, high engagement games demand significant mental and emotional investment from players. They do so by drawing them into richly detailed worlds, complex challenges, and compelling narratives.

Key Characteristics

  1. Complexity: High engagement games often feature intricate gameplay mechanics, multifaceted storylines, and expansive game worlds. Players are presented with a wide array of choices, challenges, and opportunities for exploration. Consequently, requiring them to employ strategic thinking and problem-solving skills.
  2. Emotional Resonance: These games evoke strong emotional responses from players, ranging from excitement and anticipation to empathy and sorrow. Therefore, through immersive storytelling, well-developed characters, and impactful gameplay moments, high engagement games resonate on a deep emotional level. Helping forge powerful connections between players and the game world.
  3. Interactivity: Interactivity is a hallmark of high engagement games. Pushing players to actively shape the course of the game through their decisions, actions, and interactions with the game environment and other players. Whether navigating branching storylines in a roleplaying game or engaging in strategic battles in a board game, players play a central role in driving the game forward.
  4. Longevity: High engagement games often offer extensive gameplay experiences that unfold over hours, days, or even weeks. Whether through ongoing campaigns, or multiplayer matches, these games provide players with sustained engagement and long-term enjoyment.

Ultimately, high engagement games provide players with deeply rewarding and immersive experiences that go beyond mere entertainment. Playing encourages fostering personal growth, social connection, and a sense of accomplishment. Whether exploring fantastical realms in a roleplaying adventure, strategizing in a board game showdown, or commanding armies in a wargame, players are drawn into a world of endless possibilities and unforgettable experiences.

Examples You Can Play Now

The definition of a high engagement game makes them sound pretty intense. And they can be. But there are some great examples that are being played all over the world right now. Three games to consider include the following, based on the criteria above.

Dungeons and Dragons the King of the High Engagement Game

Dungeons & Dragons (D&D)

Of course, this game needs no introduction as the worlds most popular roleplaying game.

  • Complexity: D&D is renowned for its intricate ruleset, expansive world-building, and limitless storytelling potential. Players create characters with unique abilities, embark on epic quests, and navigate a dynamic fantasy universe filled with danger and intrigue.
  • Emotional Resonance: Through immersive storytelling and roleplaying, D&D elicits a wide range of emotions. From exhilaration during epic battles to empathy for well-developed characters. Players become deeply invested in their characters’ journeys and forge strong emotional connections with their fellow adventurers.
  • Interactivity: D&D is highly interactive, with players collaboratively shaping the narrative through their decisions and actions. The Dungeon Master (DM) serves as both storyteller and referee, adapting the game world in response to player choices and creating memorable experiences tailored to each group.
  • Longevity: With its modular ruleset, endless customization options, and vast library of official and user-generated content, D&D offers virtually limitless replay value. Players can embark on epic campaigns that span months or even years. Exploring new realms, facing formidable foes, and forging lasting friendships along the way.
Twilight Imperium Set Up

Twilight Imperium (Fourth Edition)

This board game has been in production for over twenty years and for good reason. Complex with elements of grand strategy, wargaming, diplomacy and negotiation, Twilight Imperium is a truly intricate game with multiple win conditions.

  • Complexity: Twilight Imperium is a grand strategy board game set in a sprawling sci-fi universe. Players vie for control of the galaxy through diplomacy, warfare, and resource management. With its intricate ruleset, diverse factions, and dynamic gameplay, Twilight Imperium offers a deeply strategic and immersive experience.
  • Emotional Resonance: The epic scope and high-stakes gameplay of Twilight Imperium evoke a sense of grandeur and excitement. Players must navigate shifting alliances, engage in epic space battles, and vie for dominance over the galaxy. Moments of triumph and betrayal are common, fostering strong emotional connections between players and the game.
  • Interactivity: Twilight Imperium encourages diplomacy, negotiation, and strategic planning, as players seek to outmaneuver their rivals and achieve their objectives. The game’s political system allows players to influence the course of the game through voting and alliances, adding layers of depth and complexity.
  • Longevity: With its epic gameplay sessions lasting anywhere from six to twelve hours or more, Twilight Imperium offers a substantial and immersive gaming experience. Each playthrough is unique, thanks to the game’s variable setup, modular board, and diverse range of player strategies and interactions.
Game of Kill Team in full swing

Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team

While played at a smaller scale Kill Team is still full of high engagement.

  • Complexity: Kill Team is a skirmish-level wargame set in the dystopian universe of Warhammer 40,000. Players command small squads of elite warriors in fast-paced tactical battles. With its detailed ruleset, customizable squads, and dynamic battlefield environments, Kill Team offers a richly strategic and immersive gameplay experience.
  • Emotional Resonance: The intense, high-stakes nature of Kill Team elicits a range of emotions. Ranging from adrenaline-pumping excitement during combat to tension and anticipation as players vie for victory. Players become deeply invested in the fate of their squads and forge strong narratives around their battles and characters.
  • Interactivity: Kill Team emphasizes tactical maneuvering, positioning, and decision-making, as players strive to outwit and outmaneuver their opponents. The game’s dynamic scenarios and mission objectives create opportunities for varied and engaging gameplay experiences, keeping players on their toes and fostering strategic thinking.
  • Longevity: With its modular ruleset, diverse factions, and ever-expanding range of miniatures and supplements, Kill Team offers endless possibilities for customization and replayability. Players can experiment with different squad compositions, strategies, and tactics, ensuring that no two battles are ever the same.

These three tabletop games offer deeply engaging and immersive experiences that cater to a wide range of interests and playstyles. We are only scratching the surface. Mega Games take this to a whole new level and will be the subject of a separate article.

You can read about my attempt at creating a high engagement skirmish game (similar to Warhammer 40,000 Kill Team) in my past article on the subject.

A Military Context for the High Engagement Game

High engagement wargaming refers to a form of tabletop gaming that deeply immerses players in strategic military simulations. Once again, fostering intense involvement and interaction throughout the gaming experience. Unlike more casual or traditional wargames, high engagement wargaming emphasizes complex scenarios, realistic tactics, and immersive storytelling. Drawing players into dynamic and challenging conflicts that require strategic thinking, decision-making, and teamwork to overcome.

Key Characteristics

The main facets of high engagement wargaming include:

  1. Realism and Authenticity: High engagement wargames strive to accurately simulate real-world military scenarios. Often incorporating detailed rulesets, historical accuracy, and realistic mechanics. Players are presented with complex tactical challenges that mirror the complexities of actual warfare. Requiring them to devise strategies, coordinate maneuvers, and adapt to changing circumstances on the battlefield.
  2. Immersion and Narrative Depth: Through immersive storytelling and dynamic gameplay, high engagement wargames create richly detailed narratives that draw players into the heat of battle. Consequently, whether commanding armies in historic conflicts or leading futuristic campaigns, players become deeply invested in the unfolding story of the game. Leading to forging emotional connections with their forces and adversaries.
  3. Strategic Depth and Complexity: High engagement wargames offer deep strategic gameplay. Players are challenged to think critically, plan strategically, and anticipate their opponent’s moves. From managing logistics and coordinating troop movements to conducting reconnaissance and exploiting terrain features, players must master a wide range of tactical skills to achieve victory on the battlefield.
  4. Player Agency and Interaction: Wargames of this type prioritize player agency and interaction. As such, participants shape the course of the game through their decisions, actions, and interactions with the game environment and other players. Whether negotiating alliances, coordinating joint operations, or engaging in fierce battles, players play an active role in determining the outcome.
  5. Long-Term Engagement and Replayability: With their deep strategic gameplay, rich narrative depth, and endless customization options, high engagement wargames offer substantial replay value and long-term engagement. Players can embark on epic campaigns that span multiple sessions, exploring new strategies, encountering new challenges, and forging new narratives with each playthrough.
US Marines playing a wargame during training

Why Use Games in the Military

Overall, high engagement wargaming provides players with immersive and rewarding experiences that go beyond mere entertainment, fostering strategic thinking, historical understanding, and camaraderie among participants. Whether recreating historic battles, or exploring hypothetical conflicts, players are drawn into a world of endless possibilities and unforgettable experiences.

Gaming of this style is used in military academies in Australia, USA, UK and other countries to test their junior officers in the chaos and strategies of conflict. For more information on this type of game check out the paper “Why Wargaming Works” by Peter Perla and ED McGrady. If it works for military officers why cant it be applied to civilian leaders too?

The Benefits of Playing a High Engagement Game

Putting the military context to one side, there are significant benefits to be gained from playing a high engagement game. These include:

  1. Enhanced Cognitive Abilities: Tabletop games demand strategic thinking, problem-solving, and quick decision-making. Players immerse themselves in complex scenarios, honing cognitive skills like memory, attention, and spatial reasoning.
  2. Stress Reduction: Engaging in tabletop games provides a therapeutic escape from daily pressures. Whether embarking on a grand adventure in a roleplaying game or strategizing in a board game, players find solace and relaxation in these immersive experiences.
  3. Skill Development: From negotiation and resource management in board games to improvisation and teamwork in roleplaying games, tabletop experiences offer diverse avenues for skill development. Players refine a range of abilities, from communication to critical thinking.
  4. Community Building: Tabletop gaming fosters connections and camaraderie among players. Whether gathered around a table for a board game night or collaborating in a roleplaying campaign, participants form lasting bonds and build supportive communities.

These benefits apply to playing these games in any context. However, imagine harnessing this experience to teach leadership or other soft skills needed in the workplace.

Using High Engagement Games for Leadership Development

I hope you can see that these games have a huge amount of potential that extends beyond the enjoyment of playing. High engagement games provide a fertile ground for cultivating leadership qualities in diverse settings. Players can assume leadership roles, making crucial decisions, managing resources, and inspiring their comrades. Other development opportunities include negotiating alliances, formulating strategies, and leading their factions to victory. By navigating complex challenges and collaborating with teammates, players hone their decision-making abilities and learn to inspire trust and cooperation.

Creating or using games of this nature can be a valuable tool when training and inspiring new leaders. Why not take inspiration from the military and run a high engagement game for your future leaders cohort giving them a taste of the different facets that make a successful leader.

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The Lost Temple: An Adventure in Collaboration

I’ve been working on the idea of a roleplaying game that can be used for leadership development for a while now. My first attempts can be found in my Play2Lead ruleset. During playtesting the rules definitely work as intended. Now all that is needed are some scenarios that focus on specific leadership lessons. There are so many themes to choose from it was difficult to work out which to use. However, the more I thought about it the more collaboration bubbled to the surface. Every successful team, business and leader thrive on collaboration. Therefore this adventure scenario focuses on exactly that.

Design Principles

For a game to work in the leadership development setting I believe it should attempt to fit within the following principles:

  • Easily identifiable. Players who don’t like or understand fantasy should be able to relate to the setting and themes of the adventure
  • Playable in a lunch break. Maximum play time of 1.5 hours, though ideally within 1 hour
  • Playable for 4-6 participants excluding the gamemaster
  • Have a clear objective
  • Start in the action immediately
  • Apply pressure throughout, forcing fast tense decision making
  • Focus heavily on the leadership lesson. In this instance “collaboration”.

Given the short playing time I have designed the scenario around the following timeline:

  • Introduction, explanation of rules and choosing of roles – 10 mins
  • Encounter 1 – straight into the action – 15 mins
  • Encounter 2 – problem solving – 15 mins
  • Encounter 3 – explosive finale – 15 mins
  • Wrap up and debrief – 10-20mins

Adventure Introduction

In the heart of the dense jungle lies the ruins of an ancient temple, rumored to hold untold riches and artifacts of great power. However, the temple is also said to be filled with traps and puzzles designed to test the wit and cooperation of those who dare to enter.

A group of treasure hunters have funded an expedition to the temple in the hope of uncovering it’s wonders to share with the world. The architects of this ancient place were cunning beyond measure, and the team will soon discover that their greatest challenge will be working together to make it out alive.

For inspiration think Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Unchartered and Jungle Cruise.

Player Set Up with Collaboration in Mind

Using the Play2Lead ruleset all players need is an occupation. For this adventure they can choose from:

  • Archaeologist – professor of the ancient world. Equipped with a lantern. Read hieroglyphics, understand artefacts, high level of knowledge
  • Climber – working at heights professional. Equipped with a 50m rope. Climbing, ropework, high level of agility
  • Engineer – technical specialist. Equipped with a shovel and axe. Construction, demolition, high level of practical know how
  • Navigator – directional expert. Equipped with a compass. Map and compass skills, unerring sense of direction
  • Pilot – helicopter pilot. Equipped with a lantern. Piloting vehicles of all types, radio use, electronics master
  • Expedition Leader (optional) – no specialist skills. Equipped with a knife. Must facilitate the team working together

To speed things up have a character sheet for each character type ready to go.

#1 Collapsing Chamber

We begin in the treasure room of the Lost Temple. A chamber adorned with intricate carvings, hieroglyphics and ancient relics. Piles of gold and gems lie strewn along the walls. Timber shelves lie broken on the floor. On a roughly hewn plinth sits the fabled statue of the gods glinting in the torchlight. Pick a player at random. That characters hand has just closed around the ancient artefact. Suddenly, they trigger a hidden mechanism, causing the chamber to shake violently as the ceiling starts to collapse. Large stone blocks begin to fall from above, blocking the exit. Gold coins rain from the ceiling filling the chamber and restricting movement.

Challenge: The party must quickly assess the situation and find a way to escape before they’re crushed by falling debris.

Solution: A hidden lever is located up one of the walls. Reading the hieroglyphics will point out it’s location. Otherwise careful observation might allow it to be found. Pulling the lever stops the collapse and reveals a new passage to safety. Alternatively, the party could use their strength and agility to dodge falling rocks and clear a path to the exit.

Remember this is a high pressure situation. Make players take Exhaustion (Play2Lead) or other Pressure Tests if using another system to ratchet up the tension. Don’t give the players too much time to plan. If an individual is taking too much time skip them and move on. Pushing the time threat is a critical part of this encounter.

#2 River Rapids

Exiting the collapsing chamber, the group of adventurers find themselves in a vast underground river that flows through the heart of the temple. The river’s currents are swift and treacherous, and the only means of escape seems to be an old rickety raft tethered to the shore.

Challenge: Maneuvering the raft through the river’s rapids while avoiding jagged rocks and hidden dangers.

Solution: The party must work together first to make the raft river worthy. Not doing this will give it a chance to break up halfway through the encounter. Secondly, to navigate the river, using their skills to steer the raft safely. The river will fork. The navigator will be able to tell which way to go. Alternatively there is a fresher breeze coming from the right channel. Along the way, they encounter a series of jagged rocks that threaten to damage and capsize the raft.

Reward player ingenuity here. What will they use to steer the raft? How will they make it safe to use?

#3 Guardian’s Gauntlet

The river throws the group from a low waterfall into a pool below. The bright sunlight of the jungle pool meets them as they find themselves out of the temple. However, as they swim to the side something slides against the leg of one of the swimmers. They are not alone.

Within the pool lives a formidable guardian—a massive, serpentine creature with gleaming scales and razor-sharp fangs. Blocking their path, the guardian seems intent on preventing anyone from leaving the temple alive. It will attempt to encircle the character that is most alone and attempt drown it. One bite from this creature will kill a character outright. This should be played as a deadly, exciting grand finale to the adventure.

Challenge: Defeating or evading the guardian while making a desperate dash for freedom.

Solution: The party must use their wits to outmaneuver the guardian, perhaps by exploiting its weaknesses or finding a way to distract it long enough to slip past. Alternatively, they could way to incapacitate it temporarily, allowing them to make their escape without resorting to violence.

Heighten the terror by having the creature signal it’s presence. Slithering past a leg. Ripples on the water. A flick of a slimy, scaly tail. When the creature reveals itself play up the danger, the toothy maw, the crazed eyes. Make sure the payers know that their characters are in trouble.

Once again reward out of the box thinking and collaboration. How will the team distract or defeat the creature together. This is not something they can win alone.

Collaboration Debrief

Did the players escape unscathed? While the adventure is over, the experience is not. Now is the time to get your players reflecting upon their experience. Ask some or all of the following questions to draw out the discussion.

  • Where did you as a team collaborate well?
  • Did you utilize everyone’s skills?
  • How could you have integrated collaboration better?
  • Is there anything you would have done better?

Following the debrief it’s also worth asking your players for feedback. Did they enjoy the experience and was there anything that could have been done better?

Final Thoughts on an Adventure in Collaboration

This adventure aims to be a fast, exciting experience that fosters collaboration between the players. A chance to debrief afterwards gives attendees a chance to reflect on their experience and what went well and what didn’t.

I envisage this as a useful experience for a cohort of a future leaders training course. Run this experience at the beginning of the course. Then, follow up with a similar experience at the end and see how they have grown as leaders. Has their level of collaboration increased?

Alternatively it could be used as a way help a newly forming team. A chance to get to know each other in a fun experience as well as reflect on how they might work together moving forward. Other uses might be as a way to introduce new people to world of rpgs. A small commitment of time as a way to dip their toes into this exciting medium.

I hope this simple scenario opens your eyes to what can be done with a short, simple adventure. Where do you think it could be used?

A pdf of this adventure with character sheets can be found at the Play to Lead downloads page.