Boardroom Game

One thing I really like about working at In The Pocket, is the freedom to try new things. Especially if that involves creating physical games.

For example, we once created an innovation/ideation game called 'Shift The Game'. When asked to host a workshop on digital transformation, I just knew we had to one up that simple card deck. How about an actual boardgame, with dice and cards and whatnot? The moment the pun 'boardroom game' entered our minds, we knew it had to be made.

🛣️ Meet 'Roadmap, The Boardroom Game'

The result is 'a fun way to have serious discussions', as we put in the intro.

The premise of the game is simple:

• Teams form the management team of a fictional company, as they embark on their journey towards "Better products, bigger futures." (This is In The Pocket's tagline.)
• On this journey the will encounter Challenges that should sound familiar to everyone who has worked on digital transformation. For example:

"A very opinionated but uninformed board member wants to throw the digital roadmap around."

"You're underrepresented with a younger, but important target audience. You'll need to cater to their needs, or you'll become irrelevant over time."

• They then discuss that challenge in their boardroom. Namely: what Strengths will they use to counter that challenge? In case of the examples above:

"We have a clearly articulated vision and strategy that is known throughout the entire organisation," as this will avoid distractions.

"We've invested in customer/user research capabilities. We have experts in need discovery and solution validation," as the first step towards better understanding that new target demographic.

• Perfect counters turn the challenge into an opportunity, and teams progress. Some strengths address part of the challenge, causing teams to stay put. If challenges are not addressed, teams move backwards on the board.
• Finally, because everyone knows it's the best part of Monopoly, there's Chance cards as well. These cut both ways:

"It pays off! The quality of your digital products boosts your attractiveness as an employer. Digital talent increasingly wants to work for you."

"Old habits die hard. You made a big decision on nothing but gut feeling. It turned out... poorly."