Benefits of Business Games

Group size and number of students

The base version of this game is designed for 8 groups or individual participants. Each group may consist of one to five participants. The smaller the group, the better, because it forces all participants to engage in the game.

Time required

The duration of the game depends on how much time the lecturer has available. The game can be played in a shortened version, which takes about 15 minutes. However, the full version is recommended, in which case the game typically lasts around one hour.

Materials needed for the game

• Playing cards. The game requires two standard 52-card decks.
• Tokens. You can use any small objects as tokens, such as the official game tokens, buttons, coins, or pieces of paper labeled as tokens. If you don't have any tokens, you can cut out and use the paper tokens provided on the next page
• A printed game sheet for each group. You can find the game sheet in the attached PDF file.

Debriefing after the game

• Encourage the participants to be as active as possible. Let them make decisions together within their groups. At the end of the game, announce the winners.
• Upon completing the game, each group should reflect on the experience and answer the following questions: [1] What negotiation skills did they need to play this game? [2] What can be learned from playing this game? [3] What mistakes did the group make during the game?

Game details

Below is a detailed description of this negotiation game. You can find the complete guide, along with all the necessary game materials, in a PDF file at the end. Details regarding the free use of this game are also included there.

Brief description of the game

Each player is a “picture trader” whose goal is to complete their board. The challenge is that:
• players receive many pictures that do not match their board,
• they have limited financial resources (tokens),
• they must negotiate picture exchanges with other players.
The objective is to fill your card with matching pictures while collecting as many points as possible. The winner is the player (or team) with the highest total score based on completed pictures and remaining cash. The game can be played several times (the sheet is for four games) to see which player has the most points at the end. All 72 picture tiles are shuffled and dealt randomly among the players.

Setup

• Players: 8 groups or players.
• Each player receives a sheet of paper containing a table of their cards and 9 randomly selected cards.
• Each player receives 10 tokens of equal value.

Game phases

Phase I: Market Analysis (5 minutes). Students examine their picture tiles and identify:
• which of their 9 pictures match their cards (their “assets”),
• which pictures are unnecessary (their “export goods”),
• which pictures they need from other players (their “purchase targets”).

Phase II: Open Market (one game lasts 15 minutes, multiple rounds can be played). Players leave their seats and freely negotiate with one another. The following transactions are allowed:
• Barter exchange - Picture for picture.
• Cash transactions - Selling a picture in exchange for cash. A card's market value can comfortably go beyond 1 token.
• Package deals - Example: “I’ll give you these two pictures if you give me that one picture and two tokens.”
• Options and contracts - Example: “I’ll pay you two tokens now if you agree not to sell that picture to anyone else for the next 5 minutes.”
• The JOKER replaces any card.

Phase III: Finalization. After negotiations end, players place the matching pictures onto their cards.

Final scoring

The winner is the player (or team) with the highest total score. Scoring rules:
• 10 bonus points for completing the whole board.
• 2 points for each correct picture placed on the board.
• 1 point for each token left in your hand.
• −2 points for each incorrect (non-matching) picture tile remaining in a player’s hand.
• The JOKER replaces any card and allows to earn the 10-point bonus for completing the whole board, but it counts as 0 points in the 'Points from correct pictures' row. It also does not trigger the −2 point penalty when placed on the board.

Cards in the game

In the game, you should provide the following types and numbers of cards:
• A → 8 cards
• K → 8 cards
• Q → 8 cards
• J → 8 cards
• 10 → 8 cards
• 9 → 8 cards
• 8 → 8 cards
• 7 → 4 cards
• 6 → 4 cards
• 5 → 4 cards
• JOKER → 4 cards (the JOKER replaces any card)
• TOTAL → 72 cards

Tokens (money) in the game

• The game includes 80 tokens (8 players x 10 tokens = 80 tokens).
• Each group receives 10 tokens.
• All tokens have the same value.
• The market value of the card can easily be worth more than 1 token. The players make this decision themselves.
• You can use any small objects as tokens, such as the official game tokens, buttons, coins, or pieces of paper labeled as tokens. If you don't have any tokens, you can cut out and use the paper tokens provided on the next page.

Post game debrief

After the game has ended, ask the students a few questions and encourage them to draw conclusions about negotiation, persuasion techniques, and sales. Below are some sample discussion questions:
• What negotiation techniques could be used during this game?
• Which strategy was more effective: playing it safe or bluffing and taking risks?
• Does having weak cards at the beginning of the game make it impossible to win?
• Does having strong cards at the beginning of the game guarantee victory?
• What persuasion techniques can be applied in this game?
• What mistakes should players avoid during the game?
• How was the exchange value of cards for cards and cards for tokens determined?
• Did the initial exchange price (the reference point or anchor) influence the prices negotiated later in the game?
• What lessons can be learned from this game?

Game download and terms of use

Free license for educational use. This material is free to use for educational purposes, on the condition that an active backlink to the source website https://www.cepolska.pl is published on the course, department, faculty, or university website. Redistribution of this material is permitted only if this copyright notice and these terms of use remain unchanged. Commercial use requires prior written permission.

Please place the link on your institution's website, an online syllabus, or any other webpage regularly accessed by your students.

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About the author of this game

Company - Created by Centrum Efektywności – a Polish company specializing in sales training, negotiation training and business consulting.
Author - Mariusz Głowacki, PhD (graduated from the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw).
Specialization - Business negotiation, sales techniques, and procurement techniques.
Consulting experience - Over 30 years of consulting experience, including the successful completion of projects for more than 150 companies. He specializes in implementing consulting projects focused on improving sales performance.
Teaching experience - University lecturer specializing in negotiation and corporate trainer delivering programs for professional salespeople and procurement specialists. He has trained more than 10,000 managers, sales professionals, and procurement specialists.
Professional programs (Poland) - Apart from academic work, he conducts highly effective B2B workshops for companies. Learn more about his flagship programs: szkolenia dla sprzedawców (sales training), dedicated szkolenia dla handlowców w sklepie (retail sales training), practical szkolenia dla przedstawicieli handlowych (sales representative training), and results-driven szkolenia dla kupców (buyer training).

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