Play takes many forms. We play chess against a computer. We might play tennis with a friend. Enjoyable, but quite different kinds of play. Chess against a computer is solo play against a machine which has a prepared response for whatever we might choose to do. Whereas tennis is social play. Unlike playing against a computer, when we play against another person the way the ball is returned to us by them is unknowable. It is complex.

Serious play takes games to an extra level where the play itself is a source of inspiration and learning.

Serious social play is when people play against people and the experience of the game is instructive and educational for the work that they do.

Teams often choose to play together - go karts, sailing, golf, and many others. These are fun things to do. However, the link to those activities and the work we do on a normal day is sometimes less obvious. Serious social play simulations compress the time gap between the behaviour and its consequence. This is valuable for a work team because their stakes are often higher but their time frames longer. If there is destructive behaviour in the team it might take months for its consequences to show up and by that stage the cost of the behaviour quite extensive. Far better to surface this behaviour in the low-stakes environment of the simulation game and realise it’s costly consequence without time and money being spent.