Professor Game Podcast

Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Stephen Balzac, PhD, organizational development consultant and president of 7 Steps Ahead, shows why LARP in business settings exposes the dynamics that meetings hide. He explains how a fantasy role lets teams argue about goals and success without threatening anyone's business identity, and shares what a pandemic flu simulation taught him: people who played themselves took fewer chances and defended their decisions harder than people playing a character. He also tells how a game full of his coworkers turned into an x-ray of his own company, and why he builds story before mechanics. Listeners come away with a clear case for using roles to surface real decisions and give people room to practice new behaviors. About the Host Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Key Takeaways In Stephen Balzac's pandemic flu simulation for the National Capital Region, participants who played themselves took fewer chances and defended their decisions harder than those playing pre-written characters. Casting a programmer or sales manager as the big bad wolf or the evil duke lets teams argue over goals and what success means without the argument threatening anyone's business identity. Balzac's early spy games failed because roles were only labels: his CIA and KGB agents simply cooperated until he built story and goals that mattered within the game's time frame. Watching coworkers play one of his games, Balzac saw the office compressed: the LARP became an x-ray of the business and a safe place to practice behaviors people had no room for at work. Every goal you give a character is a statement about what is possible in the world, so build the story first; a clever mechanic with a story bolted on is not a role-playing game. In Secrets of the Necronomicon, the magic system is scattered across a 30-page madman's book and a 15-page story, so players argue over physical texts and the fiction becomes socially real. Topics Covered 0:00 Stephen Balzac and the MIT Assassins' Guild 2:48 Why fantasy roles free people up 4:09 Spies who wouldn't stay in character 7:05 Model UN, French pride and a staged kidnapping 11:39 The game that became an x-ray of the business 13:23 How Balzac designs a LARP for a company 14:43 Pandemic simulation: playing yourself vs a character 16:58 Goals, story first, and the Necronomicon 20:29 Adam Grant, Daron Acemoglu and Ed Schein 23:22 Making it easy for people to play roles 24:38 Chess, Catan and Galactic Civilizations 27:05 Use games to build one organization Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD About Stephen Balzac Stephen R. Balzac, PhD is a consultant, author, and speaker, and president of 7 Steps Ahead, an organizational development firm that uses live-action roleplaying to help leaders develop strategy, surface real decisions, and build teams that learn faster, act braver, and perform better. He founded the MIT Assassins' Guild, now the longest-running collegiate LARP organization in the United States, and designing live games led him from a career in computer science to a doctorate in psychology. With over thirty years in high tech as an engineer, manager, entrepreneur, and consultant, he is the author of The 36-Hour Course in Organizational Development (McGraw-Hill), Organizational Psychology for Managers (Springer), and The LARP Effect: Creating Connection and Competitive Advantage Through Story, Ritual, and Roleplay (Springer), and a contributing author to Ethics and Game Design: Teaching Values Through Play. He also appears in the Monopoly documentary Under the Boardwalk, with the distinction of being the only guest personally panned by a New York Times movie critic. Find the Guest Online Website: 7 Steps Ahead Book: The LARP Effect LinkedIn Mentioned in This Episode Some links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Stephen's book: The LARP Effect Recommended book: Edgar Schein's Organizational Culture and Leadership Suggested future guests: Adam Grant (organizational psychologist) and Daron Acemoglu (MIT economist) Stephen's LARPs: Secrets of the Necronomicon, Game of Empire MIT Assassins' Guild Chris Hemsworth's documentary series Limitless (the aging episode) Board game designer Tom Lehmann (Race for the Galaxy) Favorite games: chess, plus Roll for the Galaxy, Settlers of Catan, and Galactic Civilizations (Stardock) Free Resources and Get in Touch Core Drives in the Wild: Professor Game Free Guide Get Daily Value on Your Email Let's chat about your gamification project YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Start Your Community on Skool for Free Ask a question Looking forward to reading or hearing from you, Rob

Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Rob breaks down algorithm aversion, showing why people abandon an AI tool after its first visible mistake, even when it outperforms them. He covers the 2015 and 2018 Wharton studies by Dietvorst, Simmons and Massey, where letting people adjust a model's forecasts by as little as 2 points out of 100 lifted the share who chose it from 47% to 68%, and connects them to Core Drives 3, 4 and 8. He also explains why he keeps using the AI that helps prepare this show, despite it inventing proof every week. Listeners learn how to design a small, bounded handle for AI rollouts and how to tell a real control from a placebo button. About the Host Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Key Takeaways In Dietvorst, Simmons and Massey's 2015 Wharton studies, people who watched a statistical model make forecasts were less likely to bet on it, even after seeing it outperform a human forecaster. In the 2018 follow-up, only 32% chose a forecasting model they could not change, while 76% chose the same model when they could adjust each forecast by up to 10 percentiles. The size of the handle barely mattered: 71%, 71% and 68% chose the model when allowed to adjust by 10, 5 or 2 points, against 47% when no adjustment was allowed. People who could adjust the model were less shaken by its errors and later handed over completely more often, 30% versus 12%. A small handle is how people learn to let go. Two rollout failures mirror each other: full autonomy dies at the first visible mistake (Core Drive 8, Loss & Avoidance), and approval on every step turns people into rubber stamps. An approval step nobody ever uses to change anything works like the door-close button in most US elevators. Core Drive 3 (Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback) needs a control that really changes the outcome. Topics Covered 0:00: The AI that lies to me every week 1:17: Gartner's 40% and what their list leaves out 2:16: Why we fire machines for mistakes we forgive in people 4:11: Two points of control changed the numbers 6:17: Calibrated trust and Core Drives 3 and 4 8:55: Full autonomy vs approval on everything 10:10: Approval steps as placebo buttons 11:35: How to build a small, bounded handle 13:16: Four questions for your own AI rollout 14:06: Where the research stops 14:52: What could they have done about it? Mentioned in This Episode Algorithm Aversion: People Erroneously Avoid Algorithms after Seeing Them Err (Dietvorst, Simmons & Massey, 2015) Overcoming Algorithm Aversion: People Will Use Imperfect Algorithms If They Can (Even Slightly) Modify Them (Dietvorst, Simmons & Massey, 2018) Gartner: Over 40% of Agentic AI Projects Will Be Canceled by End of 2027 Understanding Algorithm Aversion: When Do People Abandon AIs When They See Them Err? (MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy) The Octalysis Framework by Yu-kai Chou Free Resources and Get in Touch Core Drives in the Wild: Professor Game Free Guide Get Daily Value on Your Email Let's chat about your gamification project YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Start Your Community on Skool for Free Ask a question

Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe, co-founder and CEO of Trophy, a gamification layer that powers features for around two million consumer-app users, makes the case for rewards beyond points and badges: rewards people earn instead of rewards they are handed. He walks through a gym guest pass that nobody uses when it is free and that members value once they earn it with three straight months of attendance. Rob and Charlie also debate where A/B testing helps gamification and where it hides long-term motivation such as Core Drive 1 (Epic Meaning & Calling). Listeners come away with practical alternatives to points and badges and a clearer sense of which features they can test and which need judgment. About the Host Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Key Takeaways A gym guest pass earned after three consecutive months of attendance beats a free pass nobody uses: earning it triggers Core Drive 6 (Scarcity & Impatience), and an expiry date drives both retention and referrals. Gamification can work without points and badges when rewards tie back to why users act; progress indicators and tangible real-world perks, such as bringing a friend, are practical alternatives. Trophy ran its own podcast for seven to eight months to generate leads, then shelved it when the audience never reached critical mass; a shareable report of insights from its platform data proved easier to make and spread further. The most common gamification mistake Charlie sees is "set it and forget it": teams ship a feature and move on instead of cohort-testing it against engagement KPIs such as frequency, session length, and retention. A/B testing has a floor: with 100 users split 50/50 you will not reach significance in a reasonable timeframe, while 100,000 users can give a usable answer within a couple of weeks. Short test windows favor short-term motivators. Core Drive 1 (Epic Meaning & Calling) rarely shows up in a one-month A/B test, yet it keeps users for years; Charlie argues tests pay off at early drop-off, while long-term features take more intuition. Topics Covered 0:00 Meet Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe of Trophy 2:19 Why Trophy shelved its own podcast 4:22 Design by subtraction and saying no 6:04 Iterating features until they stick 8:16 Inside Trophy's pilot programs 9:59 Why set-and-forget gamification fails 11:59 Why A/B tests miss long-term motivation 14:01 A book pick, a superpower, and Elden Ring 16:36 Gamification without points and badges 18:12 The earned gym guest pass 19:38 Trophy's Gamification Intelligence Report Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD About Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe is co-founder and CEO of Trophy, the gamification layer for consumer apps. Trophy helps consumer apps ship gamification features that lift engagement and retention, and powers those features for around two million users. With a technical background, Charlie splits his days between sales, product, and helping customers map their users' motivations to the right mechanics. Find the Guest Online Website: trophy.so LinkedIn: Charlie Hopkins-Brinicombe Trophy on LinkedIn: Trophy Labs Mentioned in This Episode Some links below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Recommended book: How I Built This by Guy Raz Trophy's Gamification Intelligence Report (linked from the Trophy home page) Octalysis Framework (Core Drives 1, 5, and 6) Favorite games: Clash of Clans and Elden Ring Free Resources and Get in Touch Core Drives in the Wild: Professor Game Free Guide Get Daily Value on Your Email Let's chat about your gamification project YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Start Your Community on Skool for Free Ask a question

Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Rob explains subtraction neglect, the tendency of teams to fix problems by adding features, programs and pilots while rarely considering what to remove, using his own decision to stop publishing Professor Game on video as the case study. He walks through the 2021 Nature study by Adams, Converse, Hales and Klotz, including a Lego experiment where people paid to add bricks and a university call for ideas where 89% of suggestions were additions. Listeners learn the questions that expose things nobody decided to keep, and how to present a removal to leadership as a trade-off with a number attached. About the Host Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Key Takeaways In the 2021 Nature study by Adams, Converse, Hales and Klotz, people paid 10 cents per added Lego brick to stabilize a platform, yet only 41% found the better fix: removing a single block for free. When an incoming university president asked the community for ideas, 89% of the suggestions added something to the university and only 11% proposed removing anything. Shown an additive and a subtractive solution side by side, more than eight in ten people choose removal. Subtraction gets overlooked far more often than it gets rejected. Professor Game's full video episodes began as a way to feed social clips. When the clipping stopped, the video ran for about two years with modest views, because nobody ever decided to keep it. Removal tends to come to mind only when something looks visibly bloated or odd, like a 15-ingredient soup. Things that look normal, such as video on a podcast, get a free pass. Present a removal as a trade-off with a number: what it would cost to make the thing work, how uncertain the return is, and where that money and effort will go instead. Topics Covered 0:00 - The last video episode of Professor Game 0:26 - Why the show started audio-only 1:27 - How video crept in, one sensible step at a time 3:06 - The reason left, the video stayed 3:54 - Dashboards, pilots and features nobody decided to keep 4:59 - The Nature study on why we overlook removal 5:40 - Paying for Lego bricks instead of removing one 6:31 - Why removal never comes to mind 7:48 - Could I make video work? The wrong question 9:11 - How to report a removal without spin 10:55 - Questions to ask about any feature 12:00 - The first move of the relaunch Mentioned in This Episode People systematically overlook subtractive changes (Adams, Converse, Hales and Klotz, Nature, 2021) Riverside The Octalysis Framework Free Resources and Get in Touch Core Drives in the Wild: Professor Game Free Guide Get Daily Value on Your Email Let's chat about your gamification project YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Start Your Community on Skool for Free Ask a question

Get the free Core Drives in the Wild guide, behavioral design applied to real products: professorgame.com/WildCD Episode Summary Rob breaks down adoption target difficulty, showing why login counts cannot tell you whether a goal is set right. He covers a 2026 Journal of Marketing Research study of the Australian micro-investing app Raiz Invest and a randomized test in a popular free-to-play puzzle game, drawing on both to explain why missed targets are associated with lower retention a year later. Listeners learn to measure the valuable action instead of the login and how to re-tune difficulty for each person. About the Host Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Key Takeaways A 2026 Journal of Marketing Research study of the investing app Raiz found a goal feature helped most users but left a substantial segment no better or worse off, a split linked to how hard each goal was for the person. In Raiz's email test, five message versions went to 10,000 customers each; among the 329 who adopted within two weeks, suggesting a recurring amount beat plain goal setting, while suggesting only an end goal did not. Login counts did not differ across any Raiz test group, so a login-based metric would have missed what people were actually doing in the app, which is the valuable action a business needs to track. In a randomized test of about 330,000 puzzle-game players, easier boards for players who had been playing less lifted win rates about 14 points and added about 10 rounds over 30 days; they used fewer boosters per round, yet total spending rose, against the company's expectation. Missed targets were associated with lower retention a year later, a horizon that a seven-week test or a sprint review would never catch, which is why Rob recommends tracking the miss rate by segment and by period. Core Drive 3 (Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback) acts as the feedback loop that keeps Core Drive 2 (Development & Accomplishment) meaningful when difficulty is re-tuned for each person. Topics Covered 0:00 - Who set the bar on your last adoption target? 0:35 - Three ways a bar goes wrong 1:50 - The Raiz email test: recurring amounts beat plain goal setting 2:20 - Why login numbers miss real behavior 3:14 - The puzzle game test: easier boards, higher spending 4:24 - Five moves for setting the bar 6:57 - Would the person thank you if they could see the dial? 8:18 - Where to start: the Core Drives in the Wild guide Mentioned in This Episode Both studies below are published research, not client work. An, Bonfrer and Eckert (2026), "Increasing App Engagement Behaviors via Goal-Enabling Technology Features: The Role of Goal Difficulty Dimensions," Journal of Marketing Research (the Raiz Invest study) Ascarza, Netzer and Runge (2025), "Personalized Game Design for Improved User Retention and Monetization in Freemium Games," International Journal of Research in Marketing (the puzzle game test) The Octalysis Framework The Octalysis Group and Procter & Gamble sales gamification case study Free Resources and Get in Touch Core Drives in the Wild: Professor Game Free Guide Get Daily Value on Your Email Let's chat about your gamification project YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Start Your Community on Skool for Free Ask a question