Failing Fast with a Business Model Canvas Game | Part II
To all the people reading this without reading the previous articles, I am in the middle of making a startup themed boardgame and am documenting my progress as I move forward. I keep on discussing the various roadblocks, the attempted solutions and my next step through these articles.
The objective behind the game is to get entrepreneurship and starting up in the mainstream and I find boardgames as an excellent way to do it. If you like the idea or would like to contribute in some way, please visit entrepi.world and reach out to us!
This version of the game was eye-opening. Not only in terms of the game I had created, but also in terms of approaching things in life.
I remember this version very clearly. Not because I believed 1000% in the thematic aspect, but because this was the first game I made my college friends try. Post the pandemic. The feelings were mixed as hell.
Studying in a law school, it is very unconventional for a law student to make a board game on startups. Leave board games, it is extremely unconventional to do anything apart from corporate internships and not talk about callbacks, pre-placement offers, or the day zero.
All throughout the pandemic, while my friends were remotely working for law firms, I was exploring my interests in the startup ecosystem and after a couple of stints, I decided to make this board game I have been working on.
For me, a positive response about the game was really necessary. After all, this was the thing I was coming up with, and its cost was putting the fancy job I could get after graduation like most of my peers were getting. It is basic human nature to compare themself with their peers around them and all I could wish for is for this game not to fail.
In all the previous versions, I tried the versions with my family and friends who have a similar interest and liking in board games, so the fear of failure was not there. Or rather that feeling of comfort was present. But here, I realised I actually feared failure. Irrespective of how many articles, videos, and interviews one reads or sees, practical is different from theory. And when you have to make that decision, even though there is one clear answer thanks to logic, the nervousness would not be absent.
So with the fear of failure and nervousness, I pitched my game and made my friends play the game.
I remember this version very clearly. Not because I believed 1000% in the thematic aspect, but because this was the first game I made my college friends try. Post the pandemic. The feelings were mixed as hell.
Studying in a law school, it is very unconventional for a law student to make a board game on startups. Leave board games, it is extremely unconventional to do anything apart from corporate internships and not talk about callbacks, pre-placement offers, or the day zero.
All throughout the pandemic, while my friends were remotely working for law firms, I was exploring my interests in the startup ecosystem and after a couple of stints, I decided to make this board game I have been working on.
For me, a positive response about the game was really necessary. After all, this was the thing I was coming up with, and its cost was putting the fancy job I could get after graduation like most of my peers were getting. It is basic human nature to compare themself with their peers around them and all I could wish for is for this game not to fail.
In all the previous versions, I tried the versions with my family and friends who have a similar interest and liking in board games, so the fear of failure was not there. Or rather that feeling of comfort was present. But here, I realised I actually feared failure. Irrespective of how many articles, videos, and interviews one reads or sees, practical is different from theory. And when you have to make that decision, even though there is one clear answer thanks to logic, the nervousness would not be absent.
So with the fear of failure and nervousness, I pitched my game and made my friends play the game.
The Game Description | Version 4
The objective of the game is to acquire a certain number of BMC elements using your startup resources and growth hack your victory using your skill and cash cards.
(If you want to read more about BMC and how it is useful for gamification, read this) Each player would be given a BMC mat and their objective would be to fill the elements of the BMC by collecting a certain type of card. These certain type of cards would be the Market Force Cards that the players have to resolve by throwing in resource cards.
Market Force Cards
Just like in the life of an entrepreneur, there are innumerable market forces affecting her venture, in this game, these cards will bring in decisions from various stakeholders affecting your startup. An entrepreneur can choose which fight to pick, as per her bandwidth and resources, and upon successfully overcoming that force, the entrepreneur gets one step closer towards her objective.
(If you want to read more about BMC and how it is useful for gamification, read this) Each player would be given a BMC mat and their objective would be to fill the elements of the BMC by collecting a certain type of card. These certain type of cards would be the Market Force Cards that the players have to resolve by throwing in resource cards.
Market Force Cards
Just like in the life of an entrepreneur, there are innumerable market forces affecting her venture, in this game, these cards will bring in decisions from various stakeholders affecting your startup. An entrepreneur can choose which fight to pick, as per her bandwidth and resources, and upon successfully overcoming that force, the entrepreneur gets one step closer towards her objective.
Each player would be given a fixed number of Cash Cards varying in denominations in the beginning that would be kept face down with their order being unknown.
Players would also be given Skill Cards, which can be used anytime during the game which would give some special powers to the player.
The first player to complete their Business Model Canvas with one eligible entry in every box would win the game.
Theme? A1
Story? A1
Game Mechanics? A1
Game Experience? Not that great.
My personal experience? A1
That was the feedback I received. And I think those were the exact same points I realised while my batchmate and college senior were playing the game. In fact, after the playtest, my mind was pacing at a great speed to how the game could improve and how the ‘good’ feedback I received could be incorporated. After the first game, I playtested the game more than 20 times over the course of one week. The feedback received was invaluable.
Due to this experience, my trust in these two words increased exponentially- ‘fail fast’. In that instant moment, I realised the fear of failure is only a momentarily feeling of nervousness, that is bound to take place irrespective of what you are doing. But the real growth lies in what’s ahead of this feeling in majority of the cases.
When I come to think about it, the worst-case scenario in my case was very limited, and in some cases, it can really be something impactful, but I would still like to believe that failing fast would be the answer. It allows you to come back much stronger, faster and better.
That’s what testing this version with my college friends made me realise, or rather experience it in the first place. And even though this version did not work out, I would happily be going to the drawing board and seeing what worked out or what did not.
More importantly, testing this basic version made me realise the importance of BMC and its gamification and I think I have another game idea that I would like to work on once I am done with my first game. All BMC enthusiasts and experts are welcome to connect and explore the idea of this game!
Players would also be given Skill Cards, which can be used anytime during the game which would give some special powers to the player.
The first player to complete their Business Model Canvas with one eligible entry in every box would win the game.
Theme? A1
Story? A1
Game Mechanics? A1
Game Experience? Not that great.
My personal experience? A1
That was the feedback I received. And I think those were the exact same points I realised while my batchmate and college senior were playing the game. In fact, after the playtest, my mind was pacing at a great speed to how the game could improve and how the ‘good’ feedback I received could be incorporated. After the first game, I playtested the game more than 20 times over the course of one week. The feedback received was invaluable.
Due to this experience, my trust in these two words increased exponentially- ‘fail fast’. In that instant moment, I realised the fear of failure is only a momentarily feeling of nervousness, that is bound to take place irrespective of what you are doing. But the real growth lies in what’s ahead of this feeling in majority of the cases.
When I come to think about it, the worst-case scenario in my case was very limited, and in some cases, it can really be something impactful, but I would still like to believe that failing fast would be the answer. It allows you to come back much stronger, faster and better.
That’s what testing this version with my college friends made me realise, or rather experience it in the first place. And even though this version did not work out, I would happily be going to the drawing board and seeing what worked out or what did not.
More importantly, testing this basic version made me realise the importance of BMC and its gamification and I think I have another game idea that I would like to work on once I am done with my first game. All BMC enthusiasts and experts are welcome to connect and explore the idea of this game!