Video for Creativity Games - Rules for Abe & Einstein

My recent post on games based on creativity exercises has been popular, so I made a short video explaining the game system in general.  As an example, I also explained how to play my creativity game, Abe & Einstein, in more detail.  It is definitely one of the most fun games a group can play with nothing more than some paper and pencils.

I used this definition of creativity in the video and I think the game models that perfectly:
Creativity - Coming up with new ideas that have value*




I neglected to mention in the video that the game can be modified to fit content areas easily.  For example, in a literature class the teacher could create half of the names for each group drawing from stories the students read in class.

*In the future I will probably include the expression of the ideas in the definition of creativity.

Creativity Exercises - Some creative games for the classroom

“Creativity is just connecting things.”  -Steve Jobs

We need to teach creativity in school and this is primarily a post about a creative exercise that can do just that.

(Update:  I posted my presentation about creativity, the exercises and how these games fit into it here.  This post goes into a lot more detail on the options for the games, but be sure to check out that newer post to see how I present it in class.)

Since most people who come here will be interested in the games and exercises I’ll start with them.  At the end I will include some thoughts about about the origin of the creativity game system that it's all based on for those interested in the design process.

First, here's a video that sums up the system and uses rules of one particular game as an example:


In all of these game activities below, some random words are selected and from them the players must come up with creative responses based on those words.  In terms of Steve Jobs’ quote, they will practice creativity by making connections between seemingly unrelated things.  For example, in the game Why Did the Chicken...?, two random nouns are used make a riddle and the players must write funny answers to the riddle.  In the haiku games, random nouns must be used in haikus.

If you are playing the game with a group of friends, one player will judge each round and pick a couple winning submissions.  In the classroom games below, the class can vote using a classroom response system like the ActivExpressions.

Traditional Games

Only one of these games is a product you would have to purchase.  The others can be played with just a pencil and some paper.  For use in class, students could play in groups of four to six.

• Why Did the Chicken...? - This is the boxed version of the game system where players make creative, funny answers to riddles.  I wrote more about the game and have a short video here.
• The Haiku Game - I made this game using letter cards for an old game that is no longer available.  You could play it with Scrabble tiles or any game that has letter cards.
• Cartoon Chicken - This is by far my favorite of the creativity games.  Players make captions for two randomly paired drawings.
• The Chicken Game System - This is Kory Heath’s page for the generic system.  It is a great read for any serious game designer.  From here you can learn to make a playable version of any of the creativity games mentioned here.
• Abe & Einstein - This game doesn’t exist in any published form as of yet, but you can play if you’ve read the rules to the game system above.  For this game, the prompts are two random famous people or characters.  Players write what the two people would say if they just met.  It’s hilarious.
• Get Paul That Promotion - This is my twisted anti-creativity game based on the system.  It is available for free at the link.  You can read about how it was invented with the help of my students here.

Playing in the Classroom

It seems many people are referring to these classroom games as "class presentation games".  If that's what you are looking for, I have several.

I used to make flipcharts that use Promethean software and I'll list those below, but more recently I started these more generic versions as webpages.  All of these games are based on this general system that uses random prompts, creative submissions and a selection of the winner.

• The Classroom Creativity Game - Combines several versions of the creativity system into one webpage.
• Coming Soon - The Creativity Game of Great Movie Trailers - Students compete to come up with the best ideas for a movie.  This can be used to teach the elements of a great story.

And these are the original versions that were designed for ActivInspire and ActivExpressions, but you can adapt them to be used with any computer/projector setup and any classroom response system (including a show of hands).

Note:  Most of my games were taken down from Promethean Planet.  The links below are currently not active.  You can still find Split Decision.  See my Games page for more information.

• The Haiku Game - Students compete to write haikus based on generic nouns.
• The Mythology Haiku Game - The same game, but with words related to Greek myths.
• The Halloween Haiku Game - And the game with words related to Halloween.
• Split Decision - This game is a little different than the others, but players are encouraged to write creative responses based on a randomly chosen topic.  The goal is to present tough decisions to the class.

Of course any of the traditional games mentioned above could be adapted to classroom play.  You can play with a few contestants, like the classroom flipcharts above, or you could have all students write responses.  Determining a winning submission could be handled with a vote or a single judge as appropriate for your class.

The birth of the creativity game system...

I wrote a few weeks back about my friend Kory Heath and how we met up at Protospiel.  That was in 2003 when my passion for game design was probably at its highest point ever.  I was in love with games and in the pursuit of something new in the hobby.  Protospiel was an annual convention, but it was also a growing group of creative friends.  I remember hanging out that summer with Kory, James Droscha, Stephen Glenn and others.  We talked at a deep level about games and and fun in general for hours on end.  I left with my brain buzzing with ideas.

Over the course of those few days Kory and I discovered we had both created games where  the winner of a contest was chosen by a judge rather than some objective rules.  In other words, instead of quantifying everything and determining a winner by points, a player would just pick the winner or a winning entry that he or she liked best.  But having a judge pick a winner was not the focus of the game.  Instead it was the creativity of the players and the “problem” posed to them that they were trying to solve.  In my game the players were writing funny things about each other and in Kory’s they were trying to come up with analogies.

In the weeks after Protospiel, Kory and I continued discussing these ideas and some like them.  We realized (he first, actually) that we really had a generic system for creativity games.  I loved playing those games because I enjoyed the process of making fun responses.  Kory was impressed with the power of how two random items could generate so many creative ideas.

As Steve Jobs stated, creativity comes from making connections.  When playing these games, some people feel they are not creative enough to come up with a response.  It really is an exercise, though, because with repeated practice (and once they realize failure isn’t so bad) they usually improve.  This observation speaks volumes for what the classroom experience should look like.  I hope these games provide teachers with exercises that encourage students to think creatively.  We need more students who are confident in their ability to create and who find enjoyment in the process.

With our respective groups Kory and I worked on many ideas in this system.  He lived on the East Coast and tested his games with established game designers.  I tested mine with students in the high school game club.  There, we had a ton of fun, but his group was better at the work side of things.  They developed a polished system and had a better focus on quality results.

Some examples of my games are the haiku game and the wacky, almost anti-creativity game, called Get Paul That Promotion.  My students and I had a blast exploring this creative model of play.

Kory’s group eventually created a published version called Why Did the Chicken...?.  Playing off that title, they developed what they called Chicken Games and Kory formalized some of the rules at this site.  The most notable feature that emerged from their play is that players can write as many submissions as they want in two minutes.  It was a great insight that contributes immensely to the excitement and creativity of the game.

This game system is amazingly entertaining and to this day I think it would be my preferred game if I had to choose only one for life.  Quite possibly the best thing about it is that it can be played with nothing more than some pencils and paper.

Interactive Game Assignment 2 - Career Quizzes

Last winter I worked on an interactive game project with high school students where they created Christmas games using ActivInspire.  We modified the assignment for the second semester and based the quiz games on careers.

Here's a list of the parts of the assignment with links to my sample resources.

• Intro to ActivInspire - I didn't create a file for this.  I just showed the class how to make some basic art.
• Title and Template Pages - Students were required to create more art and make some pages in ActivInspire.
• Career Questions - They were required to write10 questions related to their career or career planning in general.
• Final Game Flipchart - They put everything together into an interactive flipchart for the final step.

The flipcharts are being added here as we upload them.  You'll find examples from the Christmas games there too.

In other flipchart news, my own games are posted on this page at Promethean Planet.  Here are some points to note:

• My most downloaded game is This or That? and it will likely pass 2,000 downloads this week.  It's a personal milestone. 
• My Oh, Really! flipcharts have been downloaded over 3,000 times in all.  The original will probably pass 1,000 downloads this week.  Again, the numbers are not as high as many other flipcharts on Promethean Planet, but it is great to know the games have reached many teachers and students.
• And I posted a Jeopardy flipchart a few weeks back that a friend made.  It contains 17 trivia questions based on Romeo and Juliet.  I helped with some of the technical aspects of setting it up. 

And I was experimenting with Animoto and the pictures I took for this project...

Being Heard Above the Noise

This is pretty much shameless self-promotion, but I will put a teacher spin on it.  When I introduce lessons, especially at the grade 6 - 12 level, I often talk about how technology makes things easier.  However, the problem is that we don't get jobs doing easy things.  So the question becomes, as technology makes many things easier, what's still difficult?  I believe in general it is...

• Finding new ideas.
• Making new things.
• Attracting attention.

And that's how I sum up the 21st Century Learning Skills -- Finding, processing and presenting information.  

This post is about the third item on the list.  How does one attract attention in a world saturated with information?  This makes a great challenge to bring up as the class plans the next project based learning unit.  How can we reach a bigger audience than we did last time?

Well, when it comes to a message or a product, there's no substitute for quality.  But we all know my good idea might not find its way to light before your very similar and equally good idea does.  So there's a lot to presentation and getting the word out there.  I have learned a lot about this from regularly reading Michael Hyatt's blog.  

Finding connections within a niche market and getting support from leaders within it is key.  A couple months back I did some promotions for a game I made and this week it was reviewed by someone with more pull than I have.  He posted a review for my game King for a Day here.  (There's my shameless self-promotion.)  I'm glad it received some praise at that site and the author was kind enough to post the review on several other outlets.

Of course, that's good for his own site as well.  To return the favor, I do strongly suggest you check out the Father Geek site.    Even if a lot of the reviews are for things that don't interest you, I bet you have some students who would love to play with or at least find out about the products.  It's worth skimming over from time to time.

So I remind students to create quality work as judged by their target audience and their own design goals.  Also, get it in the hands of people who will spread the word.  Finally, return the favor as best you can.  None of this guarantees a product will hit it big, but it is the way of our information rich, socially connected world.  Even if you don't come up with the next big thing in your niche market you will certainly make some good friends (though you may never see them face to face) and you'll enjoy the journey.

Critical Thinking Activity - Free Games Giveaway

I wrote a post a couple months ago about a critical thinking activity I used to use in class where students would play several board or card games and write about the results.  I am giving away some of those games to two random winners.  A winner can choose the hi-tech or no-tech prize package.  Here are the details.

Hi-Tech -If there’s an iPad in the classroom, consider choosing these two games if you win. In both cases the iPad makes the games easier to learn and they can be played in a shorter time.

Hey, That’s My Fish - After playing this on the iPad I will probably never go back to the board game!  This is a very simple, fun game of picking up the most fish on an ever shrinking ice flow.  

Through the Desert - This game is a little more heavy on the strategy than the first, but again it is greatly improved by letting the iPad handle the details.  Players earn points by placing colored camels on hexes.  Points come from connecting to water holes and oases as well as by making the longest chains in each color.

No-Tech - If you prefer actual board and card games (the way I always ran the activity) you can choose two copies of What’s It To Ya?.

What’s It To Ya? - This is the original edition of my game Oh, Really!.  I used to use it in class to start lessons on life goals.  This article is probably the best source to see how I use it in class.  Two copies of this game will provide enough cards for 16 players to play and you could break that up into four groups of four easily.  With some index cards you can easily make additional cards so four groups of eight can play.  

And since I’m flexible - If you win and you already have some or both of the games we can talk about a substitute given a comparable price and educational value.

To enter:
Leave a brief comment on this post according to the directions below and be sure to follow this blog by clicking “Join This Site” in the upper right of this page.  I will pick two random entries from the comments below and as long as they meet all requirements here they will win the prize of their choice*.

I’m basing this giveaway on my Oh, Really! (What’s It to Ya?) game where players must rank items in order of importance.  So to enter, add a comment below and list the five sets of skills below in order from most important to be taught in school down to least important (in your opinion).  Just write the bold words in your list.  Also, include one brief sentence or so about your rankings overall.  There are no right or wrong answers, so as long as you list them, explain yourself and follow the blog you are eligible for the drawing*.

The skills to be ranked are:

• Technology - Using computers, other devices and technology resources to find, process and present information effectively
• Social - Getting along with others
• Math - Math basics and beyond, as required by state and national standards
• Communication - Presenting information effectively in writing, public speaking or other forms
• Learning - Skills for learning how to learn

Since this blog is frequented by game designers, educators and many others I look forward to seeing a varied list of rankings!

*More details for the prize giveaway:

• The drawing will take place on April 30, 2012.  
• Use an email address or provide information when you comment so that I can contact you if your entry is selected.
• Two eligible comments on this post will be randomly selected.  If the authors have followed the blog and met the requirements above in their comments they will be contacted to choose their prize package from those above.
• For the no-tech prize option, the winner must be in the 48 continental United States.
• For the hi-tech prize option, the winner will receive the apps as a gift in iTunes.
• This is an informal drawing and prize giveaway.  I reserve the right to adapt the rules in a fair manner if necessary.  For example a winning entry may be disqualified if the entrant does not respond in a reasonable timeframe or if an reasonable substitute cannot be agreed upon for a prize.  
• If a selected entry is found to be incomplete or if it is later disqualified, another entry will be drawn until I have given away two prize packages.
• The winners will be announced as a comment on this blog post.