Top 5 Area Majority games for strategy and planning

On the 8th day before Christmas, we want to share our top 5 Area Majority games. These games allow players to occupy a space and gain benefits based on their proportional presence in the space ala Risk or the classic game Go. It is the de facto mechanic when playing any wargame. It is a popular mechanic as it is easy to understand and nostalgic to most. Very useful during sessions about strategy and planning.

5. Memoir '44: It’s a historical game where players face-off in stylized battles of some of the most famous historic battles of World War II including Omaha Beach, Pegasus Bridge, Operation Cobra and the Ardennes. Each scenario mimics the historical terrain, troop placements and objectives of each army. Commanders deploy troops through Command and Tactic cards, applying the unique skills of his units -- infantry, paratrooper, tank, artillery, and even resistance fighters -- to their greatest strength.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10630/memoir-44

4. Las Vegas: Players draw money cards and place it in different “casinos” making some more desirable.  Each player has dice of different colors which they take turns rolling. When you roll your dice, you can choose to place them on the relevant casino cards. All players take turns doing this until all the dice have been used. Finally, the player with the most dice on each casino card takes the money associated with it.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/117959/las-vegas

3: Small World: Players vie for conquest and control of a world that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Small World is inhabited by a zany cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, orcs, even humans, who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off. Picking the right combination and special powers, players rush to expand their empires and must also know when to push their own civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692/small-world

2. Melee: Each player starts the game with a Castle, one foot soldier and 15 gold coins. The game begins with a draft which you purchase units (soldiers, knights, camps and catapults) and bid on special abilities that will enhance your income, attack, or other options in the game. The game is then played over 4 seasons and in each turn players simultaneously choose one of three potential actions: (a) tax, (b) build new units, or (c) move and attack.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/165657/melee

1. Twilight Struggle:  A former #1 game in BBG (Board Game Geek – the de facto bible in the board gaming industry!) It is a card driven game about the Cold World. The game map is a world map of the period, whereon players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower. Decision-making is a challenge; how to best use one's cards and units given consistently limited resources?

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12333/twilight-struggle

Top 5 Tile Placement games for spatial awareness & logical thinking

On the 9th day before Christmas, we want to share our top 5 Tile Placement games. Currently the most popular mechanic in board gaming, tile placement as a mechanic has caught the world by storm where most games have a tile placement mechanic in them. These games feature placing a physical piece of cardboard (called the tile) to score points or trigger abilities, often based on adjacent pieces or pieces in the same group/cluster, and keying off non-spatial properties like color, "feature completion“ and cluster size. It a great way to create spatial awareness and logic thinking!

5. Carcassonne: The grand daddy of all tile-placement games in which players draw and place a tile with a piece of southern French landscape on it. The tile might feature a city, a road, a cloister, grassland or some combination thereof, and it must be placed adjacent to tiles that have already been played, in such a way that cities are connected. Players are faced with decisions like: "Should I use this tile to expand my city, or should I place it near my opponent instead, giving him a hard time to complete their project and score points?" Since players place only one tile and have the option to place one meeple on it, turns proceed quickly as it is a game full of options and possibilities.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/822/carcassonne

4. Patchwork: one of the great (designer) Uwe Rosenberg’s  earliest tile placement games where 2 players compete to build the most aesthetic (and high-scoring) patchwork quilt on a personal 9x9 game board. A player either purchases one of 3 patches standing clockwise of the spool or passes. To purchase a patch, you pay the cost in buttons, move the spool to that patch's location in the circle, add the patch to your game board (quilt), then advance your time token on the time track a number of spaces equal to the time shown on the patch. You're free to place the patch anywhere on your board that doesn't overlap other patches. An absolute genius of a game!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/163412/patchwork

3. Alhambra: Another classic game where players are acquiring buildings to be placed within their Alhambra city complex. Money in Alhambra comes in 4 different currencies and is available in the open money market. The 54 buildings of six types become available for purchase in the building market 4 at a time; one building is available in each of the 4 currencies. The game rewards efficiency, as when a player purchases a building from the market for the exact amount, the player may take another turn.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6249/alhambra

2. Kingdomino:  You are a lord seeking new lands in which to expand your kingdom. You must explore all the lands, including wheat fields, lakes, and mountains, in order to spot the best plots, while competing with other lords to acquire them first. The game uses tiles similar to Dominoes (hence the name!). Each turn, a player will select a new domino to connect to their existing kingdom, making sure at least one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type already in play. The order of who picks first depends on which tile was previously chosen, with better tiles forcing players to pick later in the next round.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/204583/kingdomino

1. Azul: Players take turns drafting colored tiles from suppliers to their player board. Later in the round, players score points based on how they've placed their tiles to decorate the palace. Extra points are scored for specific patterns and completing sets; wasted supplies harm the player's score. The beautiful tiles in the game are based on azulejos (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) based on the Portuguese King Manuel’s Moorish decorative tiles.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/230802/azul

Top 5 Dexterity games for good eye-hand coordination and fun!

On the 10th day before Christmas, we will share our top 5 Dexterity games that we want to play all the time. In dexterity games, players need good physical reflexes and eye hand co-ordination as a determinant of overall success. We can have a bit of fun during training can’t we? Have you tried all of them yet?

5. Lift it!: Players try to build projects depicted on the building cards. Players lift building blocks of different shapes with a crane hook to form the correct structure within the time limit shown on each building card. Each correctly placed block scores a point and additional points are scored if player manages to build the structure correctly within the time limit.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/132497/lift-it

4. Flip Ships: A cooperative dexterity game in which players take on the roles of brave pilots defending their planet from an onslaught of firepower. Flip your ships to take out the encroaching enemies and to take down the powerful mother ship before it's too late.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/223215/flip-ships

3. PitchCar: Is a dexterity games where large, wooden, puzzle-like pieces are used to construct a race track that looks very similar to a slot car track when finished. But instead of electricity, players use finger-flicks to send small pucks around the track, whoever finishes the race first wins!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150/pitchcar

2. Coconuts: Players launch coconuts toward a field of cups in the middle of the playing area. Land in a cup, and you get to stack it on your player board; land in a cup on someone else's board, and you get to move it to yours. By playing special "Monkey King Magic" cards, you can force opponents to shoot blind, take long shots, or otherwise bollix their efforts to cup a coconut.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/145639/coconuts

1. Rhino Hero: Players are playing a rhinoceros who is eager to climb a tall building and leap other tall buildings in a single bound. First, though, you need to construct that building by adding walls and roofs to a single building. On a turn, you first place walls on the highest floor, then you choose a roof card in your hand and place it on the wall.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/91514/rhino-hero

Top 5 Negotiations games to be a better negotiator

On the 11th day before Christmas, we want to share our top 5 Negotiations games that we enjoy most at our sessions. In negotiations games, players can make agreements about coordinating action beyond just trading. And agreements may be either binding or non-binding.

5. Bohnanza: In the game, you plant, then harvest bean cards in order to earn coins. Next, you reveal two cards from the deck, and you can then trade these cards as well as any card in your hand for cards from other players. You can even make future promises for cards received! After trading is complete you end your turn by drawing cards from the deck and placing them at the back of your hand.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11/bohnanza

4. I'm the Boss!: Every player is trying to make a deal. Up to 15 deals can be made over the course of the game, but every player cannot be part of every deal. . . so let the negotiations and the FUN begin! Each player who is part of a successful deal will receive a certain amount of money. Complications arise as each player uses their action cards to derail negotiations, insert themselves into a deal, take over the role of boss, and otherwise muck up the smooth flow of deal-making that other players had hoped to achieve.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/115/im-boss

3. Pit: Is an open-outcry commodity trading game. Players offer trades by crying out the number of cards they want to swap but not their identity. The winner of the hand is the first to collect all of one commodity, declaring whatever commodity has been collected. The winner of the hand scores points equal to the value of the commodity, and the winner of the game is the first to 500 points.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/140/pit

2. The Resistance: The game is inspired by Mafia/Werewolf. Players are either Resistance Operatives or Imperial Spies. During rounds, they depend on each other to carry out missions against the Empire. At the same time, they must try to deduce the other players’ identities and gain their trust. Each round begins with discussion. When ready, the Leader entrusts sets of Plans to a certain number of players. Everyone votes on whether or not to approve the assignment. Once an assignment passes, the chosen players secretly decide to Support or Sabotage the mission. Based on the results, the mission succeeds (Resistance wins) or fails (Empire wins).

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41114/resistance

1. Sheriff of Nottingham: Players will not only experience Nottingham as a merchant of the city, but each turn one player will step into the shoes of the Sheriff himself. Players declare goods they wish to bring into the city, goods that are secretly stored in their burlap sack. The Sheriff must then determine who gets into the city with their goods, who gets inspected, and who may have their goods confiscated!

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/157969/sheriff-nottingham

Top 5 Deck-building games for strategic thinking and planning

Let's start a top 5 Game Mechanic games we enjoy for training and fun with the family for the next 12 days (till Christmas!). A game mechanic is basically the rules and style of interaction that guide how a game is played. For example the popular Monopoly game is generally considered a roll and move game - you roll dice and move based on the number of your dice throw (depending on which version and set you own). We shall start with a favorite game mechanic here at ThinkLab - Deck-building games. Deck-building is where players play cards out of individual decks, seeking to acquire new cards and to play through their decks iteratively, improving them over time through card acquisition. We use these games for our strategic thinking and planning sessions. Here's our top 5 Deck-building games:

5. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game: This game is set in the Marvel Comics universe where players recruit powerful hero cards to add to their deck in order to build a stronger and more resourceful deck to build their recruitment powers (to enlist more heroes) and their fighting ability (to combat the villains who keep popping up to cause trouble). As players fight and defeat villains, they collect those cards, which will be worth points at game's end.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129437/legendary-marvel-deck-building-game

4. Flip City: In this micro-deckbuilding game, you have no hand at all; instead, you play cards directly from the top of your deck. Each card is double-sided, with each side granting different special bonuses. Play cards directly from the top of your deck to acquire cash and victory points.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/168679/flip-city

3. Star Realms: Star Realms is a fast paced deck-building card game of outer space combat. It combines the fun of a deck-building game with the interactivity of Trading Card Game style combat.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/147020/star-realms

2. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Battle: A cooperative deck-building game, and it's up to four students to ensure the safety of the school by defeating villains and consolidating their defenses. In the game, players take on the role of a Hogwarts student: Harry, Ron, Hermione or Neville, each with their own personal deck of cards that's used to acquire resources.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/199042/harry-potter-hogwarts-battle

1. Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure: Sneak into an angry dragon's mountain lair to steal precious artifacts. Delve deeper to find more valuable loot. Acquire cards for your deck and watch your thievish abilities grow.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/201808/clank-deck-building-adventure

Just a quick shout out to Dominion, the OG game that started this entire genre called deck-building! We would not get all these other great games if not for the success of Dominion. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/36218/dominion

Improve cooperation using Coop games

How to improve cooperation and engagement in your team? How about playing a cooperative game? A cooperative game is where the players are all working together to defeat the game, instead of fighting against each other like traditional games like Monopoly, Risk or even chess. There are numerous great coop games available today. Some we would recommend would be Outfoxed! and Ghostbusters: Protect the Barrier for children below 10. For older kids or adults, the games in order of complexity from easier to harder are Hanabi, Forbidden Island, Pandemic, Legends of Andor. These games can be your start to experience how to working together instead of of competing against each other can be more fun. #cooperate #learnbydoing #gamificationoflearning #experientiallearning

https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=15986

Dinosaurs + Legacy Game = Unique fun time for all!

Do you like dinosaurs? Enjoy playing games? Then we have a treat for you! You get to play the iconic roles of the original Jurassic Park in the new game Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar. Are you able to run a dinosaur-themed park better than the movie/book? This is a legacy style game - basically an episodic game where your decisions during the game will become permanent changes like character abilities and new rules while the story will change depending on how you play the game. Which means that all games sessions will be unique to the group of people playing it and the game itself will be different for different groups playing. #gamifiedlearning #learnbydoing #legacy #experientiallearning #boardgames

https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/22821038/jurassic-world-legacy-of-isla-nublar-preview-kickstarter-launch-date-price

Popular board games from 1930 to 2019

Here's an interesting list of games that were popular from 1930 to 2019. Why not look at what's popular during the year you were born? That could be a reason why you kept playing a particular game when you were a child. 

#learnbydoing #gamifiedlearning #boardgames #gaming

https://www.chron.com/lifestyle/slideshow/Popular-board-games-released-the-year-you-were-201269.php

Digitalisation at Phoon Huat

Want to share an article on digitalisation. Phoon Huat, a traditional baking institution in Singapore, is able to make a successful shift to digitalising it's business. The take away is the company's success comes from creating a trusting environment, implementing small bite-size changes and allowing staff to learn even during office hours! Great job! #phoonhuat #digitalization #singaporebusiness #culturematters

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/digital-food-supplier-made-in-singapore-phoon-huat-jtc-industry-connect

Learning empathy with a board game?

Learning and developing empathy through a board game? Yes, it can be done with "Empower Empathy". The game designer (an educational psychologist) created a collaborative superhero game, using her evidence-based strategies in her clinical and research work to teach emotional awareness, socialization skills and the power of empathy. https://lnkd.in/gfEYsDxE #lifeskills #empathymatters #gamifiedlearning #learnthroughplay #boardgames

Christmas is coming

Christmas is coming and what are you going to get? How about board games that fit every age, type and interest? For young ones below 8, we recommend Sushi Go, a simple but cute set collection game https://lnkd.in/gzMDDai5. For teens, how about the co-operative game Pandemic https://lnkd.in/eGVcJBzz? For older ones who like science and creativity we have the wonderful Wingspan https://lnkd.in/g3AfKCB9. And if you want to play along an exciting tactical RPG campaign, why not join forces in Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion https://lnkd.in/gwkSx3U8. #creativity #gamingindustry

Nanyang Technological University 2019

Designed and developed the first ever Career Bootcamp for grads and undergrads at the Nanyang Technological University

Designed and developed the first ever Career Bootcamp for grads and undergrads at the Nanyang Technological University

Career Bootcamp winning team on designing a new phone with lasers on our skin and bone conduction ear pieces!

Career Bootcamp winning team on designing a new phone with lasers on our skin and bone conduction ear pieces!

Career Bootcamp second team on designing a way to move water up a mountain seamlessly!

Career Bootcamp second team on designing a way to move water up a mountain seamlessly!

Career Bootcamp third team on building a wall a la great wall of China with limited budget!

Career Bootcamp third team on building a wall a la great wall of China with limited budget!

Will be giving a talk at Toa Payoh Hub about leadership, innovation and managing change on 9 March 2019

“ In a volatile and complex business environment today,  organisations across sectors are experiencing changes such as mergers, restructurings, new competitors and technological disruptions. Leaders in organisations are often crucial in the implementation of change. Change capability is thus an important competency in leaders today. Equipping leaders with knowledge and skills to manage the change process, the desired business outcomes can be reached more effectively with minimal disruptions. “

Step 1: Innovating at workplace

  • drivers of change, assess readiness, why people resist change

Step 2: Implement change process

  • roles and responsibilities, 8 steps, principles 

Step 3: Develop self for change

  • qualities to lead change, managing change

Step 4: Evaluate impact of change

  • data gathering, control measures