{"id":11989,"date":"2014-10-31T07:19:33","date_gmt":"2014-10-31T14:19:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=11989"},"modified":"2026-02-22T15:45:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T23:45:51","slug":"game-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Game On!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision. You know that \u201cthis classroom of preteens is barely discovering deodorant\u201d smell? I remember it well. I also remember the antagonistic nature of boys versus girls in raucous gameplay. Nothing else could w\"zombie\"hip my classmates into a competitive frenzy then when my fourth grade teacher would split us up into gender-based teams and break out the trivia cards. Oh, the exhilaration of walking up to the white board to triumphantly strike a line through four slashes to make a total of five points.<\/p>\n

This practice continued well into the sixth grade, where our history teacher allowed our class to finally pick our own teammates and compete in the ultimate quiz game where the answer was provided\u2026you just had to phrase the question properly. \u201cWhat is, Jeopardy!?\u201d Each team would compete fiercely to rack up the most points, unknowingly learning and retaining information for a final exam. Ah, the thrill of victory.<\/p>\n

The rules of gamification<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gaming techniques like these, incorporating elements like points and leaderboards, are far from new. The concept is rooted in the deeper mechanics of game creation, which has a rich history in both the competition and education realms. Dr. Karl Kapp, assistant director of Bloomsburg University\u2019s Institute for Interactive Technologies, writes: \u201cA well designed game is a system in which players engage in an abstract challenge, defined by rules, interactivity and feedback that result in a quantifiable outcome often eliciting an emotional reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

This emotional reaction, when applied to learning, can translate into a sense of confidence, achievement and success. This is why many human resource professionals are now constructing employee development and retention programs through what is called \u201cgamification.\u201d In fact, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) has labeled gamification as \u201cthe hottest new trend\u201d in HR for 2014.<\/p>\n

Dr. Kapp notes in a white paper, however, that gamification is much more than the latest buzzword in the professional world. \u201cGamification should be thought of as the concept of using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems.\u201d These game-based mechanics are affirmed by HR Magazine contributing editor Bill Roberts. In his article<\/a> on the pros and cons of gamification, Roberts writes that, \u201ccontent-based gamification, turns the content itself into something that resembles a game, but one with business objectives at its core.\u201d He cautions learning professionals to remember their business objectives first when developing training programs.<\/p>\n

Teamwork, training, and beating boredom
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yardi <\/a>Client Services Team Leader and Trainer Dewayne Jordan has applied this approach to gamification in developing his training sessions. \u201cWith the new trainers we are using it more and more,\u201d says Jordan. \u201cWe play \u2018Wheel of Yardi\u2019 where we use a website wheel for the teams to get additional points after answering questions correctly. \u00a0We play \u2018Yardi Speedway\u2019 which is the same concept except there is a little car that moves across the screen as you get your answer correct. We use all of these for reviewing purposes after the content has been delivered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jordan says the use of such games is effective for team building and helpful for breaking up the monotony of lecture. \u201cI believe that working together in a team environment, especially during training, sets the right expectations of collaborative working. I think that’s the key to life here at Yardi. No one can do this job on their own so it’s important that people learn how to work together effectively and have fun while doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are obstacles in integrating gameplay into training. Dr. Klapp notes that \u201cgames are expensive to both deliver and integrate into a curriculum of an organization.\u201d Creating games is a time-consuming expense that can actually take longer to develop than a traditional lecture. \u201cAdd to the mix an online game and the programming and development costs become a large part of the overall costs of the game,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all fun and games until the Zombie apocalypse\u2026then it\u2019s called \u201cteam building\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some companies, like Room Escape Adventures<\/a>, have started offering team building learning games as a service. Our Yardi Dallas team was recently \u201cTrapped in a Room With a Zombie.\u201d A Yardi employee suggested the game as a team building exercise to Yardi Consulting Practices Manager Julie Bradley and Director of Global Solutions Donovan Garner. Bradley says they were sold on the idea based on the employee\u2019s enthusiasm after experiencing the game first hand.<\/p>\n

12 employees went to Room Escape Adventures\u2019 Dallas location. They were locked in a room with a hungry \u201czombie\u201d chained to the wall.\u00a0To find the key to their freedom, the team had to work together to solve a series of brain teasers and riddles. The catch: they only had one hour to escape the clutches of the zombie. Every five minutes, the zombie\u2019s chain was given some slack while the team raced through the \u201cclues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradley says the clues were mentally challenging and required group collaboration to solve them. \u201cFor example, there were several briefcases around the room that contained clues to find the key we needed to escape.\u00a0The briefcases had combination locks, and we had to solve other clues to figure out the combination of the locks so that we could open the briefcases and get more clues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only a few team members cheated death while others were captured by the zombie. The challenge promoted communication, leadership and thinking outside the box. \u201cThe team really had to come together and collaborate,\u201d says Bradley. She says the logical thinking component of the game is applicable to related concepts in daily tasks. \u201cIt\u2019s such a big help with all of the troubleshooting we do every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s zombie role playing or channeling your inner Alex Trebek, we\u2019d love to hear about how your organization has used gamification for training employees. Share your thoughts and best practices in the comments section. If you haven\u2019t tried the approach, is it one you feel would have relevant application in property management?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision. You know that \u201cthis classroom of preteens is barely discovering deodorant\u201d smell? I remember it well. I also remember the antagonistic nature of boys versus girls in raucous gameplay. Nothing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":442,"featured_media":11990,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3380,4],"tags":[941,940,378,123,180],"class_list":["post-11989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning","category-news","tag-employee-development","tag-gamification","tag-human-resources","tag-team-building","tag-training"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYardi Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Game On!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Yardi Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-31T14:19:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-22T23:45:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"617\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Yardi Blog Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Yardi Blog Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/\",\"name\":\"Game On! - Yardi Corporate Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-31T14:19:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-22T23:45:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12d209262af43d800c30fba2abaa9d23\"},\"description\":\"Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":617},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Game On!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Yardi Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12d209262af43d800c30fba2abaa9d23\",\"name\":\"Yardi Blog Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4796c721c2ceb2c229dd6e9907b4e76da4dd06914020409d763157a7b7ed473e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4796c721c2ceb2c229dd6e9907b4e76da4dd06914020409d763157a7b7ed473e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Yardi Blog Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/yardi-blog-staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Yardi Blog","description":"Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Game On!","og_description":"Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/","og_site_name":"Yardi Blog","article_published_time":"2014-10-31T14:19:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-22T23:45:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":617,"url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Yardi Blog Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Yardi Blog Staff","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/","name":"Game On! - Yardi Corporate Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg","datePublished":"2014-10-31T14:19:33+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:45:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12d209262af43d800c30fba2abaa9d23"},"description":"Can you remember back to your middle school days? Perhaps it\u2019s a different visual for everyone, but mine is a crystal clear picture with smell-o-vision.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg","width":900,"height":617},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/game-on\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Game On!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/","name":"Yardi Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/12d209262af43d800c30fba2abaa9d23","name":"Yardi Blog Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4796c721c2ceb2c229dd6e9907b4e76da4dd06914020409d763157a7b7ed473e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4796c721c2ceb2c229dd6e9907b4e76da4dd06914020409d763157a7b7ed473e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Yardi Blog Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/author\/yardi-blog-staff\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/10\/zombie.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11989"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27428,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11989\/revisions\/27428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}