Thiagi's 100 Favorite Gamesis an exciting new resource from Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, who is acknowledged as the world’s foremost authority on interactive learning. This is a first-of-its-kind collection that represents game play at its very best. Thiagi offers the "how-to" and the "lowdown" on his all-time favorite games. With this resource, you’ll never be stuck for a fun, innovative, and effective activity. Thiagi’s 100 Favorite Games can be used to: Illustrate concepts Aid learning transfer Improve team work Build critical skills in any training event Energize meetings Or us as icebreakers, or openers and closers to a formal training session

BARNGA places people in a situation where they experience the shock of realizing that in spite of many similarities, people from another culture have differences in the way they do things. Players learn that they must understand and reconsile these differences. For 9 or more participants to play in 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

"Quite simply, Thiagi is the most prolific and creative designer of games and simulations in the world." - Glenn Parker, author of Cross-Functional Teams and Team Players and Teamwork Wholly revised to celebrate its 25th anniversary, Barnga is the classic simulation game for exploring communication challenges across cultures. While playing Barnga, participants experience the shock of realizing that despite their good intentions and the many similarities amongst themselves, people interpret things differently, one from the other, in profoundly important ways, especially people from differing cultures. Players learn that they must understand and reconcile these differences if they want to function effectively in a cross-cultural group. The "game" is deceptively simple: participants, broken up into several small groups, play a simple card, never knowing that each group has been given a subtly different set of rules to play by, nor that those rules will change yet again as the game develops and groups of players are reconfigured. Conflicts quickly begin to occur as players move from group to group, simulating real cross-cultural encounters, where people initially believe they share the same understanding of the basic rules and learn to their dismay and confusion that they do not. In discovering that the rules are different, players undergo a mini culture shock similar to actual experience when entering a different culture. They then must struggle to understand and reconcile these differences to play the game effectively in their "cross-cultural" groups. Difficulties are magnified by the fact that players may not speak to each other but can communicate only through gestures or pictures. In struggling to understand why other players don't seem to be playing correctly, and with the aid of the facilitator, participants gain insight into the dynamics of cross-cultural encounters. Participant instructions are provided in French, German, and Spanish as well as English. The 25th anniversary edition of Barnga introduces new features: - Now, as few as 2 and as many as 40 people can play! - Revised, play-tested rules provide optimal jolt to players. - Improved game design helps those with limited experience playing card games. - Partnership play enables players to comprehend the impact of peer support. - Different tournament formats raise new types of communication challenges. - For trainers - an expanded debriefing section that takes less than an hour.

Smart trainers know that games and activities can involve adults in learning like no other instructional method and no one knows more about games than Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan. In this must-have resource, Thiagi shows you how to customize more than thirty different kinds of games -- games that fit the circumstances perfectly and that can be designed in mere minutes.

Career Contentment - Don't Settle for Anything Less! shows you how a shift in your own attitude can attract not just the right job for your background and/or work history, but also attract work that will be meaningful to you as well. The premise is deceptively simple: meaningful work is available to anyone willing to adopt the right mindset and attitude.

Games constitute a wonderful tool for engaging learners and reinforcing learning.This is a practical and entertaining introduction to using games and structured learning activities in training. It is the first book to combine gaming rationale, hands-on advice and sample games. Susan El-Shamy begins with an overview of the benefits of using games, touches on the learning psychology foundations of game playing, describes the most common types of games, and provides guidelines for choosing games appropriate for given objectives.She offers seasoned advice on how to set up and conduct games and on how to assess their effectiveness. She concludes with suggestions on how to adapt existing games and activities to new purposes and, beyond that, on how the reader can create and design his or her own games.The book includes a resource list of commercially available games and related Web sites.Susan El-Shamy admirably succeeds in demonstrating how games promote serious learning in adult training. If you are new to games, this book will allay your concerns about using them. If you are a veteran user of games, here are new ideas, including an introduction to e-games. All readers will appreciate the Ultimate Training Games Assessment form for evaluating games and as a guide to creating their own.