Games for top civil servants : An integrated approach

In designing De BurgemeesterGame-The Mayor Game-we aimed to develop a game that would be used and appreciated by a target population that was hardly used to being trained and had little affinity with applied gaming: mayors. To make sure that the (learning) goals, the context, the characteristics of the target population, and the creative design were all integrated into the game, we chose to work in a consortium with a focus group. We included engaging elements like simple gameplay based on actual processes, authentic scenarios presented in the way of dilemmas, time pressure, and collaboration. This resulted in a game that was accepted by the target population and has been played by more than half of all mayors in The Netherlands. Mayors feel the game challenges them to explore their decision making during crisis management and stimulates them to discuss this with other mayors. © 2014 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.