Gamestorming 2.0

Foreword

My first encounter with the practice described in this book—before it was called “gamestorming”—was in a visual thinking workshop at my firm in 2007. After experiencing the value of working in this way, we immediately began to incorporate the techniques into our consulting work. Soon after, the practices became foundational inspirations as Yves Pigneur and I developed the first of what are now known as “design canvases”: the Business Model Canvas.

It’s easy to forget what the business landscape looked like in 2010, when Gamestorming (O’Reilly) and Business Model Generation (John Wiley and Sons) were first published, but these were groundbreaking works. Visual thinking and multisensory tools were nowhere near as mainstream as they are today. It’s amazing and exciting how quickly they’ve been adopted into business and innovation environments. This a testament to their efficacy, so I’m glad this book has achieved the popularity it has, and I’m proud to say that Yves and I inspired one of the new chapters in this second edition.

Why does gamestorming work? How is it that these tools can be so powerful? I have trouble putting it in words. But I know that the moment people start to gather around visual tools and frameworks, the dynamic changes. Work gets faster, easier, more creative, and collaborative. It goes more smoothly and generates better results.

That’s the power of gamestorming. It makes work work.

Alex Osterwalder

Geneva, Switzerland, 2023