You don’t need to be a facilitator to use Corporate Cats. You need a group, a game card and about fifteen minutes.
What’s in the box
The deck has four kinds of card, plus game cards that tell you which ones to use.
- Grown ups
- Personas that show helpful workplace behaviour, such as someone who keeps meetings on track.
- Chaos agents
- Personas that show unhelpful behaviour most of us will recognise, in ourselves as well as others.
- Events
- Things that happen at work, each scored for its effect on four impacts: time, cost, quality and motivation.
- Jargon
- Phrases you have probably heard in a meeting, and maybe said.
- Game cards
- Each one explains a game: who plays, which cards you need, how long it takes and how to win.
Two kinds of game
Standard games are played as a game, at a table, with everyone knowing the rules. They are a safe place to start with any group.
Black cat games carry more risk. Many are played inside real work (a live meeting, a project, a normal week) and all of them get closer to real behaviour. That’s why each has a danger rating and a short check called “Is this the right room?”. If you’re new to the cards, play a standard game first.
Where to start
- Running training or a workshop: open with Jargon Arms Race or Contrarian Cat, then choose a game that fits your topic.
- Supporting a change: Today’s Hero and Today’s Chaos help a team agree what to protect and what to guard against.
- Starting or reviewing a project: Premortem Ranking at the start, Impact Trade Off when priorities clash.
- Teaching a class: Team Auction, Impact Trade Off and Domino Effect turn decision-making and organisational behaviour into something students can feel.
- Just got the deck as a gift: play Contrarian Cat with friends or colleagues. It needs no preparation and nobody has to know the cards.
