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Despite how poorly our teams may have performed, we at Denuo have always thought that fantasy sports stand out as one of the best examples of utilizing game mechanics to drive consumer behavior…also known as gamification.

When you boil it down to the most basic level, fantasy sports leverage mundane statistics from the real world games to create consistent engagement with all potential sport fans. The mechanics operate in such a way that participants remain invested in the coverage of the games throughout the entire season no matter their team allegiance. The numbers suggest it is working given over 32 million players in the US and Canada (of interesting note 20% are women).

As with all good case studies, there are lessons that can be observed and hopefully applied by those of us looking to execute an experience with gamification. The following themes bubbled up once I stopped licking my wounds of once again underperforming in my own fantasy leagues.

I’m less than 24 hours away from embarking on a journey to the famed desert of Nevada. I’ll be joining my fellow life teammates to celebrate the passing of one of our very owns bachelorhood. As the flurry of emails regarding last minute details fill my inbox, I have spent countless iterations mentally packing all needed items. While there were many additions specific to this particular adventure and active itinerary, I have some generic travel must haves that help with my piece of mind. Creature of habit much? Yes. For others that frequently find themselves referring to cities through only three letter airport codes, these may come in handy or best case you can tell me what I’ve left off.

It was with a heavy heart that I joined team iPhone this summer. As a self-appointed Apple h8r, I spent the previous 3 years of my mobile phone life with Android devices. As with any relationship, there were good and bad times but at the end I realized that we needed to test the waters with others. I was not the least bit enthusiastic about this decision but it felt necessary at the time. Now that I’ve had a few months to adjust, I can say it was the right decision if not for one main factor…Instagram.

Over the course of this week, a few Denuologists will be posting their impressions from CES. Here is the next take on the show:

As I recovered from the sensory overload that is CES, I was surprised by my conclusion from this year’s exhibition. Unlike past years where I left with glossed over eyes from some amazing innovation that I didn’t understand or know how my life ever existed without, I found myself spending more time with those displays that were simple and actually practical thanks to my familiarity with an pre-existing concept.

“Life is a game.”

I’d like to think this is true and when it isn’t I must say I’m not that all interested.

While fellow Denuologist, Tim Harris, gave us a great take on the art of gamification last week, I was able to see it first hand this past weekend.

How did I do this? I’m glad you asked.

I participated in an experience called Accomplice. Billed as part game, part theater, and part tour, it was an immersive activity that utilized the streets of Hollywood as the game board and a group of strangers as the actual game pieces. The best part was that it was actually fun, the primary principle behind gamification.