The Office-Politics Game

The Office-Politics® Game invented by Franke James, MFA

It was fabulous! We ran a half hour over and they asked to keep going! Caryl Stern, C.O.O., UNICEF

I highly recommend this game as a robust and dynamic teaching tool Timothy Johnson, Author and Adjunct Professor, Drake University

Excellent way for employees to laugh and get to know each other better! C. O’Leary, U.S. Army Military

It was ideal, and I am so pleased I discovered you. Dana M. Smith, SPHR, VP of Human Resources

Note: The 3rd edition is SOLD OUT. We are beta-testing the 4th edition now with HR Managers, organizations, educational institutions and certified trainers. Please send an email to ceo [at] officepolitics.com if you would like to be notified when the next edition is ready to ship.

What is the Office-Politics® Game all about?
The Office-Politics Game® is a dilemma-based social game that teaches you how to play, and laugh, at office politics. It’s used by HR departments, and corporate trainers worldwide. The Office-Politics Dilemmas have been inspired by the hundreds of letters submitted to Office-Politics.com — and some ‘true life’ stories from the news!

Benefits of the Office-Politics® GameTeam Building:
Office-Politics is all about building trust.
Enhancing Communication:
Office-Politics gets people telling stories.
Exercises Ethical Muscles:
Office-Politics lets people exercise their ethical muscles by role-playing ethical decisions.
Appreciating Roles:
Office-Politics gets people talking about roles and responsibilities.
Raise Awareness:
Office-Politics raises awareness of the other person’s feelings.
Understanding Culture and Fit:
Office-Politics gets people thinking about culture and the importance of fitting in.

Want to be a Beta-tester for the 4th Office-Politics Game®?
We are inviting HR Managers, organizations, educational institutions and certified trainers to be beta-testers for the 4th edition of the Office-Politics Game®. Approved beta-testers will be asked to test and provide written feedback on new dilemmas, categories, and rule enhancements. The payoff? Lots of glory, doing good in the world, and a free copy of the game. (Email ceo@officepolitics.com for details. Please include your qualifications.)

Feedback on the Office-Politics® Game:“What a discussion we had… We ran a half hour over and they asked to keep going!”
Caryl Stern, Chief Operating Officer, UNICEFThe presentation went really well! The audience (55 academics) loved the scenarios + had quite a bit to say. What a discussion we had! It was fabulous! We ran a half hour over and they asked to keep going! I promoted your website + the game throughout the session. Thank you so much!” Caryl Stern, Chief Operating Officer, UNICEF

I highly recommend this game as a robust and dynamic teaching tool Timothy Johnson, Author and Adjunct Professor

“The Office-Politics® Game is more than simply a parlor trick or facilitation gimmick. It is a bona fide educational tool. This semester, I am teaching a new graduate course on Management Office Politics as part of the MBA program at Drake University. I incorporated Franke James’ game into the curriculum. Instead of making students read through multi-page case studies or endure mind-numbing role plays, we used her game dilemmas as rapid fire challenges for managing office politics.

The students had to identify what was being manipulated (resources, information, or people) in each political situation and approach the yes-no question in the end to say how they would change the approach to get the most desirable outcome. We covered so much more ground through this exercise, and the discussion was tremendously more robust than many MBA classes; active participation was the only choice. I highly recommend this game as a robust and dynamic teaching tool for any management instructor. It seamlessly integrates real world acumen with the opportunity for learning, challenge, and discussion.” Timothy Johnson, Author, The Tale Wind of Office-Politics; Adjunct Professor, Drake University

“It was ideal, and I am so pleased I discovered you.” Dana M. Smith, SPHR, VP of Human Resources

“The Office-Politics® Game served as a excellent addition to my presentation. At the close of my talk, participants were separated into groups to play a variation of your game. Each group engaged in discussing 7 or 8 scenarios and, at the conclusion, they were asking for more cards and did not want to leave. It was ideal, and I am so pleased I discovered you.” Dana M. Smith, SPHR, VP of Human Resources, CapitalSource Inc. (NYSE: CSE)

“The Office-Politics® Game was a great hit at our Networking Event.” Rebecca Sinton, APESMA

“Thank you so much for developing this - it was a great hit at our Networking Event last night. We will definitely be using it again for various events, as we can envision using it for Office Politics seminars and future Networking Events.” Rebecca Sinton, APESMA

“Fascinating. Raised player awareness!” Rodger Nevill Harding, Executive Career Coach and Author

“Office–Politics is relevant and fun for anyone who has ever worked in an office. The fast moving, cause and effect strategy base quickly reveals what lies behind unconscious knee-jerk decisions and behaviour. Seeing and understanding what makes different people do different things is fascinating. I was so impressed I used the game in several team and leadership workshops. The effect was dramatic as it not only raised player awareness as to the impact of their decisions in the workplace, but also provided a revealing look in the moral/ethical mirror.” Rodger Nevill Harding, Executive Career Coach, Author of “Corporate Intelligence Awareness: Securing the Competitive Edge”

“Excellent way for employees to laugh and get to know each other better!” C. O’Leary, U.S. Army Military

“The Office-Politics Game is great. All our employees (22) had a great time playing. It was a wonderful way to get people to think about office politics and how it affects them. We played at a company in-service, after a speech on conflict resolution, and how to get along with your co-workers. The game was an excellent way for the employees to laugh and get to know each other better.” C. O’Leary, U.S. Army Military

“Wonderful! What a hoot!” M.P., Law Firm, New York State, USA

“Wonderful. What a hoot! You really covered all the topics. The game has been a hit. We’ve passed it all over the office. It’s really helped us to understand and appreciate the difference in perception between the employees and the employers. We also took it home and played it with friends. We had tears running down our faces we were laughing so hard… It’s a fantastic game.” M.P., Law Firm, New York State, USA

“We were all rolling around laughing!”V.Q., Media company, N.Y., N.Y., USA

“The Office-Politics Game was interesting to say the least! We were all rolling around laughing! In the process we got to know each other on another level, personalities really came out of the woods! It was loads of fun!!!” V.Q., Media company, N.Y., N.Y., USA

“All of the dilemmas were a hit!” D.Y., Georgia, USA, Software Company

“Everyone enjoyed the Office-Politics Game… I used my wife and in-laws to do a trial run the night before to learn how to play the game prior to playing it with my [office] team. We broke up into groups of 4-5 and took turns. The game was entertaining… it was interesting to get some insight into how others would react. I think all of the dilemmas were a hit.” D.Y., Georgia, USA, Software Company

“Revealing and entertaining!” Executive In-house Trainer, Multinational Hardware Retailer

“The Office-Politics Game encouraged us to reveal personal stories about office politics. It was entertaining. There is a possibility for a facilitator to ask questions that lead to learning. I thought the dilemma about the Boss bullying other team members, and whether you’d tell HR, was great.” Executive In-house Trainer, Multinational Hardware Retailer

“A great game with wonderful talking points!” IA, New Jersey, USA, Travel Agent

“The game of Office Politics was played in the office with 7 individuals. The amazing thing to most of them was the person everyone hated was the one who was definitely on her way to success. She was talking to all the right people in the organization… She didn’t mind kissing — or sucking up… it builds character!! It’s a great game to play with wonderful talking points. We’ve enjoyed it. Thanks.” IA, New Jersey, USA, Travel Agent

“A perfect concept for these times” Paul Toyne, Inventor of Balderdash

“Everytime you open the newspaper, you are whacked over the head with office politics. It’s such a perfect concept for these times.” Paul Toyne, Inventor of Balderdash

Sample Office-Politics® Game dilemmas

1. The head of accounting gets drunk at an office party and brags that he is siphoning money from the pension fund to pay for his early retirement. Do you shrug it off as a bad joke?
2. At the morning sales meetings you’ve noticed that a cocky and irritating sales guy is always playing games on his cell-phone. Do you interrupt the meeting to ask him his top score?
3. Everyone in your local office is griping because the Boss is having an extra-marital affair with the new Executive Assistant. You know Head Office would fire them both if they found out. Do you call the confidential hot line?
4. Your ambitious Boss praises you for writing an excellent report. But then hands it in with his name on it (and yours missing). Do you go over his head and complain?
5. An anonymous letter from “a concerned employee” is sent to the police and the media. Questions are now being asked about your relationship with a married employee who rose to the top quickly. Do you trash the romantic emails you have on your office computer?

Check out the Office-Politics game for more dilemmas including: Sleeping with the Boss, stealing credit, gossiping coworkers, abusive Managers, favoritism, nepotism, lazy and annoying coworkers, betrayal, sex in the office, power-plays, whistle-blowing, false resumes, white lies, sneaky tricks and more.

Three tips on playing the game:

1. Speak up! Say why you’re voting Yes or No…

On each round, have each player explain why they are voting ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. This encourages players to share their office politics stories — and makes the game-playing experience much more valuable. All of the Dilemmas were inspired by real dilemmas sent into officepolitics.com or actual news stories.
2. Building trust and returning favors is the key to winning!
This game is like real Office-Politics. You need to decide who to trust. Who owes you a favor? And how and when to repay favors! Some strategy-minded players think they can win by bluffing on every vote. But most players catch on, and learn not to trust that player. If you’re going to bluff, build alliances with players you trust…
3. Stack the deck!
In a regular game ‘stacking the deck’ would not be fair! But this is Office-Politics. We suggest that you select the Dilemmas which you feel are going to be the most relevant and provoke a reaction from your fellow players. Make sure you include a few humorous and ‘lighter’ dilemmas in your mix. Laughter makes for great bonding.

Purchase Details on the Office-Politics® GameAges: Adult
Players: 3 to 6
Cost: $39.95 U.S.
Plus Shipping and handling flat-rate: $10.00 within the USA and Canada only. Tax for Canadian residents will be added. (See shipping to Europe and other countries in Special Arrangements below.)More players? The game is designed for up to 6 players and includes 6 sets of Voting Cards. If you are planning on playing it with a larger group we can arrange to send extra Voting and Dirty Trick cards for an extra charge of $2.00 per set. Please call Office-Politics at 416.256.9166 or email ceo [at] officepolitics.comSpecial Arrangements / Educational Discounts: To purchase multiple copies, inquire about educational discounts, arrange shipping via courier, or for shipping to Europe and other countries, please call Office-Politics at 416.256.9166 or email ceo [at] officepolitics.com

Sorry, the 3rd edition is SOLD OUT. We are beta-testing the 4th edition now with HR Managers, organizations, educational institutions and certified trainers. Please send an email to ceo [at] officepolitics.com if you would like to be notified when the next edition is ready to ship.

Environmentally-aware packaging: The Office-Politics® Game has been designed with minimal packaging to reduce waste. The game box is only 5.25″ x 6″ x 1″. The 100+ dilemma cards, the rules, the Voting Cards and the Dirty Trick Cards, all fit neatly in this very small box. We have purposely designed the game to play without a game board, both to reduce waste and reduce shipping weight. Additionally we have chosen not to include any preformed plastic liners, as are common in many boxed games. We hope that the purchasers of the Office-Politics® Game will appreciate our efforts to be kind to the environment in the design of the game packaging. We have considered making a virtual Office-Politics® Game, which would not require any packaging — however, the group dynamics of playing the game face-to-face, and being able to hold the Game dilemma cards in your hand have confirmed to us that the boxed game is a necessity.

The Office-Politics® Game invented by Franke James, MFA
Office-Politics® is a registered trademark of Nerdheaven Ltd.
© 2000-2008, Nerdheaven Ltd. All rights reserved.