About Us
We help innovative teams build breakout hits
Based in Silicon Valley, we’re accomplished game designers who’ve worked on hits including The Sims, Rock Band, Tetris, Bejeweled, Netflix, Covet Fashion, & Replika.
In 2018, we published Game Thinking to share our approach to validating ideas & building high-retention experiences.
Now, we use this approach to help founders, designers, & product leaders accelerate alignment & drive retention with engaging product journeys.
Who we are
Meet the Founders 👋🏽
Amy Jo Kim, Ph.D. - CEO, Game Thinking
Game designer & startup coach
I help innovative teams & leaders build high-retention products, games & marketplaces.
- Named by Fortune as Top-10 influential women in games
- Designer on The Sims, Rock Band, eBay, Netflix, Ultima Online, Covet Fashion, & Replika
- Clients include Disney, Electronic Arts, General Motors, Google, Lumosity, New York Times, P&G, Shiseido, Square/Enix, & Ubisoft
- Author of Community Building on the Web (2000) and Game Thinking (2018)
- Taught Game Design at USC Film School & Stanford
- PhD Behavioral Neuroscience (University of Washington) & BA Experimental Psychology (UCSD)
Scott Kim, Ph.D. - COO, Game Thinking
Educational game designer
I’m a game designer specializing in puzzles & education games. I coach startups & lead design teams.
- Known for his pioneering graphic design book, Inversions
- Designer on Tetris, Bejeweled, RushHour, Lumosity, abcmouse & Moshi Monsters
- Created Little Book of Big Mindbenders & Brainteasers page-a-day calendar
- Co-authored The Playful Brain with neuroscientist Richard Restak
- PhD in Computers & Graphic Design from Stanford
- In-demand speaker on Serious Games, Puzzle Design & Educational Game Design