Get Certified!
Online Certification program for
Coaches, Trainers & Service Providers
who want to run Game Thinking programs
Ready to harness the power of Game Thinking?
To learn more, DOWNLOAD THIS PDF
Super-charge your product discovery and get better innovation outcomes with the system trusted by global brands, game studios and startups worldwide. 🚀
Run by game designer and startup coach Amy Jo Kim, Game Thinking Certification gives you the tools and training to run your own Game Thinking programs. ⚒
We work with individuals who want to level-up their practice – and internal staff at companies, accelerators and incubators who want to leverage a proven system for innovating faster and smarter. ⚙️
What our Certified Coaches are Saying
Ambikesh Prasad – Mumbia, India
Rob Alvarez – Madrid, Spain
CERTIFICATION BASICS
WHO IT’S FOR
- Design leaders who help startups find product/market fit
- Coaches who want power-tools for better client outcomes
- Trainers who want to offer a powerful new approach to product design
- Consultants who want better retention and engagement for clients
- Learning professionals who want to create engaging experiences
- Service providers who want to dramatically improve client outcomes
WHAT IT IS
12-week coaching program
WHEN
[SOLD OUT] Oct 21 2019 – Jan 21, 2020
WHERE
Online, in your time zone
Game Thinking
CERTIFICATION LEVELS
Benefits of certification
- Learn product design skills that will level-up your career
- Run Game Thinking programs with confidence & ease
- Showcase your certification on the web, LinkedIn, etc
- Customize our Templates to serve your specific market
- Be featured as a Coach on gamethinking.io
- Earn money by selling Game Thinking programs to your clients
MEET OUR CERTIFIED COACHES
Rob Alvarez
Rob is the Associate Director at the IE Business school, and host of the popular Professor Game podcast. Learn more…
Nadia Benedetti
Nadia is a trainer and coach who helps companies innovate smarter with playful learning techniques. Learn more…
Jaxton Cheah
Jaxton leads the Gamification practice at People Psyence, and the Game Thinking Asia conference. Learn more…
Lara Oliveti
Lara is the CEO of Melazeta, a company specializing in gamification and mobile app development. Learn more…
Ambikesh Prasad
Ambikesh runs our Game Thinking India practice and helps entrepreneurs find product/market fit. Learn more…
Robin Yang
Robin is the Senior Product Manager at CodeCombat, a multiplayer game that teaches kids how to code. Learn more…
How it works
Our Certification programs deliver high-impact, hands-on training and tangible business results. Here’s how we do it.
12 weeks of expert training & coaching
12 live Certification trainings with Amy Jo Kim
Get your questions answered & hear real-time case studies during our live coaching calls. We post recordings in your Members area.
Weekly opportunities to observe expert coaching in action
You can observe weekly Coaching meetings with entrepreneurs and business owners, and jump in with feedback when you’re ready.
Monthly AMA with VIP experts
We bring in a world-class expert in game design, Lean UX, product management and other topics. monthly. You get a front-row seat.
A library of Game Thinking courses & templates
Advanced courses add to your knowledge
You get access to our entire Game Thinking Masterclass, plus our Cooperative Design and Product Teardown mini-courses.
Step-by-step templates streamline your work
Our proprietary Game Thinking templates take the guesswork out of building your MVP by showing you what to do, and how to do it. These templates will help you make smarter design decisions.
Sample Workshop Agendas kickstart your results
We make it easy for you to create your Game Thinking Workshop by giving you sample Game Thinking workshop agendas to customize.
A Curated Community to accelerate your growth
Peer feedback amplifies your progress
One powerful aspect of a learning community is peer feedback. In every coaching meeting, you get the opportunity to learn from your peers. You’ll then continue those connections in our private certification group — filled with people like you who are eager to learn and happy to share their knowledge and experience
VIP Experts expand your horizons
To enhance your learning & broaden your network, we host monthly meetings with a VIP Guest Expert. These bonus meetings expose you to world-class designers & product leaders — and give you the opportunity to get their feedback on your project.
A Personal Project to launch your Game Thinking career
To complete your Level 1 Certification, you apply Game Thinking to a personal project and share your results. Your final presentation will include:
- A Game Thinking teardown of your nearest competitor
- Hot-core Superfan Insights and how you gathered them
- Customer Journey paired with a coherent mental model
- Game Thinking Agenda for your first planned workshop
10X YOUR INNOVATION OUTCOMES
with our proven five-step system
STEP 1
Clarify your Product Idea
Plan your high-learning experiment
Adopt the right mindset and habits and you’ll be set up for success. In module 1, you’ll clarify your product hypotheses & prioritize your assumptions with our MVP Canvas.
STEP 2
Identify your Superfans
Identify your high-need customers
When you find the right customers, everything falls into place. In module 2, you’ll identify your hot-core early adopters, and figure out who most NEEDS what you offer with a Superfan Screener.
Surface relevant habits & unmet needs
Customer insights inform design. To create a compelling product, you need to know who you’re designing for. You’ll use Speed Interviews to surface product-ready insights from the right people.
STEP 3
Plan your Mastery Path
Distill insights into design-ready form
Turn customer knowledge into product design decisions. You’ll use Job Stories to connect your insights about customer motivation & habits to your product design.
Design a compelling customer journey
Design your product for long-term engagement. You’ll use the 4-stage Mastery Path model to sketch out how your customer’s experience gets better as they use your product over time.
STEP 4
Playtest your Learning Loop
Prototype your Core Learning Loop
Build a simple, pleasurable MVP (Minimum Viable Product). To get product feedback quickly, you’ll prototype a stripped-down Learning Loop that captures your Day 21 experience.
Test your ideas with early customers
Get real customer feedback FAST. You’ll test your ideas in rough form with vetted early adopters – and get actionable insights on your core experience .
STEP 5
Validate your Product Idea
Validate your strategy & design
Update your roadmap with customer data. After you’ve tested your ideas, you’ll validate your assumptions, update your designs & decide whether to pivot or persevere.
NEXT SESSION RUNS IN SPRING 2020
Apply for Certification
Fill out this form to apply for the program. We’ll get back to you within 2 business days to let you know next steps.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When is the course?
Our next Certification program will run in Spring 2020
When is the course? When do meetings happen?
Meetings happen Thursdays at 7 AM PST / 4 PM CEST / 7:30 PM IST
Where do I need to participate?
Ths program runs completely online. You need an Internet-connected computer or mobile phone to access the materials and attend our coaching meetings.
What topics do you cover?
We teach innovation skills that accelerate cross-functional teams. Thus we cover product strategy, customer research, game & UX design, and product management.
What happens if I get busy?
All the materials are online, and you get lifetime access. You can move at your own pace & never worry about missing out.
What if I miss the Q&A calls?
All the weekly calls are recorded and published online – so you can download and listen to them on your own schedule.
Game Thinking sounds great, but I’m building an app/platform/enterprise system. Is this only for games?
Game Thinking will improve any product experience that can be built around learning, mastery and empowerment. It works for games – and ALSO for products, apps, blogs, marketplaces, and events where the goal is long-term engagement.
This reminds me of Gamification – but I’m not hearing a lot about game mechanics. What’s the difference?
Gamification opens the door and gets people interested in the power of games. Game Thinking is the next step. You’ll learn how to bring your ideas to life like a game designer, and create Learning Loops that empower your players
This course covers a LOT of material. How can I do it all?
You’re right – it IS a lot of material. We’ve broken it into manageable chunks, organized around activities with step-by-step instructions that move your project forward. You’ll get short-term gains from this material – AND long-term skill-building as you use these techniques on future projects.
What if I don’t have the time I need, or the right skills?
That’s a great question. This program is not for everyone. If you can’t carve out time to test your assumptions and make design changes – it’s not for you. Skill-wise, you don’t need to be a trained researcher or designer; you DO need to be willing to follow directions and passionate about getting results.
Will my employer cover the cost of the course?
If your company has a training budget, this should be easy to cover. Participating will enhance your product design and management skills – and your entire team will benefit from the techniques you bring back to the company. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
Is this a good fit for me?
It’s all about what kind of outcomes you’re looking for. If you want to help your clients, students and colleagues 10X product/market fit, build deeply engaging experiences, and leverage the true power of games – this program is a GREAT fit for you.
