Object of Play
Simple information-splicing games come in handy because, in an intentional way, theydisrupt the standard ways we break down topics. The 4Cs game is a quick way to gatherand organize information about any subject using four common key concepts.
Number of Players
5–20
Duration of Play
30 minutes to 1 hour
How to Play
1. Before the meeting, decide on a topic you want the players to explore and draw a2×2 matrix in a large white space in the meeting room.
2. Write the following categories in each box of the matrix: “Components”, “Characteristics”,“Characters”, and “Challenges”. Then, draw something that represents eachcategory.
3. Tell the players that this game is about exploring and sharing what they know aboutthe topic based on the 4Cs. Define the terms of each “C”:
• Components are parts of the topic. For example, a component of a socialcommerce strategy might be responsive tweets. Components of a distributionchannel might be 18-wheelers.
• Characteristics are features of the topic. For example, speed of response is acharacteristic of a social commerce strategy. A characteristic of an 18 wheelermight be an inefficient use of fuel.
• Challenges are obstacles associated with the topic.
• Characters are people associated with the topic.
You don’t have to use four “Cs” to conduct this game. You can be creativewith other letters that are company or team-specific. Use four “Ds” tocreate your matrix and name them “Discover”, “Design”, “Damage”, and“Deliver”. Just make sure the categories you create will give you a meaningfulway to look at a topic of interest.
4. Divide the group into four teams of roughly equal size. (A group of 5–7 people canwork as one team.) Give them access to sticky notes and markers.
5. Assign a different “C” to each team and tell them their goal is to collect informationabout that “C”, specific to the topic. Tell them they’ll have three minutes to plan aninformation-gathering strategy, five minutes to collect the information, and threeminutes to analyze and organize it. Also explain that they should collect informationfrom as many people in the room as possible.
6. Announce the start of the planning period, and let the teams converse with oneanother. At the end of three minutes, call time.
7. Tell the players they can use their sticky notes and markers, then kick off the fiveminuteinformation-gathering stage and stay out of the way. This stage of the gameinvolves a lot of interviewing and moving around the room. Tell the players whenthe five minutes are up.
8. Start the three-minute information-analysis stage. In this stage, the players shouldanalyze their data, organize it in a meaningful way, and post the contents in thematrix on the wall.
9. Close the game by asking for volunteers to present their group’s findings. Aftereach group presents, ask clarifying questions (Is there anything missing? Do theseitems mean the same thing?), and encourage the others to reflect on and add moreinformation. You can also ask players if they want to share thoughts on their team’sinformation-gathering process—to discuss what worked and what could haveworked better.
Strategy
The 4Cs is deliberately quick (and slightly chaotic) to avoid a situation in which peoplesimply list information about what they know related to the topic. In this game, theplayers gathering information may already have a lot of detail about the topic, but they’llinevitably learn something new through the process of interviewing others. Interviewingallows people who may not interact much the opportunity to do so. Because thetime is short, they won’t dive into a substantive conversation; nevertheless, the chancesare higher that someone will take away new content or a new perspective based on aninterview.
Avoid shortchanging the closing activity, even though it may be tempting to give thegroup more time to gather and analyze their content (and some of them will requestit). The last stage of the game is important to spend time on because it allows the groupto reflect on the content together, as a sort of group mind. If the meeting is based on afamiliar topic, there will likely be many players who think they have a corner on informationaround it, so it’s important to discuss the 4Cs as a whole group. It exposes moreground to more people and invites a discussion that can bring new life to old content.
The 4Cs is based on the same-named activity written by Matthew Richter in the March 2004publication of the Thiagi GameLetter.
