Time Management Games

Games have long been thought to be a great way to teach new, and often complex ideas to just about everyone. It makes sense, if you stop and think about it. Would you rather spend time sitting around getting bored, having to repeat "useless" facts and figures, or would you rather be playing fun game somewhere? Time management games are a great way to teach anyone the basic skill set necessary for developing good time management skills. Here are some great guidelines for you to develop your own time management games.

• Have a goal. Every game needs to have a goal. This goal needs to make sense, and at the same time be something that will make sense. In video games, it could be that you need to save the princess, or defeat the evil overlord, or the world is doomed. Time management games are no different. Be sure that you have a clear cut goal in mind as you build your game. Remember, the goal doesn't necessarily need to make perfect sense, but it does need to be believable to some extent.
• Have a set time limit. Considering that you are trying to teach the basics of time management, it only makes sense that there is a time limit on your game. Setting a time limit will help accomplish your goal of learning, or teaching time management skills. After all, if you have a limited amount of time to accomplish what you need to do it in, then you are more likely to get the things done. Make sure that the time limit is realistic, and not excessive. It should be a challenge, but not an impossible one.
• Provide examples. Whenever you teach someone something new you should always provide examples, and playing a game is no different. Often, having a clear example of what to do will help many people learn what they are supposed to do. Also, by going over examples of what your players can expect in your time management game, you can see if everything makes sense or not. You can think of this as doing a test run of your game.
• Have a clear prize. There should be a clear prize, or end to your time management game. If you are going to be doing a live action game (one where people are actual physical participants) then you may want to provide something along the lines of snack, treat, or some other goodie. However, if you are playing something along the lines of a board game then bragging rights will usually be all that you need.
• Be consistent. When developing the rules of your game, be sure that they are consistent. Even if you are wanting to add an element of randomness, or "reality" to your game, then they should be entered in a consistent way. What this means is that every player should run the same risk of receiving any penalties.