How to Choose a Serious Games Vendor
A buyer's guide to picking a partner who changes behaviour, not just fills a day.
Short answer: To choose a serious games vendor, judge them on seven things: whether they design their own games or relicense off-the-shelf decks, whether the design targets behaviour change rather than entertainment, the quality of their live facilitation and debrief, their willingness to customise to your context, the evidence behind their claims, their ability to handle your group size and logistics, and how transparent they are about pricing. The single biggest signal is who actually runs the room. If you are still deciding whether this format is right for you at all, start with the serious games guide first.
Key takeaways
| What to check | Strong vendor | Weak vendor |
|---|---|---|
| The games | Original IP, designed in-house | Relicensed decks anyone can buy |
| The intent | Designed to change behaviour | Designed mainly to entertain |
| The debrief | Led by the person who watched the room | A generic script or none at all |
| The fit | Customised to your context | One size, run identically everywhere |
| The proof | Named client outcomes and theory | Stock photos and adjectives |
What to look for in a serious games vendor
These are the criteria I would use if I were the buyer instead of the facilitator. Work through them in order. The first three separate a real behaviour-change partner from an events company that happens to use a game.
1. Original IP, not relicensed decks
Ask whether the vendor designed the game or simply bought the rights to run someone else's. Relicensed off-the-shelf decks are not inherently bad, but they are available to every competitor and rarely fit your situation closely. A vendor who builds their own games controls the mechanics, can adapt them, and understands exactly why each rule exists. I design and build my own games, which is why I can change a constraint on the fly when a room needs it.
2. Designed for behaviour, not entertainment
A fun afternoon and a behaviour shift are different products. Plenty of vendors sell engagement: people laughed, the energy was high, the photos look great. Ask what specific behaviour the game is built to surface and how. If the answer is about fun and team bonding rather than decisions under pressure, you are buying entertainment with a learning label on it. The right vendor can name the behaviour, the moment it shows up in play, and how the debrief converts it into insight.
3. Quality of facilitation and debrief
The debrief is where behaviour change actually happens, not the game itself. The game surfaces patterns; the facilitator makes participants see and own them. Ask who will stand in front of your team, whether they designed the game, and how the debrief is built. A facilitator who was in the room can reflect back what your specific people did in the specific moments that mattered. A licensed operator reading a script cannot.
4. Customisation to your context
The closer a game maps to your real decisions, constraints, and politics, the more recognisable the patterns it produces. Ask how the vendor tailors the experience: framing, scenario language, debrief focus, or deeper mechanical changes. Beware both extremes. A vendor who runs the identical session everywhere ignores your context; one who insists everything must be custom-built may be padding the invoice. A strong partner tells you honestly how much customisation your situation actually needs.
5. Evidence and case studies
Claims about behaviour change are cheap. Ask for named client outcomes, the design rationale, and the theory underneath the game. I point to delivery for clients like Lowe's, Akamai, and Aragen, and to the behavioural science that informs the design, because specifics are verifiable and adjectives are not. If a vendor cannot tell you who they have run this for and what changed, treat the polish as marketing, not proof.
6. Scale and logistics
A format that works for 12 people may collapse at 120. Ask the practical questions early: how many participants can one facilitator handle well, what happens with multiple parallel tables, whether they travel, and what they need from your venue. In India this matters in concrete ways, from room setup to material logistics across cities. A vendor who has run your group size before will answer crisply; one who has not will get vague.
7. Pricing transparency
Most serious games vendors quote per engagement rather than publishing rates, which is reasonable because cost depends on group size, customisation, and number of sessions. What is not reasonable is a quote you cannot decode. Ask what is included, how many participants the price covers, who facilitates, and what costs extra. A transparent vendor breaks this down so you can compare like for like instead of guessing.
How to choose: a quick decision guide
Use these questions to narrow the field fast.
Is your challenge behavioural or informational? If you need people to absorb content, such as compliance or product knowledge, a serious game is overkill and a cheaper format will do. If you need leaders to behave differently under pressure, a serious game fits and the rest of these questions matter.
Do you need a generic capability or your specific context? If the behaviour is broad, like general collaboration, a well-designed off-the-shelf game is fine. If the patterns only show up inside your real constraints and politics, prioritise vendors who customise and consider custom serious game design.
Who will actually run the room? If the debrief is the point, and for behaviour change it is, insist the facilitator be present, experienced, and ideally the designer. If the vendor licenses the game to a third party to run, lower your expectations for depth.
Can they prove it worked before? If they offer named clients, outcomes, and design logic, take the conversation forward. If they offer only stock imagery and superlatives, ask for references before committing budget.
Does the quote let you compare like for like? If two vendors quote, normalise the comparison: same group size, same number of sessions, same customisation level. The cheaper headline number is often the more expensive engagement once you add the extras back in.
Red flags
- They sell fun and engagement but cannot name the behaviour the game targets.
- The facilitator who runs your session did not design the game and was not part of building the debrief.
- The same session is run identically for every client with no tailoring to context.
- Proof is stock photos and adjectives, with no named clients or outcomes.
- Pricing is a single opaque number with no breakdown of what is included.
- They have never run your group size and get vague when you ask about logistics.
Common questions
What should I look for when choosing a serious games vendor?
Look for original game design rather than relicensed off-the-shelf decks, an explicit focus on behaviour change over entertainment, strong live facilitation and debrief, willingness to customise to your context, evidence from real client outcomes, the ability to handle your group size and logistics, and transparent pricing. The single biggest differentiator is who designs and runs the session, and whether the debrief is led by someone who was actually in the room.
Does the vendor need to facilitate the session themselves?
For behaviour change, yes. The debrief is where most of the learning lands, and it requires a facilitator who watched what unfolded in real time. A vendor who licenses a game to a third party or hands you a box to self-run cannot reflect back what actually happened in your room. Ask who will be standing in front of your team and whether they designed the game.
Is a custom serious game worth it, or should we buy off-the-shelf?
Off-the-shelf serious games are fine when the behaviour you want to surface is generic, such as broad collaboration or communication. Custom design is worth it when the game needs to mirror your specific decisions, constraints, and politics so the patterns that show up are recognisably your team's. A good vendor will tell you honestly which one your situation needs rather than upselling custom by default.
How do I compare vendors on price without public rates?
Most serious games vendors quote per engagement rather than publishing rates, because cost depends on group size, customisation, and number of sessions. Compare on fit and outcome, not just the rupee figure. Ask each vendor what is included, who facilitates, how many participants the price covers, and what customisation costs extra, so you are comparing like for like.
If you are weighing vendors and want a straight answer on whether a serious game fits your specific challenge, get in touch and tell me what behaviour you are trying to shift. You can also browse the games to see how original, behaviour-first design actually looks before you decide.
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