The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity ... (ISBN 0077115090)

Great for the Price:
I've used a number of the games in this book and found they've helped me achieve my goals with the team. They stimulated converstaion and team building. One game I found particularly useful was the "Tie that Binds" in visually demonstrating how interdependent we are as a team. I found this book a real bargain and a good book for getting started at using games within meetings to build teams, emphasis concepts, and introduce topics.

Another "Big Book" that doesn't deliver:
I took a chance and purchased five selections from the "big book" series. I titled a previous review "The Big Book of Disappointment." Too bad. I ought to have saved it for this publication. Chapter two of "The Big Book of Business Games" is titled, "How to Use This Book." My suggestion? As kindling or compost. In the book you will find 54 activities. The nine dot problem and the human knot are examples of the many common activities found in countless other books. You'll also find suggestions for "presentation boosters." One "booster" example: Display two flip charts. On one ask what things were valued about how the meeting was run. On the other ask how future meetings might be improved. As part of the description you are reminded to "tear off the flip charts and return to your office. . .celebrate your success and change something needing improvement." In the book, the previous activity actually merits a two page description. Applying their exercise to their book, I'd say I valued very little if anything. How might future books be improved? Provide NEW activities or suggest creative variations for the countless recycled exercises. Also, be certain the content is relevant to a business audience. A skilled facilitator will find a way to successfully use most any of the activities in this book. However, a skilled facilitator is also likely to have a number of better selections in her bag of tricks to choose from. Once again if the price entices you to purchase this book, I'd suggest you keep exploring. You will find a number of resource books available on Amazon.com that are significantly better.

The big Book of Business Games:
Basically from the contents, it can be said to be a very practical book that any manager can use to liven up meetings and more importantly to get the members of the team to come together. These exercises can be fun and purposeful for the the users and I think I would really like try out some of the great ideas put forth.I run meetings and workshops for my staff and certainly could use the ideas from the book.

Icebreakers Only:
If I had the opportunity to flip through this book in a bricks-and-mortar bookstore, I wouldn't have bought it. I was looking for ways to communicate business and organizational lessons through the use of games and activities. This book is just a list of icebreaker activities without providing any of the "meat" of the lesson the activity should have delivered. Providing references for those of us seeking said content would have helped to fill that gap. Many of the activities require visual aids. It would have been nice for the publishers to provide graphics to go along with these---perhaps a registration key for a website to download the visual tools? I would be far more likely to use the activities (and, of course, credit the authors) if the tools were easily accessible and not burdomsome to create. I have every confidence that the book meets its intended purpose and the authors have done a good job. However, I don't feel that Amazon.com is presenting the book for what it is. I also believe the publishers could have done a better job of supporting this publication to make it truly useful to the purchaser. In general, if you are completely at a loss for how to get people interacting with one another at a meeting or training session, this is a good "creativity sparker" to get you thinking.

The Big Book of Business Games: Icebreakers, Creativity Exercises and Meeting Energizers:
The ideas and activities in this book were varied and somewhat adaptable to a variety of audiences and meetings. I am always looking for fresh ideas to use in my presentations and workshops and this book has become a valuable resource and also sparks new ideas in myself.