The experience of Collaboration
The Hospital Game is a Healthcare edition of the Collaboration Game - a multi-player board game. The game shows players how operational results, clinical outcomes and staff capability are inextricably linked. Players learn how their organisation fits into a wider healthcare contex and how running a complex organisation demands collaboration between individuals, functions, departments and institutions.

The board seats 6 - 10 people

Participants experience how success is either reinforced or undermined by the way in which they communicate, make decisions and solve problems. They learn that in order to be successful in the game, they must view the organisation from each other’s perspective, understand how the parts are connected, and collectively resolve issues to make “joined up” decisions.

A senior hospital team playing in two tables

Each player assumes a role typically found across the hospital system - with each role being described by a role card. Players move counters around the board in accordance with their role card, deciding the number of counters to move in order to increase the total value on the board. One full round of 8 moves represents a week in the life of the hospital at the end of which, results are recorded and displayed. The winning group is the one with the most value on the board at the end of an agreed number of weeks. A typical game lasts 2-3 hours.

The same teams, working together

We facilitate the beginning of the game to ensure that everyone understands the rules. Then the team are left on their own to build a successful hospital. At the end we facilitate a discussion which helps the players reflect on how their behaviour influenced their joint success. We draw parallels with the real world of their experiences and discuss how they might take these lessons back to the workplace.

For senior teams, we use this as a way of helping them structure their commitments to each other and ensure alignment across the organisation

Each game board can accommodate groups of between 6 and 8 players with up to 10 or more games possible for large conferences. The hospital game is available to buy as a stand-alone training and development tool.

Click here to download a PDF description

To learn more about the game please call 020 7209 4543 or email