A Christmas experience can look magical and still fall apart where it matters most. In the latest Professor Game episode, we break down a real holiday experience in Madrid that had beautiful storytelling, incredible characters, and meaningful interactions with kids, yet almost collapsed because of one overlooked detail: onboarding. Seen through a gamification lens, this episode is a reminder that confusion is never neutral. The magic doesn’t start inside the experience: it starts at the door. 👉 Community question: What’s the best (or worst) onboarding experience you’ve ever had, in a product, service, or community? What made it work… or fail? Drop your example below 👇 Let’s learn from each other.

Most people write their bio like a checklist of skills… but @Jade Arthur reminded us that your bio is actually your origin story: the narrative that shapes how others understand your mission, value, and journey. In this week’s Professor Game conversation, we explored how storytelling, mindset, and even identifying “job search villains” can turn the job hunt into something more meaningful (and even fun). We also talked about how a strong bio becomes the anchor for everything else: interviews, cover letters, networking, and the confidence you bring to your next opportunity. 💬 Question for you: What part of your origin story do you feel most proud of, and is it showing up clearly in your bio or profile right now? Share your thoughts below. Someone else in the community might need the inspiration your story offers.

Quick shoutout to @Blair Stevenson , founder of Brava, a performance leadership consultancy in New Zealand, and who’s soon to launch his Skool community after weeks of focused work together. What stood out for him in our sessions wasn’t flashy tactics: it was the small, intentional decisions that stacked up: - Clarifying the culture he wanted → then defining concrete actions to support it - Pressure-testing ideas instead of running with first instincts - Choosing Skool deliberately for simplicity and long-term leverage - Designing engagement on purpose, not by hope Blair came in thinking he’d already thought most things through. What unlocked progress was slowing down and working through a clear, structured process, not more tips. This is exactly the kind of work we do in our recently launched group coaching: thinking better before building more. If you’re building a Skool community and want that kind of clarity (and pushback when needed), you know you can find it on our Premium tier👇 https://www.skool.com/professor-game-4694/plans

I’ve been thinking a lot about streaks lately. Not the “fun” kind, but the kind that quietly crush engagement. In this episode, I dig into why streaks often backfire: one missed day, the streak resets to zero, and suddenly the user’s identity (“I’m a meditator,” “I’m a language learner” or a Skool flame-bearer) collapses with it. That’s when the rage-quitting begins. The good news? Flexible streak design, recovery paths, and better messaging can completely change the retention curve. Streaks don’t need to be a time bomb, they can actually support long-term engagement when designed with human psychology in mind. What’s your experience with streaks, have you ever quit an app because you lost one?

I recently discussed this article about a school in Japan based on top of eSports on a LinkedIn post. The bottom line is that the school is for kids in Japan who can't stand the pressure of the school system (huge pressure there, much harder than most other places around the world) and eventually drop out, have seen in this school, where games, regular commercial video games, are actually a tool for learning core subjects. I'm convinced that more examples in this vein will continue to pop up, as we pretty much know the education system needs this to become more successful and really support our kids to become their best selves. How else could we extend this concept beyond education?