Even the ones designed purely for entertainment. Whether we’re flinging angry birds, trading with aliens, or leading a guild into battle, our brains are learning. We’re learning the rules of the game, how to interact with it, the choices we can make, the consequences of those choices, and much more. So the real question isn’t whether a game teaches — we know it does — the question is what does it teach and how useful is that learning in real life. That’s why games and simulations designed specifically for education can be so powerful. When designed well, they facilitate thinking and skill building that is directly transferable to real-world success. This is not gamification — this is experiential game-based learning.

I use 4 paid AI platforms — here’s how they compare in my workflow (yours will differ): ChatGPT — Knows me best (persistent memory) and aligns responses to my profile. — My go-to for writing (I use a dedicated “Writing” project to maintain context). — Missing a native browser sidebar (Mac-only custom browser exists). — Agentic features are useful, but take too many clicks to get started. — The first AI I subscribed to (because it was the first out of the gate) Gemini — Strong for image generation. — Recently added a Chrome sidebar — very useful. — Lacks agentic features, so I can’t rely on it end-to-end. — Google made me pay for it via our Workspace subscription. Perplexity — First (that I used) with a browser sidebar via its custom browser, very convenient. — Seems strong at research and comparison-style queries. — Agentic features are easy to start. — But it loses context too often, so I don’t fully trust it. — New “computer” agent costs extra (haven’t tried it). — I was given 1 year free access via my cell phone provider. Claude — Desktop app can access local files, unique and useful. — Has a browser sidebar. — But I regularly hit credit limits and pauses — frustrating. — Purchased it recently to see what all the hype was about. Bottom line: I’d prefer to use just one — but for now, I'll keep jumping around to find the best tool for the job. And yes, they all make big mistakes. This is as of March 2026 — I'm sure it will all change soon.

As a product designer, I’m obsessed with customer support. So much so that I set up and manage our entire support system — and monitor every request that comes into our company. That’s tens of thousands of support tickets over the years. After seeing all of that, here are a few things I recommend if you're building a support system: (1) Use a helpdesk or CRM system. If you're managing customer support from your email inbox, you're living in the caveman days. (2) Start support requests with an online form. - Forms gather the right information up front and help resolve issues faster. - They also provide redundancy since email delivery is not always reliable. - Our support form presents different fields depending on the type of request — see screenshot. (3) Build redundancy into your support email. Every request we receive is logged in three places: - A POP/IMAP mailbox - Our helpdesk/CRM system - Forwarded copies to team members If one system fails, the request still exists somewhere else. (4) Create canned responses. Most support issues repeat. Write good responses once and reuse them. (5) Use live chat internally. When multiple team members are working together, real-time communication is much faster than email. Other features you can consider include FAQs, knowledge bases, chatbots, live chat, etc., but their usefulness depends on the type of customers you serve and the support you need to provide.

Part 12 of designing a new board game with live feedback from you — where you can influence the design. An educational board game for learning and teaching personal finance. https://books.playgoventure.com/3/newsletter/281/help-me-design-a-board-game-part-12

This may be one reason why so many people invest time and money to prepare to start a business, yet never actually launch one. They lack the confidence to move forward. Because when they stop learning and start doing, they run head-first into uncertainty about what to do next. One uncertainty after another becomes overwhelming. Analysis paralysis. Or the opposite — they move forward aggressively and break things along the way. Why does this happen? Because they lack business experience. But gaining this experience first in the real world requires significant time and money. The solution: play a realistic business simulation. Stop watching. Start practicing. Practice builds confidence. Confidence builds skills. Skills move you forward. PS: As a member of our businessXP community, you can click the CLASSROOM tab to access a wealth of free resources to get you started.