Strategy4Innovators-Training without Software? The revised Concept of the Board Game SysTeamsRybi – Realize your Business Ideas!


Page 322 - Developments in Business Simulation and Experiential Learning, Volume 43, 2016 

 

ABSTRACT  
The original SysTeamsRybi board game allows participants to 
convert business ideas into business plans in eight steps. It 
shows a structured process of invention work of a team to be 
presented in front of potential investors. Participants of the 
workshop get in touch with the methods applied to simulate 
entrepreneurial strategic thinking with immersion through a 
bundle of serious gamification approaches around the three 
core elements of the game: Team – Ideas – Business Develop-
ment. The game has been revised and extended with common 
approaches of business model canvas and balanced scorecard. 
Key words: serious games, entrepreneurship, innovation, busi-
ness development, business plan, business model canvas, bal-
anced scorecard 

 
INTRODUCTION 

 
The original SysTeamsRybi simulation game allows partic-

ipants to convert business ideas into business plans in eight 
steps.  

The employees’ ideas and innovations do not get lost in 
day-to-day activities. Instead they get professionally structured, 
standardised and evaluated. They are presented in a way that 
attracts top management attention and makes them realisable. 
The simulation game lends itself to business development, start-
ups, business restructuring and succession planning. It is based 
on the following generic strategies:  

 

 Planning, incorporating, growing 

 Idea machine: Method instead of flash of genius 

 Blue ocean strategy 

 Different thinking 

 The revised version adds the following concepts to Sys-
TeamsRybi 

 Innovation management 

 Balanced Scorecard 

 Business Model Canvas 
 
The simulation game not only imparts professional content, 

it also paints a picture of a possible future, added by learning 

modules about specific topics, such as innovation management 
or megatrends of the future or team performance. SysTeamsRy-
bi allows teams to design, restructure and reorganise operations 
in their business by describing their ideas, presenting and devel-
oping them into a business plan in a structured process. At the 
end of the seminar participants take home their individual busi-
ness plans. Competing against one another, the teams also work 
on business-related content with a high degree of motivation.  

 

 Business incorporation, innovation 

 management and corporate planning 

 Compiling a business plan 

 Analysis and discussion of ideas within the team 

 Pitch and presentation of the ideas 
 
SysTeamsRybi can be implemented in a variety of ways: 

Accompanying an innovation, it prepares participants and per-
sons in charge for future steps so that they get an understanding 
of the process and critical situations. In a specialised training 
participants learn about fundamental theories with regard to 
innovation processes and new business development. Insights 
can be put to the test right in the game situation. Longterm ex-
perience with the simulation game method allows the authors to 
offer a wide range of customer solutions. Depending on the 
desired game situation you can set individual focus areas. 

SysTeamsRybi is a board game that simulates an innova-
tion process from the first idea through to the finalised outcome, 
such as a business plan or a business model canvas. The game 
board and simulation can be individually customised to the us-
er´s specific situation. 

A game set includes four game boards (for 4-6 players 
each), game instructions for participants, manuals for partici-
pants and the facilitator, assessment schemes for the facilitator, 
seminar presentations and templates for the realisation of the 
ideas. Using several sets, even large groups of 50 participants or 
more can be trained simultaneously. A simulation game seminar 
typically lasts 1-2 days in a regular setup. An extended work-
shop with live experience todos can take up to 5 days. The 
workshop shows the different approaches where participants 
can take advantage of the author´s experience in structuring and 
conducting simulation games.  

Strategy4Innovators-Training without Software?  
The revised Concept of the Board Game SysTeamsRybi  

– Realize your Business Ideas! 
 

Helmut Wittenzellner 
University of Media 

wittenzellner@hdm-stuttgart.de  
 

Herbert Schmidt 
RIVA training & consulting GmbH 

herbert.schmidt@riva-online.de  
 

 Willy C. Kriz 
Fachhochschule Vorarlberg 

willy.kriz@fhv.at  

mailto:wittenzellner@hdm-stuttgart.de
mailto:herbert.schmidt@riva-online.de
mailto:willy.kriz@fhv.at