About the game
Technology, Threats, and Tradeoffs is a novel research board game that simulates a technology startup development. The aim of the game is to successfully grow a digital healthcare business by making cybersecurity and business investments.
The game can be played either solo or collaboratively in a team of up to 8 players. The players are instructed to imagine themselves as the board of directors of a digital healthcare startup. During the game, the board will have to make strategic product development and cybersecurity decisions that will impact the growth and development of their startup.
Photos: Dr Lowri Williams
Welcome to the Technology, Threats, and Tradeoffs Startup Simulation!
Radio signal
Bluetooth signal
Wearable patch registers the signal
Smart pill with a grain-sized sensor
Reader device reads the signal
The device transfers data to the cloud
Cloud server
Employee access
Patient access
Communication between doctors and patients
Doctor access
Hello, entrepreneur! Today you will be creating, developing, and managing a startup that is centered around Smart Healthcare. The aim of the game is to successfully grow your startup by making cybersecurity and business investments. The game is played over a few rounds, and if by the end of the game your budget balance is positive, you have managed to successfully grow and develop your startup (i.e., you survive). If at any point of the game, your budget balance goes negative, you go bust and lose the game! To win the game, you need to reach 200k on the budget board with 15 customers and no outstanding loans.
The technology behind the startup
Set up
And now it's time to begin.
You have always dreamt of helping people become their best and healthiest selves, and finally the day has come when your startup idea sees the light of day. You have already created a demo of your product and established that there is a market need for it. Now it’s time to scale up your business.
Actions
Ways to earn money:
- Investors
- Customers
- Borrowing from the bank
Ways to spend money:
- Product development
- Cybersecurity
- Customer acquisition
- Customer satisfaction
- Employee and doctor satisfaction
Playthrough
Welcome to the digital healthcare startup simulation! What tradeoffs will you be willing to make to avert cyber threats?
Are you ready to play? Then it's time to receive your first investment! Draw from the investor deck.
Ready to take out your first loan? Consult the loan repayment schedule and make your choice.
Don't want to borrow money? Skip this step.
Time to spend some money! Choose what you want to invest in: cyber defenses, product development, customer satisfaction, and/or employee and doctor satisfaction.
Don't want to invest in anything just yet? Skip this step.
Do you want to try for customers? Consult the customer acquisition sheet and pay for your marketing campaign. Roll the dice and mark your acquired customers. Receive your revenue.
Not ready yet? Skip this step.
Remember to manage your debt! Check your outstanding loans and repay the amounts due. Mark a turn for your current loans.
Beware! The cyber attack is coming. Take a card from the cyber attack deck and learn the consequences.
Still alive? Seems like your strategy is working! Go back to step 1 and repeat the turn. Good luck!
Contact us
Affiliations
Dr Kseniya Stsiampkouskaya
Game Developer
Research Associate
Discribe Hub +
University of Bath
k.stsiampkouskaya@bath.ac.uk
Professor Adam Joinson
Game Contributor
Director and Research Lead
Discribe Hub+
University of Bath
aj266@bath.ac.uk
Copyright © University of Bath CC-BY-NC 2022
Technology, Threats, and Tradeoffs is published under the Creative Commons licence
To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/