Can a Game Start a Better Conversation? Playing with Digital Engagement with Jessica Iaconi

What if the fastest way to get a room talking honestly isn’t a better question, but a game?

Digital tools are everywhere in facilitation.

Polls. Quizzes. Voting. Leaderboards.

They’re often very good at producing a result. But are they actually any good at producing a conversation?

In this Facilitator’s Café gathering, Jessica Iaconi from Games for Crowds is handing the experiment over to us.

Rather than demonstrating another digital platform, Jessica is inviting us to play.

We’ll experience a selection of browser-based games together, then spend the more important part of the session exploring what happened.

Did they change the energy? Did they create conversations that might not otherwise have happened? What could we borrow from the mechanics for our own facilitation? And where might games like these get in the way rather than help?

Games for Crowds is still being developed, so this isn’t a polished product pitch disguised as a workshop.

Quite the opposite.

The platform is currently in an experimental phase and is free to use while it’s being tested. This session is part of that exploration.

Jessica wants a room full of practising facilitators to play, question, challenge and explore what could make the experience better.

Scepticism isn’t just welcome. It’s the point.

What you’ll experience

• Play a selection of browser-based group games live, rather than watching a demonstration.
• Explore how different game mechanics can spark participation, energy and conversation.
• Discuss where digital games add real value to facilitation, and where they might get in the way.
• Take away ideas and mechanics you can adapt to your own practice, with or without technology.
• Share your experience directly with Jessica and help shape what Games for Crowds becomes next.

What you need

• A laptop or desktop to join the Café.
• A smartphone to take part in the games.
• No downloads, accounts or preparation required.
• Curiosity, a willingness to play, and permission to say when something simply doesn’t work for you.

Who’s it for?

Facilitators, coaches, teachers, team leaders, event organisers, and anyone whose role involves getting a group of people engaged with one another.

Whether you already use games in your work, tried digital tools and abandoned them, or quietly suspect games sometimes interrupt good conversation rather than create it, you’ll have something useful to bring to the room.

About Jessica

Jessica Iaconi is the marketing specialist at Games for Crowds, a growing collection of browser-based games designed to be played together by groups. Players join simply from their phones, with no downloads or accounts required, and some experiences use AI to create content around topics chosen by the group in the moment.

Games for Crowds is currently in active development, and Jessica is using real-world play and feedback to explore what makes digital games genuinely useful for groups, rather than simply entertaining.

Why join this Café?

Because the interesting question isn’t:

“Can we make group activities more fun?”

It’s:

“Can play help us have conversations we wouldn’t otherwise have?”

Come and play.

Then help us decide.