Professor Game Podcast cover art

Professor Game Podcast

Professor Game Podcast

By: Rob Alvarez
Listen for free

About this listen

 #1 Gamification Podcast | Insights and Real-World Strategies to Boost Engagement, Loyalty & Retention. Professor Game helps innovators, product leaders, and educators use gamification and game thinking to create engagement that lasts. 🎙️ Hosted by Rob Alvarez — TEDx Speaker, consultant, and host of the #1 Gamification Podcast — each week brings you practical insights, case studies, and frameworks from 400+ global experts and proven real-world examples. Expect interviews with top practitioners in gamification, game design, and behavioral strategy, plus solo episodes where Rob breaks down practical frameworks you can apply in your team, classroom, or product. Join the movement to make engagement, motivation, and loyalty truly meaningful — with stories and strategies that transform the way people learn, work, and play. 💡 Listen. Learn. Apply Play to Your Strategy.professorgame.com © 2025 Economics Management Management & Leadership Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • Why Your Team Hates Your AI Strategy (And How to Fix It) | Episode 435

    Why Your Team Hates Your AI Strategy (And How to Fix It) | Episode 435
    Mar 9 2026
    If you're implementing AI and want to realize that promised ROI, let's see if Octalysis fits → professorgame.com/chat Breaking down why most AI projects fail despite being technically flawless. The problem isn't the code; it's the lack of behavioral design. By applying the Octalysis Framework, we see how to move away from "Black Hat" implementations that trigger resistance and identity threats. Instead, we shares how to design AI as an individual contributor's superpower. It is a deep dive into balancing short-term Black Hat-driven data bumps with long-term White Hat engagement to ensure your team feels like masters of their craft rather than data entry clerks for an algorithm. Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Links to episode mentions: Let's implement AI successfully leveraging Octalysis Behavioral Design professorgame.com/chatHow gamifying AI shapes customer motivation, engagement, and purchase behaviorHarmonizing human-AI synergy: behavioral science in AI-integrated designDigital tracking, gamification, social media, and AI: How technology influences motivationAI-Driven Gamification Approaches: Enhancing Engagement Through Intelligent SystemsSome of The Octalysis Group's resources: Why Your Sales Leaderboard is Killing Performance (And What AI-Driven Motivation Actually Looks Like)How AI Loyalty Programs are Rewriting LoyaltyWhy Corporate Learning Platforms Fail (AI Corporate Learning)AI-Powered Behavioral Design for Customer LoyaltyThe Fintech Engagement Crisis: Why AI Without Behavioral Design Creates Apps Nobody UsesAI Powered FMCG Loyalty: Escaping the Points Trap with Behavioral Design Lets's do stuff together! Let's chat about your gamification projectYouTubeLinkedInInstagramFacebookStart Your Community on Skool for FreeAsk a question
    Show More Show Less
    6 mins
  • The Blueprint to Leading High-Performing Teams from Day 1 | Episode 434

    The Blueprint to Leading High-Performing Teams from Day 1 | Episode 434
    Mar 2 2026

    I've interviewed hundreds of experts and now lead Engagement Strategy (EU) at TOG.
    If you want help applying this, start here: professorgame.com/chat

    Can a leader truly be effective without ever presenting a single slide? Clark Aldrich returns to the show to dismantle the "expert-led" model of management and education. He introduces Socratic Cards: a physical tool designed to replace passive consumption with active, high-stakes inquiry. By shifting the responsibility of learning from the teacher to the learner, Clark explains how organizations can transition from "easily replaceable employees" to "heroic tribes" that thrive on peer mentorship and meaningful challenges.

    Clark Aldrich is a past guest (episode 94 and 127) and is the award-winning creator/author/founder of Short Sims, Unschooling Rules, The Complete Guide to Simulations and Serious Games, and Gartner's eLearning coverage. Aldrich's sims and games have been covered extensively, including by The New York Times, ABC, CBS, NPR, ESPN, and CNN.

    Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

    Guest Links and Info

    • Website: socraticcards.com
    • LinkedIn: Clark Aldrich

    Lets's do stuff together!

    • Let's chat about your gamification project
    • YouTube
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Start Your Community on Skool for Free
    • Ask a question
    Show More Show Less
    32 mins
  • Getting ADDICTED to CAREER PROGRESSION is Easy, Actually | Episode 433

    Getting ADDICTED to CAREER PROGRESSION is Easy, Actually | Episode 433
    Feb 23 2026

    Have a product challenge around retention? Quick intro chat → professorgame.com/chat

    Stop feeling like you're grinding without a progress bar. In this episode, we explore the behavioral science of "leveling up" in real life to combat burnout and invisible growth. By applying the Octalysis Framework we discusse how to map your career as an evolving skill tree. Whether you are a product leader looking to build meaningful user progression or an individual seeking to reclaim your "Player 1" status, this episode provides a blueprint for turning disjointed milestones into a cohesive, high-functioning journey of mastery.

    Rob Alvarez is Head of Engagement Strategy, Europe at The Octalysis Group (TOG), a leading gamification and behavioral design consultancy. A globally recognized gamification strategist and TEDx speaker, he founded and hosts Professor Game, the #1 gamification podcast, and has interviewed hundreds of global experts. He designs evidence-based engagement systems that drive motivation, loyalty, and results, and teaches LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and gamification at top institutions including IE Business School, EFMD, and EBS University across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

    Links to episode mentions:

    • The Octalysis Framework
    • Yu-kai Chou's first episode on Professor Game!
    • 10000 Hours of Play by Yu-kai Chou

    Lets's do stuff together!

    • Let's chat about your gamification project
    • YouTube
    • LinkedIn
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • Start Your Community on Skool for Free
    • Ask a question

    Looking forward to reading or hearing from you,

    Rob
    Show More Show Less
    12 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.