12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not Impressed, September 29, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Complete Games Trainers Play: 287 Ready-to-Use Training Games Plus The Trainer's Resource Kit (Ring-bound)
Although there is a lot of information packed into this book, I was very unimpressed with the layout and visual design. It looks like it was typed up in 1970. The graphics are ancient and the layout is just one big binder with no cross-referencing or indexing available. To find a useful game, you have to sift through hundreds of pages. It really is a shame, as there are some clever games here to loosen up an audience.
Frankly for this price, I expected something a bit flashier and filled with reproducibles that I would want to copy and hand out. The way it looks now, and with it's unwieldy format, it's going to sit on my shelf.
If I hadn't spilled water on it, I would have sent it back for a refund.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Complete Games Trainers Play, May 23, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Complete Games Trainers Play: 287 Ready-to-Use Training Games Plus The Trainer's Resource Kit (Ring-bound)
This book was helpful in planning an in-house managment training session. The book is divided into sections making it easy to locate games targeted at specific areas. The book is actually a 3" 3 ring binder. It is a large book, however, it does contain a wealth of information.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Helpful resource that could be improved, May 14, 2007
This review is from: The Complete Games Trainers Play: 287 Ready-to-Use Training Games Plus The Trainer's Resource Kit (Ring-bound)
The best thing about The Complete Games Trainers Play is its sheer size. Actually, it isn't nearly as big as some reviews imply. It is really around 1000 pages, not 2000+. And for some reason, a significant percentage of those pages are left blank. But even with that caveat, this is still a sizable resource.
If you are willing to devote 30+ minutes to finding an activity, you are sure to find one (or five) that are ideal for your training event. The fact that individual "games" can be removed from the ring binder is also helpful. This allows you to use the activities without carrying the whole book around, and to easily photocopy sheets for individual participants as some activities require.
However, there are some significant downsides. There is no real way to find appropriate activities without flipping through virtually the entire book. A large number of the activities aren't very good. And, most of the book is in a strange "typewriter" typeface that makes it look like it came from 1972. (Oddly, there are some pages which are randomly sprinkled through the book that use a different, more recent-looking typeface.)
To really upgrade its usefulness, Games . . . would benefit from taking a leap into the computer age. In other words, along with the printed book, a computer CD should be included. This could feature a good, searchable index, which is now lacking. It would also make it possible to print out games, and modify handouts on the computer to your organization's needs.
I've never bought any other resources like this, so I can't say if this is better or worse than others. I can say that in spite of the steep price and the drawbacks, I'm definitely glad I purchased it. It was very useful to me, and will be again in the future. However, there are a few simple steps the authors and publishers could take to greatly improve it.
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