The Creativity Playbook

Kill the Idea Game

Write down your strongest ideas, then let a random finger kill them one at a time. You get three saves, and the idea that survives is the one worth your time.

Updated

Kill the Idea Game

A worked example from the book

  1. 1. Write down your strongest ideas. The book plays with 19, numbered 1 to 19. Its example problem is getting publicity for a new venture, and three of the 19 are:

    • Get the CEO to appear in public in just his underpants.
    • Donate time and services to people who need help in the community, and tell the local paper.
    • Get a celebrity to use one of your products and hope they are photographed doing so.

  2. 2. Let the finger kill an idea. Save the ones you cannot lose. The finger lands on the underpants idea. You decide it is worth saving, so you use one of your three saves and have two left. Next the community idea comes up. You decide it is not worth saving, so it is killed. After a few more deaths, the celebrity idea comes up and you save that too. Two saves are used and one is left.

  3. 3. Sudden death. Only the two saved ideas remain. The saves can go on only two different ideas, which is why you must choose them carefully. Toss a coin to see which one dies. If your gut says it is the one idea you cannot live without, use your last save. The idea with two saves wins.

  4. 4. Why it works. The book says that being made to choose shows you which idea really matters. You find out by how it feels when the finger lands on it.

Now try it with your own ideas below.

0 ideas. Add at least 3.

How to play

  1. Write down your strongest ideas. One per line, three to nineteen. The book plays with 19, so use 19 if you have them. Add the problem too if you like.
  2. Drop the finger. The game picks one idea at random. That idea is about to be killed.
  3. Kill it or save it. You have three saves. Spend one and the idea is safe until the end. Do not spend one and it dies.
  4. Keep going. Once two ideas are saved, the third save waits for the last round, so every other idea has to go.
  5. Sudden death. Only your two saved ideas are left. A coin toss picks one to die. If your gut says it is the one you cannot live without, use your last save. The idea with two saves wins.

Why kill ideas at all

The Kill the Idea chapter is about choosing which ideas get your time, money and energy. After you have a ton of ideas, you have to whittle the pile down to a shortlist and then to one. The game does not rank your ideas for you. It makes you choose, and the choice shows you what you care about. The book’s point is that being forced to decide tells you which idea really matters.

The rules in detail

Why only two ideas can be saved. The three saves can go on only two different ideas. That is why the final round has two ideas left and why one of them ends up with two saves. Spend your saves on ideas you can defend.

Why the finger is random. In the book you close your eyes and drop a finger on the board, so the choice of victim is not yours. Having an idea killed, with a chance to save it, is what shows you which one you would fight for.

Fewer than 19. The book’s board has 19 numbered spaces. Here you can play with as few as three ideas.

Where this comes from

This is the board game at the end of the Kill the Idea chapter, played on screen. The rules and the example are the book’s. Nothing you type leaves your browser and nothing is stored.

Questions

Is this a way to rank ideas? No. It is a way to find out which idea you would fight for. A real decision still needs checking, such as what it would cost and who it is for.

Can I play it with a team? The book’s game is about your own ideas. With a team, take turns being the one who decides, or agree on a rule for who gets to use the saves.

Is my list sent anywhere? No. It stays in your browser, and closing the page clears it.