Dive Brief:

• The CIA is busy training officers with board games, according to ARS Technica — a rather literal take on gamification.
• CIA Senior Collection Analyst David Clopper told ARS Technica that he was asked by his superior to develop a training program in 2008, and since he had experience with gamification, he turned to this method of learning. The games are designed to test knowledge retention. 
• Complex and not the average board game, Clopper says that officers who collaborate and help each other out tend to perform better. CIA Intelligence Educator Volko Ruhnke said that the board games are effective because they tap into natural human analytical skills, data cross-referencing and finding shortcuts to solving problems. 

Dive Insight:

One would think that the CIA would develop a high-tech gamification system with virtual reality allowing officers to engage in realistic scenarios busting the bad guys. But using board games for both a mental and tactile learning program is a smart innovation based on tried and true methods. It's also probably fun -- key to keeping employees interested.

One key here that other companies can take away: Keep things simple. Bells and whistles can be nice, but only if the base parts of the learning program work.