Pieces of Eight – A QuickStart Design Adventure

The legendary Spanish Reale, or “Piece of Eight,” has fueled pirate lore for centuries and was once the premier trade coin of the world, valued by kings and coveted by pirates.

At Sententia Gamification, our three levels of certification are anchored in a pirate tale of exploration and discovery. Nick, the great-grandson of the infamous Captain Nathaniel Wilson, begins his journey with a map that charts the proven Sententia codified model for designing gamified learning. Each steppingstone moves him, and our learners, closer to building programs that truly transform adult learning.

One of our favorite design sprints is called Pieces of Eight.

Here’s how it works:

Take a blank sheet of paper and fold it in half three times. When you unfold it, you’ll see eight panels. These eight panels will guide you through the core thinking of your project. The catch? You only get about 50 seconds for each square.

That means no time for perfection. Just raw ideas, fast and furious.

In those eight panels, you’ll sketch out:

• Your business objective or problem to be solved

• Your learner’s motivational profile and pain points

• A storyline, theme, or context to frame the experience

• Delivery method (asynchronous, vILT, ILT, blended, AR/VR, etc.)

• Game mechanics to spark action, feedback, and rewards

• What excites you about this idea

• What feels like a negative or challenge

• One change you’ll likely need to make

 Because you’re racing against the clock, you’ll bypass overthinking and unlock creativity you might not otherwise access.

That’s the magic of Pieces of Eight.

It’s a simple but powerful exercise that transforms blank-page paralysis into a living map of possibility. And for our Level 3 Master Craftsman designers, it’s the spark that ignites a full journey into creating game-based and gamified learning experiences that actually work.

After all, pirates don’t wait for perfect conditions, they set sail, adapt, and claim the treasure.

Try it out for your program. Let me know how it works for you.