You open an AI chatbot and type, “Here’s my product concept. Who are my competitors?” You receive a lengthy Deep Research report. You then feed it back into the chatbot and ask, “Now summarize this report. Make sure to keep the key stats.”

Sound familiar? Maybe you’re a PM on a beacon initiative, or perhaps a solo-preneur trying to identify your niche in a crowded market.

We used to scramble through analyst reports and create spreadsheets. Now, AI chatbots handle it with a single prompt. Sure, it’s fast, but it’s bland. And let’s face it…We are not really thinking throughout the process.

So we asked ourselves a different type of question, one that might breath life back into the process: What if competitor analysis felt more like an RPG game?

RPG stands for Role-Playing game, and typically follows a mechanics where you create a character, establish, over time, the character’s unique attributes and qualities, all while fighting different types of enemies that put these attributes and qualities to the test. Many of these games are turn-based like chess. You move, then your opponent reacts accordingly. When done well, it feels like a well-orchestrated strategic dance. But one in which one of the parties comes out a winner. 

Laying out a strategic plan, analyzing the market, creating spreadsheets: all of that is important. But it misses something fundamental about product innovation. Your competition will respond. And you need to respond back. Thinking carefully about all of the cascading intersections between marketing, sales channels, product development, rollout, and more. When framed like an RPG, suddenly we had to think, what would we do next if we want to win in this space? 

So we made a game that forced us to answer this very same question. And made a tool that sharpened all of our competitive analysis skills, and somehow made it… fun?

Competitor Wargame: Turn competitor analysis into a strategy game

Inspired by classic RPGs and powered by GPT-4o by OpenAI, Competitor Wargame lets players immerse themselves in strategic market decisions, turning routine analysis into an exciting, tactical adventure.

In a constantly changing market, being reactive isn't enough. You want to proactively anticipate the moves of other players and adapt your business strategy to win. 

So here’s how Competitor Wargame works:

With each playthrough, you begin to see not just where you stand, but where to place your strategic bets. You identify areas worth investing in, risks to mitigate, and where your next competitive edge might emerge.
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What Happened When We Let IDEOers Play

When we shared an early version internally at IDEO, we weren’t sure how it would land. Would people take it seriously? Would they find it helpful…or just weird?

Turns out, a little play goes a long way.‍

Definitely a more fun way to assess competition!! The “help me address these” points were also helpful to both spur thinking and reflect things on our client’s mind. ‍
— Kristin, Business Design Director
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I feel like I won with my inflatable compression socks for seniors idea. They admitted I had a better product, but they just said the other company was bigger and already had vendor relationships in place”
— Andy, Writing Design Lead
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“Tried again and almost won. But botched the manufacturing piece. This is a lot of fun.”
— Also Andy (he will never win, we made sure of that)
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At the same time, we received suggestions to crank up the RPG-ness of the experience:‍

“Love the battle summary. It made me want even more RPG-style narration. “You launched your product. Competitor flinched.”
‍— Danny, Executive Design Director
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“I would’ve liked to have the chance to fix my prompt and enter the arena again”
— Murphy, Senior Design Director

Competitor Wargame is still a work-in-progress, and we're continually looking for ways to enhance the experience and make your competitor research more rigorous and engaging.
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Adding Playful Friction

Sure, you can do all this in a single prompt on an AI chatbot. But, just like how we explored patience and friction through gaming, Competitor Wargame is about adding playful friction that puts you in the driver seat, nudging you to think, reflect, and iterate as you continue the analysis. It wraps an otherwise mundane analysis into an exciting battle simulation. 

Most importantly, the simulation gives players a taste of hypothetical victory or, as our early testers experienced, defeat. This makes them want to try again. They revise. They engage. It’s less about getting the “right” answer and more about anticipating moves and exploring permutations…like the Kung Fu Dojo from Matrix.

Try It Yourself

Test your next product idea, competitive edge, or wild hunch in Competitor Wargame. See if you survive…or if your competitor crushes you.

⚔️ Launch Competitor Wargame ⚔️

We’d love to hear how you did. What did the game surface for you? What would make it better? Let us know!

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