Testimonials

• I used 'The Coaching Game' most recently on a Performance Coach training programme for several clients as an introduction and learning of what coaching is all about (with line managers, Directors, Senior Managers – anyone who runs a team). Learning points include open questions; rapport; sensory acuity; flexibility; coaching not easy; coachee talks more than coach; coachee has the answers and the coach asks the questions. I use it on every training course involving coaching. Excellent as an 'accelerated learning' tool – first class!

  S. Harris, Tuesday’s Training Company

• Everything produced by Northgate is well designed, of the highest quality and promotes a great deal of learning.

  J. E. Rowland, Royal Devonport Dockyard (Babcock Intl Group)

• Fun and informative! 'Storm the Castle' highlights the need to work as a team, to have effective communication and to plan and organise. Really gets minds and fingers working. Well paced, well thought out.

  K. Gale, First Great Western

• At such a reasonable cost 'Going for Profit!' is one of the most effective, value-for-money training tools I have come across. I was immediately attracted by the simplicity of the rules and ease of actually running the exercise. It sounded like fun and people do learn more when they enjoy something. As a trainer, it gave me problems – the range and amount of learning points! I wish I had those problems with every training activity.

  J. Roberts, Black & Decker

• 'Escape Room 2 – Breakout!' was fantastic, our employees loved the interactivity and challenges.

  Daniel Garman, Learning & Development Advisor, Leonardo Helicopters

• I recently used 'Lost in the Wilderness!' with a 10-person team. There was a very lively atmosphere where everyone felt committed and gave their very best to contribute to a relevant and shared decision. My appreciation of the game is excellent, particularly because the goal is not - as in most games of this kind - to make a list of useful things to take on a risky trip, but rather to make a decision about whether to go or to stay. In short a simple but powerful activity.

  Pierre Devriendt, Senior Consultant and Trainer, Staff & Line Management, France

• 'Mission Improbable' is one of the best training activities I've EVER used! Fun, challenging and rich for team coaching.

  Peter Collins, Head of Training, 24Seven Group

• Used 'Antarctic Challenge' on a Team Development Day with IT teams. It was run competitively which made it quite exciting. The best learning points were planning, information-gathering and not giving up. Fun, challenging and interesting. We interspersed data card allocation with tasks which had to be completed in order to earn the info they required.

  Stephanie Oerton, Soul Partnership

• Thanks Northgate for the brilliant 'TeamBuild!' It was great for getting teams to work together and it went down a storm!

  Fiona Flemington, Corporate & Executive Coach, The Insightful Coach Consultancy

• Northgate's games are easy to use and they offer a wide range of titles.

  D. Page, Warner Bros

• I have used 'The Sandwich Shop' business simulation on a recent course designed by Network Rail called Finance for Non-Finance Managers. It was used to form the afternoon session, after having looked at basic financial principles and in order to bring the learning in to a more real situation. It worked extremely well and the learners were very engaged throughout as they found it very different to the 'normal' kind of exercises they do on courses.

  E. Adams, Management Development Specialist PD&T, Network Rail

• 'RollaBall!' really helps give so many of our first time managers food for thought on teamwork and project management.

  P. Timms, Dept of Constitutional Affairs

• We used 'The Expedition' for some team building for our graduate management programme. A great way for them to be able to quickly build rapport, problem solve, collaborate and make decisions.

  Kevin Larvin, Learning & Development Manager, The Doyle Collection

• We have found Northgate Activities to be well designed and the instructions are very comprehensive which makes it easy for the tutor to use "out of the box".

  B. Illsley & H. Goodchild, Magnet Group

• 'Storm the Castle!' is really interactive and highlights the need for good teamwork, good strategy and the effective allocation of tasks. Northgate activities are very good, very informative and do what they say they do!

  Colin Osborne, Learning & Development Manager NW Europe, Kuehne + Nagel

• All groups love 'Set your Objective!'.

  Anon, Employee Development Officer, Scottish Council

• The 'Accountability & Performance Improvement' training activity worked very well. It helped my participants to practise the accountability concepts, reflect on their own situations and to be more aware about the importance of accountability in their workplace.

  Juan Losada, Consultant, Tesoro Consulting LLC, California

• Your training products have enhanced my training sessions! Using your training games brings great learning points in an interactive and fun environment. I facilitate a variety of topics across the leadership spectrum and you always have a training game that meets the training goals and time constraints.

  Songya Kesler, Leadership Consultant & Coach,

• 'Project Planning' always gets a good review. It's an excellent, interactive component on the project management course for junior/ middle managers who are new to projects. The best learning point is juggling a range of variables (schedule, budget, resources) simultaneously – key to project management.

  A. Myers, Ashorne Hill Management College

• I used 'The Empowerment Game' last week for a small session with some of our Staff Partnership Forum reps. They found the game to be really thought provoking and it generated some great areas for discussion that closely linked with some of the actions and outcomes from our last employee opinion survey.

  Natalie Freeman, Learning & OD Manager, Red Kite Community Housing

• 'Eldorado!' worked really well and had a real impact on our 200-delegate audience. Will definitely be coming back to Northgate to support us.

  Daniel Garman, Learning & Development Advisor, Leonardo Helicopters

• Northgate have always been really helpful and offer advice on the best activity to use to achieve the learning outcomes. The activities are fun and groups enjoy them.

  Miranda Stephenson, Director, Motivation in Motion

• It is simply brilliant. I use 'Make a Million!' with a wide variety of clients (senior management teams). It encourages delegates to focus on good planning, communication, team working, problem-solving and managing complex activities. It stretches delegates in a dynamic and exciting simulation. Thanks for all your support Northgate and keep on developing the great games.

  Barry Goodall, MD, Dark Blue Training & Development

• We are really enjoying using 'Capture the Flag!' It creates amazing learning within the virtual classroom.

  Martin Bycroft, Director, People-Centric

• 'All Change!' is a highly thought-provoking, immersive and interactive course, emphasising the key change strategies for employees at all business levels.

  Heide Dubison, Learning & Development Manager, FTI Consulting

• We used 'Lost in the Wilderness!' for a virtual team conference and it was a great energiser that everyone enjoyed. We've kept this in our L&D toolbox to use at future events in the coming months.

  L&D Manager, Housing Sector

• I have just completed the 'Managing Time' activity today during a Leadership and Management programme. The feedback as usual was absolutely excellent. It is an intense interactive activity and sets the scene perfectly for deeper conversations about time management and delegation. The review questionnaires allow the groups to take part in an in depth self-reflection activity and the ability to send the computer report straight to the delegates' email addresses for additional review and action planning is an impressive feature.

  Annie Lindsay, Director, Tickety-Boo Training

• I used 'Mission Improbable' in Lisbon at a global conference. It worked really well and was very well received. It was also a good reflection of how the teams work on a daily basis, as they are usually split up into different time zones.

  Rebecca Tisdale, EMEA Operations Training Senior Specialist, Equinix

• Great advice from Northgate.

  J. Campbell, The National Gallery

• 'Time Trial!' went down a storm! Thanks again for your assistance!

  Meghan Davis, Learning & Development Coach, Furniture Village

• Northgate Activities make an excellent and good value part of a wider development programme. They are fun and highly effective. From a facilitator's point of view they are easy to learn, adapt and deliver.

  Jonathan Aylwin, C2C Program Manager (Global Industrial), TE Connectivity

• I have been using 'AirLift!' for 13 years and it always delivers so much learning through its immersive experience. Its design highlights the need for purpose, interdependence and trust, along with a flexible mission led execution. The tactile nature of the task elevates the level of engagement and, of course, ensures people really enjoy the experience. It is a first class experiential product.

  Justin Featherstone MC, Consultant and Expedition Leader

• The 'Difficult Conversations' activity came at just the right time for us as we were designing a People Management course which included having difficult conversations. The case studies and role play generated valuable discussions and the delegates commented that the “Planning A Conversation” guide was a handy tool they would use again in the future.

  Julia Latimer, Leadership & Management Development Consultant, Network Rail

• 'The Empowerment Game' was truly thought provoking and made me think of empowerment in a whole new light. It raised my awareness of what it actually is and how I can empower my team. It empowered me to empower others!

  Sarah Holroyde, Learning & Development Consultant, Ecclesiastical Insurance

• We used 'AirLift!' at our Leadership Event and the groups thoroughly enjoyed the activity. We're excited to use it going forward!

  Kat Sandell, Virgin Australia

• 'Astronaut Rescue Mission' is a very versatile and engaging activity. Whether I use it as a team activity, a leadership challenge or as an ice breaker it never fails to produce important discussions that add value. The activity gives you great planning opportunities, attention to detail and collaboration aspects. The quality of material as ever only enhances the perception of reality. To summarise, a flexible, dynamic and appropriately challenging activity.

  Mark Higgins, Director, BFL Training

• Northgate Games always add a dimension to enhance the learning experience.

  Peter Mistretta, Learning and Development Manager, Center Parcs

• 'The Gym' is a great business simulation - one of the best, real-world simulations I have ever used. It uses everyday business issues and has a huge emphasis on decision-making with multiple variables. The discussion around management, marketing and customer service is all very insightful. There is a need to work together and develop team cohesion and it sponsors great leadership and organization. Being able to see the financial impact of their decisions (from the computer printout) is very engaging for everyone.

  Training Consultant, InRoads Inc USA

• 'Communication is the Key!' is great for highlighting the challenges for managers and team members when working remotely.

  Dr Ben Hardy, SOAS, University of London

• 'The Urgent Order' works really well! I used it at the end of a two-day workshop on teamwork and leadership and it finished the day brilliantly. It brings out key lessons whilst keeping delegates engaged and entertained - they thoroughly enjoyed the game. A breeze to run.

  Ted Hall, Director, TBT Associates

• I enjoy using Northgate Activities to add interest and energy to sessions, and provide a chance to put new found skills into practice.

  Michelle O’Donnell, Learning & Development Manager, Bolton at Home

• Thank you for your brilliant customer interface with me throughout this transaction, very prompt and professional.

  Carol Cromer, Director, C2Options

• Fun, interactive, thought-provoking - I used 'The Appraisal Game' in teamwork, training & building with Contact Centre Team Managers. One Team Manager began to realise that her style was quite aggressive and it allowed others to say so in a non-confrontational way. We are now using this activity with all of our CL Advisors on their 'Have Your Say Day'.

  Patsy McGill, People Development, National Express

• In short, it was a triumph! We ran 'Eldorado!' with 180 people on 30 tables in a huge ballroom in Hong Kong. The game brought out everything we wanted to raise – including communication, collaboration and teamwork. It was superb! We have been running corporate events for years and this was by far the best big-team event ever! Thank you for your support, advice and a great game.

  Simon Derry, Consultant, Rainmaker Coaching (a brand owned by Re-thinking Ltd)

• I use Northgate Training activities because they’re well written and provide the perfect vehicle for putting theory into practice. Also, our staff hate role plays! These games aren’t – and they love them.

  Keith Watkins, Senior Trainer Manager, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

• We ran 'Going for Profit!' virtually and it ran really well for us and all participants really enjoyed it.

  Gemma Barns, Graduate Resourcing & Development Manager, White & Case

• We love 'RollaBall!' and seeing the lightbulb moments that teams have when they participate in it! It is so applicable to the real world of work. We recently used it with a group of junior doctors and it really highlighted the impact that different teams in different departments can have on each other and ultimately the patient journey.

  Sarah Montgomery, Director, Delve Organisational Development Ltd

• Both teams enjoyed 'Decisions! Decisions!' and we were able to assess a person’s understanding of profit and customer service through the exercise.

  Marion Homer, Retail Volunteer Manager, Royal Trinity Hospice London

• We used 'Houston, we have a problem...' very successfully at a conference we held in January. I wanted an activity that entertained as well as highlighted communication issues. It was enjoyed thoroughly and led to some great discussions afterwards, primarily around trust and collaboration - job, very effectively, done.

  Keith Clarke, VP Operations, ARM Holdings Plc

• 'Teamwork Challenge' is a highly engaging teamwork activity that promotes learning in a fun and interactive manner. Excellent value for money! I used it with a cross-section of managers within a logistics organisation at a conference on teamwork. The best learning points included: to read the brief; to plan and stick to the plan in all phases of the exercise; having clearly defined roles, including that of leader, helps to achieve success.

  Jane Caven, Managing Director, Sagegreen Human Resources Ltd

• I ran 'Escape Room 2 - Breakout!' as a Pre-Christmas Team Building event and we had our biggest turnout ever! I have had several enquiries about when I will be holding the next one...

  Amy Mellor, Learning Consultant, First Rate Exchange Services Ltd

• 'Decisions! Decisions!' is a fantastic training tool. I use it as an activity on my Management training courses and I have got some great results from it. Delegates really get a lot from the experience.

  Andrew Pipes, Commercial Training Team, Volkswagen Group UK Ltd

• A very useful activity. 'Rollaball!' is a well-designed and ready-to-use, cross-functional team activity that generates many learning points.

  Sarah Cook, Consultant, The Stairway Consultancy

• An excellent activity for our client group of law firm partners. After a day of leadership theory, the 'Leadership Challenge' game brought home the crucial points and added energy and fun to our awayday.

  Rachel Stone, Smith & Williamson LLP

• I use 'Meetings! Meetings!' on training courses on effective meetings, and leadership skills. Delegates thoroughly enjoy it and 'grow' into the roles. As one said: “It was typical of what happens”. The best learning points include the need to formulate and use an agenda, the 'control' of individual contributions, and listing the action points decided. It was used at the start of the day, and 'set up' the day to allow focus on the learning points.

  Ted Hall, Director, TBT Associates

• 'Communication is the Key!' has been great – we have been playing it between different teams and we are doing a managers' session this month. Our delegates found it challenging at first but it led to some great conversations afterwards in regards to communication which we are all putting in to practice! I would definitely recommend Northgate Training.

  Jess Brosnan, Training Manager, hireful Ltd

• I really enjoyed using 'RollaBall!' and achieved outstanding results. It was used at a conference for Chartered Accountants and the best learning points include the need for planning, effective communication and COLLABORATION, not competition. 'RollaBall!' is one of the most effective team work tools I have used. It is great fun for participants and builds an excellent team spirit on which further training may be based.

  Jane Caven, Managing Director, Sagegreen Human Resources Ltd

• We are very pleased with 'Escape Room 2 – Breakout!'. Our delegates found it fun, challenging and very educational. We are using it not only in team-building events, but also in training regarding teamwork, and synergy.

  Eleana Katsiami, Developer & Account Manager, BrainUp

• We used 'Storm the Castle!' at the start of a three-day course where participants didn’t know each other. We started at 4pm and it ran for two hours and when battle commenced it was mayhem! Many useful learning points emerged about group dynamics and the characteristics of effective teams – not least in bonding and celebrating success. Afterwards the trebuchets were taken to the bar and were the centre of discussions for the whole evening.

  J. Lane, Independent Consultant

• Northgate Activities: excellent on every single detail.

  A. Talal, Tamar Group Saudi Arabia

• I used 'All Adrift!' in a virtual training session and it worked very well... great stuff!

  Jean Vanhoegaerden, Professor of Leadership Practice, Ashridge Business School

• Our participants found the 'Difficult Conversations' training activity very useful both in approaches for people they manage, also with our external stakeholders. Two (of our four) NMC values are ‘We are fair’ and ‘We are kind’ and the activity aligned really well to those values. Particularly the approach to listening and empathy. I have been using Northgate activities for around 7 years and have always found them effective and high quality.

  Marie Mostaeddi, Head of Learning & Organisational Development, Nursery & Midwifery Council

• 'Stonehenge Plus!' was fantastic! With 20 delegates, in four teams of five, it worked really well.

  D. Harvie, Hagemeyer UK

• I've used 'Time Trial!' (formerly 'InBox'), 'Hotel' and 'Decisions! Decisions!' and all three are very much worth the investment. They bring out fantastic learning objectives, are easy to facilitate and the supporting materials are great; what's most important is they work!

  Sam Holland, Head of L&D, Talarius Ltd

• I used 'Escape Room 2 - Breakout!' recently. I needed to tweak a few elements as we used it on a younger audience, but it was very successful. They didn't manage to escape in the hour, but they really enjoyed it.

  Jo Melling, L&D Consultant, Weston Group plc

• We have received your games and we are very pleased with them. We have already used 'RollaBall!' in one of our seminars and it was a big success.

  Eleana Katsiami, EA, Visible Ltd

• Brilliant activity! I have used 'RollaBall!' a number of times and it always gets the message across – teamwork is vital to achieve the best results. I recommend it to anyone having difficulties with their team.

  Fiona Flemington, Weightmans Solicitors

• We have used 'Leadership in Action' and found it excellent. It really challenges people and shows the impact of their decisions, plus highlights the need for attention to detail. It's good for bringing a team together and also is very fun to run and be part of. We really do love your products and hope to purchase more.

  Rachel Powell & Jenni Brooks, Directors, Enhance & Aspire Ltd

• 'Introducing Change' is a great way to illustrate many of the key themes associated with any large scale change initiative.

  C. Watson, University of York

• 'AirLift!' went really well and provided for some great team bonding. One team got the perfect route and packed the crates perfectly. One team got the second best route but packed the cargo hold terribly and one team spent all their time doing the maths in intricate detail and they ran out of time to build the crates (and got the maths wrong!). A big success!

  Richard Howle, Director of Ticketing, The Ticket Factory

• Everything I have ever bought has added real value to any training event - thanks Northgate!

  Julia Wood, Key Assets Ltd

• We find Northgate Activities to be well designed and the instructions to be very comprehensive. They make it easy for the tutor to use 'out of the box'.

  Lisa Gritton, Head of Talent & Development (UK), Nobia AB

• 'Storm the Castle!' was great fun. We used this activity during our Graduate Management induction week. Not only did it help with problem solving, planning and relationship building; it also brought out how competitive and creative they all were. A great activity to use to be able to pull out some key team building behaviours.

  Kevin Larvin, Learning & Development Manager, The Doyle Collection

• 'All Change!' was superb fun with lots of learning! Thanks Northgate – you never cease to amaze me.

  Neil Porter, Training Specialist, Supervisory Development, BAPCO, Bahrain

• The 'Resilience at Work' activity has been really popular and always generates a lot of discussion. As a facilitator, I have enjoyed running the activity as it has such clear instructions and meant that I could relax and focus on the people in the room rather than the mechanics of the session. To get the most out of the activity, we run it over approximately two hours, to allow for a discussion afterwards and time for drawing up resilience action plans. We also structure the time carefully so that teams do not spend too much time on each set of cards. We have had two more requests to run this session in the next month.

  Amy Mellor, Learning Consultant, First Rate Exchange Services Ltd

• Highly recommend this game. I used 'The Wine Bar Game' with 300 managers – used on the first day of a week-long residential course, run over three months. Diversity was brilliant, teams who were on track making the wrong decision and coming last! Great fun, very interactive, good group training for people who hadn’t worked together before. It ticked all the boxes and got a week’s residential off to a good start.

  Carol Morgan, Learning & Development Business Partner, Southern Water

• Used as part of a 'Performance MOT' course with junior/middle managers, 'Leadership Challenge' highlighted the role of a leader in a complex task. The activity was different, challenging and fun.

  Maureen Tallis, UK Community Engagement Manager, Aggregate Industries UK Ltd

• I have used 'Wiff Waff' virtually a couple of times (with two groups from the same organisation) and it worked really rather well. I adapted the delivery a little as I wanted something across a couple of shorter breakouts rather than one large activity but it served my purpose well. What I did was got them to create the answers to the questions (without doing the advert) in the first session. We debriefed that and then later in the day we did another breakout where they had to create the ad. This meant that in both sessions some people might have been less effective as their skill sets might have been under utilised. Discussion around how that felt and how to keep people engaged was useful. Northgate products are just as useful in a virtual world!

  Ian Moreton-Thickett, Freelance L&D Consultant, The Development Catalyst

• I recently used 'The Assertiveness Game' with great results - it really got the group talking and was an excellent way of wrapping up a one day event.

  Jane Crossman, L&D Business Partner, VolkerWessels UK

• 'Houston, we have a problem…' was very well received when used in a global conference with teams in Lisbon.

  Rebecca Tisdale, EMEA Operations Training Senior Specialist, Equinix

• We ran ‘Lost in the Wilderness! with the L&D team and they loved it. It was delivered virtually on Zoom so we used breakout rooms and were split into groups of 3 (I actually took part in the activity so can speak from my experience). It was good to see the different responses the group came back with and it brought the competitive side out in our team. So in a nutshell, we loved it, thought it was very good for team building, problem solving, creativeness and more and would definitely recommend it!

  Christina Stachurski, Learning and Development Manager, Coventry Building Society

• I’ve used 'Eldorado!' three times now with a fourth booking in place. It works really well every time! I’ve used it with numbers from 25-80 and whilst the larger numbers are better, you still get the learning with the lower numbers as well. It tends to almost debrief itself, as delegates realise their own mistakes as the activity progresses. I’m very pleased with it!

  Simon Priestley, Training Consultant

• Northgate Training activities are always great. Every Northgate product we have ever used has worked really well!

  Ian Palfreyman, Director, Unicus

• I used the 'Astronaut Rescue Mission' activity on the first day of a programme with Team Leaders – they all worked in a warehousing environment and were very nervous as they hadn’t experienced leadership training before. The Astronaut activity really helped to put them at ease and broke the ice as they all got involved in solving the problem. Without realising it, they all demonstrated leadership skills at some point in the activity, and the debrief was both fun and enlightening as they realised the different skills they already had (along with those they want to develop). Astronaut! worked well with a group who were a little unsure of themselves and the training, and resulted in some excellent discussions on leadership styles.

  Jo Kehoe, Director, JK Training Ltd

• 'Problems! Problems!' is an excellent activity to promote creative thinking and a structured approach to problem definition.

  Dr Evangelos Kitsos, Senior Teaching Fellow, WMG, University of Warwick

• 'The Escape Room' highlights learning around communication and attention to detail. I've run it 4 or 5 times now with great success. It's challenging and fun! Great work Northgate - keep it up!

  Carl Dearden, Education Development Practitioner, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

• We used 'Eldorado!' on a team build event with HR personnel. The best learning points included the fact that they went into competition mode, unwilling to share and communicate information. Excellent fun which ended with a fantastic learning result.

  M. McFarlane, West Lothian Healthcare NHS Trust

• We used 'Escape Room 2 – Breakout!' on our Operations Team Away Day, our delegates found it really engaging and fun. Really ticked all the boxes!

  Pamela Malkin, OD Consultant, Golden Charter Ltd

• I have used Northgate products over the years, starting when I was Training & Development Manager for Virgin Atlantic Airways, and found them easy to facilitate, fit for purpose and both instructive and enjoyable for participants.

  Pauline Wells, HR Business Partner, SSL Insurance Brokers Ltd

• 'Problem Analysis' is a superb package to promote and stimulate analytical thinking and risk analysis.

  S. Thompson, The Stock Exchange

• I have now purchased several activities from Northgate and once again this one - 'Winning Strategies' - was excellent and engaging.

  Ward Atkinson, Director,

• I love using the 'Project Planning' training activity on my level 5 Leadership and Management programmes. I use it to put into practice project management tools and techniques and participants find it really good fun. It really brings project management to life. They often get quite carried away with their spreadsheets and cannot wait to find out the results!

  Shirley Gaston, Founding Director, Azesta

• Northgate activities have received excellent feedback and from a facilitator’s point of view are very intuitive and easy to use. Professional and friendly service.

  A. Smith, Centrica

• 'Winning Strategies' is an excellent activity for a group to assess a company’s performance and plan a winning strategy for its future, and it forms part of our leadership development programme. The activity creates thoughtful discussions within the group and gives them a real understanding of what costs and other factors are involved in sustaining a successful business. The feedback we’ve had from the groups when using it has been really positive - we’ll definitely be using it again!

  Rob Chilcott, Learning & Development Manager, Claims Consortium Group

• Lively, thought-provoking. I use the 'Personal Effectiveness Cards' activity as part of either a Time Management Course or a Managing for Effectiveness Programme with team leaders and middle managers. The best learning points are self awareness, sharing 'good' ideas, and a different approach. A quick and easy way to help people consider their current practices and identify ways they can improve. I think Northgate products are great – I’ve not bought one that doesn’t work yet – thank you.

  Susannah Hopwood, Consultant, Summerfield Sanders

• Northgate Training activities have been a great time-saver in cutting down the amount of time needed to create modules for each competency within our new management programme!

  Amy Mellor, Learning Consultant, First Rate Exchange Services Ltd

• I used 'The Gym' business simulation with technology managers as part of teamwork training, the best learning points included managing the time available, and listening skills. A fun way to get to work with your colleagues. The activity stimulates a lot of discussion, reasoning and negotiation. Very positive feedback from all the delegates, a great way to build a team!

  S. Hunwick, Thomson Financial

• The 'Emotional Intelligence' activity is a fantastic component for any course on personal development – and fun to do. So useful for developing self-awareness, getting us to ‘think first’ about situations and really influencing our abilities to get the best out of others. I thoroughly recommend it.

  J. Mayley, Training Consultant

• 'Going for Profit!' went very well with apprentices from the Skills Funding Agency - they loved the teamwork and the opportunity to be competitive. They also realised how difficult it was to run a real business and how you need to work as a team.

  Justin Smith-Essex, Group Managing Director, Ted Learning Limited

• Great simulation. 'Make a Million!' is good for both teamworking and commercial awareness.

  S. Halstead, Ask Europe

• We used 'AirLift!' during an intern selection event. It was great fun and we will be using it again with our interns and apprentices.

  Dawn Lansley, Talent & Performance Manager, Canon Europe Ltd

• As always the support and quality we get from Northgate is great, it’s why we keep coming back!

  Steve Penson, Operations Director, Alisar Ltd

• Northgate products have opened a new world of learning for us to develop our teams by taking them out of their day to day roles, and allowing them to experience learning in a fun and interactive environment. The materials are easy to use and very detailed which means you can concentrate of the learning experience of the trainees.

  Andrea Varga, Edwardian Group London

• Brilliant ('5 Steps to Good Decisions!')- Northgate is my favourite provider of learning activities.

  Anne Grove, Global Head - HR & Development , Cmed Ltd

• 'Time Trial!' has been a useful way to showcase the skills we talk about in our Time Management course at the end of the day. Delegates have really enjoyed using it.

  L&D Advisor, Redrow Homes Ltd

• I’m loving using 'The Bridge' with clients! I’ve started a Bridge League Table so that clients can see where they sit against other organisations who have also completed the teambuilding exercise. This makes for quite an interesting conversation at the debrief – especially if they become top of the league!

  Fiona Flemington, Corporate & Executive Coach, The Insightful Coach Company

• 'RollaBall!' really does tick all the boxes as a learning activity!

  David Cartwright, Business Improvement Officer, A.F. Blakemore & Son Ltd

• I love 'Coaching and Mentoring'. It perfectly balances the need to know if someone is being trained, coached or mentored and the challenges that come with trying it for the first time. So difficult to not give direct answers on this which is a great practical activity. Have run it with up to 24 before (2 sets), and worked really well. I have participants who talk to me months later still having nightmares about invisible black blocks! A great learning experience with some fun along the way.

  Lisa Gritton, Head of Talent & Development (UK), Nobia AB

• Excellent! I used 'RollaBall!' for teamwork training with 12 first-time managers. The best learning points were the need to be less competitive and negotiate more openly! A fantastic way to finish a six-day programme – the delegates left on a real high. More games like this please.

  Keith Watkins, Senior Trainer Manager, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

• Excellent. We have used 'Winning Strategies' in recruitment and assessment to demonstrate behaviours against a company framework.

  Joanne Williamson, Training Manager, Stena Line

• 'Decisions! Decisions!' is a practical and very exciting exercise with immediate feedback about decisions made. The set-up of using a computer program, with log-in codes, comes across as new and refreshing to the participants. The best learning points are the thinking about the consequences of your decisions and that you need to anticipate,

  Vicky de Bruijn, Senior Director, Talent & Leadership Development EMEA, Hilton Worldwide

• 'Stonehenge Plus!' is terrific - lots of fun and dastardly deeds aplenty! One team tried to buy alter pieces for other teams from me in an effort to control the whole activity! Very interesting to see the dynamics in the room change with the skulduggery of the above mentioned team... It set up the day beautifully to be able to refer back to 'Stonehenge Plus!' throughout the day.

  Steve Laing, Consultant, QC Training International

• 'Communication is the Key!' is a very good team exercise that highlights all the problems we have communicating with each other. Used as part of the Communication Session on a Managers’ Skills Course with junior managers. The best learning points were: do not assume anything, life is not a competition, need to share more.

  Paul Stubbs, Head of Learning & Development, Europe, AECOM

• We have now used 'Houston, we have a problem...' in 4 different countries and the messages delivered translate well and are relevant to different cultures. Wherever we have delivered this module it has been received well and the feedback has always been that it was fun and interesting.

  Jonathan Aylwin, C2C Program Manager (Global Industrial), TE Connectivity

• 'AirLift!' is a great training tool! I’ve enjoyed using it for demonstrating teamwork and communication at various levels from apprentice to senior management.

  John Burluraux, Training Manager, Huntsman Polyurethanes

• Northgate activities are very reflective and boost the creativity of the students, while at the same time helping them to learn how to apply theory into practice.

  Dr Evangelos Kitsos, Senior Teaching Fellow, University of Warwick

• Northgate Training activities work first time out of the box and always support the workshops, create energy and engagement.

  Miranda Stephenson, Director, Motivation in Motion

• 'Capture the Flag!' was a great success! The team found it enjoyable and it really highlighted communication styles and issues.

  Geoff Hoffheinz, Chief Engineer, Glennmont Partners

• Wowser what a success! I purchased 'The Win Win Game' for a Negotiation Course for a group of NHS Nurses yesterday: it was truly brilliant! I absolutely loved it and the teams did too, they learned loads and the building of the tower at the end created some amazing negotiations with me over fines for knocking it down!

  Simon Hares, Training Consultant, SerialTrainer7 Ltd

• 'Astronaut Rescue Mission' worked really well virtually. I used it as a “pressure game” for people to then reflect on mindset & resilience. So I only gave 30 minutes (rather than 1 hour) for the game. It worked – it created a rich conversation about how perfectionism & team dynamics interfered with performance. I ran it virtually and it worked a treat. All credit to Northgate for design – easy to run & highly engaging.

  Adie Shariff, Director, Haynes Shariff Ltd

• I would highly recommend 'The Escape Room'. We used it as part of a team build and the participants were very engaged as they wanted to escape so badly! The activity highlighted some really interesting areas for development around communication and team work which opened up some fantastic discussions within the group. We will certainly use the activity again when we get the chance!

  Oliver Page, Operations Manager, Ignite Training

• I used 'Houston, we have a problem…' on the launch of Network Rail's Senior Leader Programme. It was stimulating, fun, entertaining, demanding, challenging, engaging and they succeeded in delivering an excellent product. The participants really enjoyed it and the review was simply amazing. So thank you very much for your tremendous help and support in coaching me through the process and reassuring me that it was the perfect exercise for these senior leaders. Well you were right again, so a big thank you.

  Eversley Felix, MD, Eversley Felix Consulting Ltd

• 'Hotel' went down a storm with the delegates! They really enjoyed it! Thanks for a quality product and outstanding post sale support.

  Stuart Warner, Training Consultant, Financial Fluency Ltd

• Northgate couldn’t be more helpful and always get back to my enquiries incredibly quickly. The activities are highly popular with our staff and have reinvigorated how we do training at Ecclesiastical Insurance.

  Sarah Holroyde, Learning & Development Consultant, Ecclesiastical Insurance

• 'Listening Skills' helps focus our training and works well as a group activity.

  C. Dick, University of Strathclyde

• We regularly use 'Mission Improbable' to test competencies and highlight development needs.

  D. Callow-Evans, Ministry of Defence

• Short, sharp, not as easy as it looks - a great leveller! We used 'Deadline 30 Minutes!' as an icebreaker at the start of a Personnel Development Planning Session with managers in all areas of the business in mixed groups. The best learning points were: not giving up; time management; sharing job roles and responsibilities; planning; breaking a large job into small pieces; motivation.

  Edward Gallier, Head of Learning & Development, Jurys Inn Hotel Group

• Off the shelf, convenient, reusable... 'spot on'... excellent!

  Rob Maddalena, Director, Learning & Development, Sophos

• I used 'Improve that Process!' on a training course to demonstrate change and continuous improvement with a group of 12 junior managers. It translated theory into practice very well. The best learning points included: planning, change, working smartly and process management. A good activity – very useful and active. Ideal for my course.

  Sue Martin, Westland Helicopters

• 'Mission Improbable' was ace! Really engaging, really fun and a really creative way to identify the key elements of working as a team.

  Matthew Hotten, People & Organisational Development Manager, Geberit Sales Ltd

• 'Houston, we have a problem…' went down really well and the participants really enjoyed it although they did find it quite challenging. They didn’t manage to get the correct answer but they also didn’t really mind as they had managed to come up with a plan and had worked reasonably well together. They had great fun using the filter which just about worked! It was very interesting to see their reactions to the task and how they slowly came to understand what was required of them. We also had an inflatable solar system and rocket ships in the room to add to the atmosphere!

  Sinéad O'Connor, HRD Business Partner, Almac Group

• We use 'Antarctic Challenge' to allow course members to experience real issues of strategic planning in some depth, with little prior knowledge of the 'environment'. For the Trainer, the format is flexible and the powerful image of Antarctica creates a memorable connection to the learning.

  I. Sasse, E.ON UK

• I have used Northgate Training Activities for more than 20 years, and found their games and simulations to be an invaluable resource for me, as a busy training consultant. I have often used them in Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and the UK, and they always go down brilliantly. The support provided by Mike and his team is excellent. I fully recommend this company and their terrific products.

  Liz Wright, Training Consultant, The Leadership Cafe

• The group was totally engrossed right from the start of 'Deadline 30 Minutes!'. We have quite a number of Northgate Activities - they work really well not only from the students' point of view but from mine as facilitator.

  J. Shilcott, WRL & Enterprise Co-ordinator, Plymouth City Council - Tamar EBP

• 'The Escape Room' is a great activity for breaking the ice, observing candidate interactions and how they interpret narrative, while also focusing on time management skills.

  Charlotte Jury, Resourcing Consultant, Future Careers, AWE

• As a general comment, Northgate activities are quality materials with good Facilitator Guides. On 'Storm the Castle!' - it's a fun activity and illustrates lots of points: the importance of planning at the start, attention to detail, group decision-making, organising the team and good team dynamics. Using the Team Review Handout lets participants lead the review.

  Moira Robertson, Training Manager, Scottish Prison Service College

• We held the virtual activity 'Lost in the Wilderness!' today for 24 people and it went really well – lots of good discussion!

  Allison Lochhead, Programme Co-ordinator, VolkerWessels UK

• 'Introducing Change' has proved to be an effective activity. Participants have liked it. The useful part is that the game has changes that provides comfort and discomfort and is relevant to the corporate world. It is also simple to grasp. Overall satisfied with the experience and effectiveness.

  V Satagopan, Pashin Consultancy & Training Pvt Ltd

• Northgate's 'How to Rob a Bank!' activity exceeded all of my expectations! We had a fabulous time and it did far more than I expected. I needed a learning exercise to test teams' leadership, motivational skills, analytical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making and their ability to work as a team and this activity ticked all the boxes!

  Neil Porter, Training Specialist, Supervisory Development, BAPCO, Bahrain

• As always with Northgate, this is an excellent development activity. These 'Managing Conflict Cards' are useful discussion aids and thought-provoking.

  C. Jeffreys-Hoar, Ricoh UK

• We used 'Antarctic Challenge' on an 'Introduction to Project Management Course' as a case study over three days with individuals with a mixed group of job roles and levels from Corporate Offices. We appreciate the level of detail and research behind the game. The best learning points included: do not assume anything, plan carefully, promote and market your project to gain buy-in. We love running this exercise because, as Trainers, as it’s the sort of expedition we’d love to do!

  Sonja McCoy, Method & Training Team, John Lewis & Partners

• I have used 'The Escape Room' activity a number of times with both smaller and larger teams and it has worked brilliantly each time. The teams have all loved it, it was enjoyable to facilitate and had some real beneficial learning - especially around the topic of collaboration. I would highly recommend it for any team events where you're wanting teams to learn together more effectively.

  Nazareen Johnson, Head of Learning & Development, Pets At Home

• 'TeamBuild!' was lots of fun and we were able to assess skills and behaviour very well.

  Samantha Plant, HR Advisor, Hitachi Rail Europe

• A pleasure to use for both Trainer and delegates! I used 'The Wine Bar Game' on a course to increase commercial awareness and general management and teamwork with middle managers. The best learning points were that motivation increases with profit, and that you should treat staff well! It is a great activity and really keeps everyone interested and learning. The tricky part is getting them to agree to stop after Round 8! Well presented and thought-out.

  Julia Wood, Key Assets Ltd

• We like Northgate activities here at ELS because they are great for rapidly creating cooperative team working in a fun, subliminal way and without any link to the course subjects. Here at ELS we deliver complex courses and we need people thinking fast and in different, creative ways. Northgate activities get people’s minds working and are the conversation pieces at coffee breaks long after the session has finished.

  Rob Allen, Senior Consultant, Explosive Learning Solutions

• 'Meetings Meetings' is a useful and enjoyable exercise, allowing trainees to practise communication, assertiveness and leadership skills but also emphasising the importance of planned, structured and co-ordinated meetings.

  K. Bertin, Harrods

• We used 'AirLift!' as an exercise during a teambuilding course with engineers of mixed age and experience. The best learning points were to listen to the contribution of others; plan and assign roles.

  Malcolm Archer, BAE Systems

• I use 'The Coaching Game' as part of our excellence programme for managers and supervisors and it works really well.

  Jane Crossman, L&D Business Partner, VolkerWessels UK

• The exercise proved to be an excellent learning platform and one of the highlights of the course. We used 'AirLift!' on a leadership course with 32 participants aged 24-40. The exercise brought out very clearly the need for teamwork in setting objectives and controlling the work of a group. The greatest learning points were that any team needs to spend time planning a structured approach to a task and ensuring that everyone is totally clear on what has to be achieved.

  E. Davidge, RAF

• We've run 'Astronaut Rescue Mission' remotely a couple of times now and we’re very impressed!

  Mark Drummond, Head of Training & Development, Story Contracting Ltd

• I love all your products! Using the 'Managing the Workforce' training activity in our session on transitioning from a content-contributor to a manager to a leader brought out some great learning points. The participants immersed themselves in the very-real struggle of each role: the managers were making decisions with incomplete information, the supervisors were running around trying to coordinate resources and information, and the production staff wanted to get the job done. Even further, each participant uncovered their own natural tendencies. It was a double-learning in management AND self-awareness.

  Songya Kesler, Leadership Consultant & Coach,

• I use 'Eldorado!' time and time again! A fun exercise which provides serious learning.

  L. Wilson, Exxonmobil

• We ran 'Winning Strategies' remotely and the materials worked really well.

  Alison Dale, Senior Learning & Development Manager, Bishop Fleming

• We have used Northgate's 'Emotional Intelligence' training activity with a group of admin staff and with a group of police officers and staff at inspector level and equivalent. It has proved effective in introducing the concepts of Emotional Intelligence in both cases, and provoked some interesting and thought-provoking discussion. Feedback from the participants was that they enjoyed the game. We will continue to use the game regularly.

  Tanya Robinson, Thames Valley Police

• I ran 'The 30-Minute Manager' activity in the first module of our ‘New Managers’ programme. It worked really well and the delegates really enjoyed it. It helped them to identify that being a good manager is about having good people skills – as well as technical skills. It reinforced nicely, that what they were about to learn over the course of the programme is really important.

  Sarah Stevens, Learning and Development Business Partner, TLT LLP

• Many thanks for your excellent customer service!

  Suzanne McDonald, School Business Manager, Royal Docks School of Business & Law, University of East London

• I’ve used 'Lost in the Wilderness' a few times now and found it works well with lots of different teams, from teams that work together regularly to groups who may not know each other too well. It creates a great sense of fun and urgency all at the same time – highly recommended for a great team / leadership game.

  Rachael McNidder, Leadership Development Coach, Pursuit Coaching & Development

• We recently ran 'A Taste of Teamwork' with one of our clients: it proved to be great fun with a very useful debrief session cementing the learning for all who participated.

  Jon Davies, Managing Director, Get the Edge UK Training and Consultancy

• We use 'The Assertiveness Game' training activity for assertiveness training and it is good for highlighting the different types of assertiveness. It is excellent - good fun and learning at the same time.

  Elaine Morrison, HR Manager, Sheraton Hotel

• Thanks to Mike and all the team at Northgate Training for pulling out all the stops. I have experienced exceptional customer support and service from you guys.

  David Rist, Head of Development & Training, Hidden Hearing

• I recently had the chance to conduct the 'Stonehenge Plus!' activity - and this time, I had 4 teams and it was a great success! I think you are genius to create something simple and fun! At one point, one team was desperate - they needed that one last piece and could not understand why other teams are keeping what they DO NOT need. To make it worse, one team wanted to charge them an arm and a leg. Later when he found out that there were actually 2 teams that had what he wanted, that's when the table turned dramatically. He could in fact bargain and got what he wanted at a cheap price. It was hilarious, yet very eye-opening. Thank you and looking forward to trying out more of your games!

  Hazel Sia, Certified Trainer, Comsolutions Sdn Bhd

• My colleagues and I have been using Northgate activities for 25 years for team-based learning and we have always been impressed by the quality of the material and the insights the students get from taking part in these activities.

  Paul Roberts, Principal Fellow for Quality & Reliability, WMG, University of Warwick

• I use 'Going for Profit!' on team builds with store managers and HR managers. The best learning points are that to succeed in retail, you need commercial skills but it is critical to work together. Fun, competitive, flexible as you can adjust the game to suit the timeframe.

  Morag Morrice, Somerfield

• We ran 'Going for Profit!' at a conference and it went down a storm! We had extremely positive feedback from everyone involved and we're now planning to run it with other departments so many thanks indeed - a great product!

  Colin Guest, Senior Business Architect, Lloyds Banking Group

• Used for time management – in a half day course. The 'Personal Effectiveness Cards' address all learning styles. It's not just a 'here’s how to do it' session - it generates discussion and thought processes from participants.

  Sarah Devenish, Service Delivery Manager, Total Gas & Power UK

• I've used 'Lost in the Wilderness!' virtually a number of times now with groups from lots of different backgrounds - from existing teams needing a refocus to new starters looking to form as a team during an induction. The supporting materials make the task clear and the guidance for the debrief is useful and helps structure that section well for the trainer. Definitely a fan - it goes down well!

  People Development Manager, Financial Services Sector

• We have used 'Eldorado!' in small and large groups at senior and junior level. The learning about the need to work together to achieve a common goal has been fantastic - and we’ve raised loads of money for our Asda Foundation charity!

  V. Heyday, ASDA

• 'Chinese Tower' is excellent and works really well to make an excellent point about how people can assume understanding of needs. I’m loving using it and it works with so many industries! Plus it’s lots of fun for me & the delegates.

  Rachel Powell, Director, Enhance & Aspire Ltd