Testimonials

• 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.

  A. Varga, Edwardian Group London

• 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

• 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

• '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

• 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

• 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

• 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 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

• '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

• The Resilience 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

• Northgate 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

• It 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

• 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

• I use Northgate Training Games 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, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

• I've used '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

• We love 'RollaBall!' and seeing the lighbulb 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

• 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

• 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

• 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)

• 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

• Brilliant - Northgate is my favourite provider of learning activities.

  Anne Grove, Cmed 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

• 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

• 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

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

  P. Timms, Dept of Constitutional Affairs

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

  Samantha Plant, HR Advisor, Hitachi Rail Europe

• 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

• 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, Bolton at Home

• 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

• Fast, fun and a real energiser! We used 'Going for Gold!' as an icebreaker/teamwork exercise with our International Sales Team. Both the systematic and the more sporadic teams completed the activity. We received great feedback about the enjoyment factor!

  Stephanie Barnett, Twinings

• '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

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

  D. Page, Warner Bros

• 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

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

  C. Cromer, C2Options

• Northgate Activities: excellent on every single detail.

  A. Talal, Tamar Group Saudi Arabia

• I used the Astronaut! 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

• 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

• 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

• We enjoyed the experience immensely and we've received many requests to run 'Going for Profit!' again!

  J. Lloyd, Eagle Star

• 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

• 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

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

  D. Harvie, Hagemeyer UK

• 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, Plymouth City Council - Tamar EBP

• 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

• 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 and H. Goodchild, Magnet Group

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

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

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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 'Decisions! Decisions!' is a practical and very exciting exercise with immediate feedback about decisions made. The set-up of using a computer (one only), 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

• 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

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

  S. Halstead, Ask Europe

• 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

• 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

• 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

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

  D. Callow-Evans, Ministry of Defence

• 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

• 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

• 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, Aggregate Industries UK Ltd

• 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

• 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)

• 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

• 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

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

  L. Wilson, Exxonmobil

• 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

• 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.

  M. Stephenson, Motivation in Motion

• 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

• A great success! What can I say - you came up trumps again! Thanks Northgate.

  K. Duthie, Clare Fletcher Training Ltd

• '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

• 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

• '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

• '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, Volkswagen Group UK Ltd

• A great exercise. Used as a fun team exercise for a large team of 42 who do not know each other very well, 'Murder at Tudor Grange (Sleuth!)' was a big success. The best learning points included trust, honesty, working together, communication, creativity (some of the shields were fab!), sharing resources and info. Great for large teams – it makes them communicate and consider trust - and brings out lots of real life issues which the group can see are relevant to the workplace.

  Sue Martin, Westland Helicopters

• 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

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

  J. Wood, Key Assets

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

  P. Mistretta, Center Parcs

• '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

• 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

• 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 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.

  E. Felix, Eversley Felix Consulting Ltd

• Great advice from Northgate.

  J. Campbell, The National Gallery

• '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

• 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

• '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

• 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.

  N Freeman, Red Kite Community Housing

• 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

• 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