Service Design Games as Innovation Tools, Knowledge Creators, and Simulation/Games (Editorial)

What is it that makes games and play so powerful that many practitioners at the front end of innovation turn to it in order to become better innovators? Consider the risks and pressure usually connected to recommending or suggesting the use of certain innovations. As play will not likely earn a person bonus points if it is proposed in a board meeting, we wondered why people believe in play and why it works. So we thought that developing a deeper understanding of the issue would be relevant both for practice and research.