While many of us tend to think that gaming – whether online or off – is reserved for teenagers and adult ‘geeks’, this is clearly no longer the case. With the growing popularly of games such as Facebook’s FarmVille and the mightily addictive Angry Birds, gaming has gone mainstream.

Whether they are played on smartphones or in the comfort of living rooms, there is no doubt that people of all ages – and of both genders – are falling prey to the addictive nature of today’s games. Having recognised this trend, some entrepreneurial businesspeople and software developers have begun to harness the tremendous power of games to make their products and services more appealing to consumers. Internally, gaming principles are also being used to educate and engage staff members and other stakeholders. Indeed, elements of gaming are already being used to such an extent in business that the trend has even been given its own name: gamification.