HeroClix®: A Multiplayer Chess Game for Teaching the Fundamentals of Human Capital Management

Abstract

This article describes the adaptation and use of the HeroClix® board game to teach critical real-world principles for effective human capital management within teams. In a HeroClix® game, players pit their team of miniature figurines against other players’ miniatures in combat. This is akin to organizations striving in the business environment today, with well-structured human capital within their teams as a key competitive advantage. In this article, we suggest how the game can be applied in the classroom for undergraduate students to experience, reflect on, and learn more about the prerequisite considerations in proficient people management, the dynamic nature of human capital, and the strategic considerations involved in human capital optimization amid volatility. The HeroClix® game is straightforward to set up, easy to expand for large class sizes, and engages students in experiential learning effectively.

Board games are a great resource in management teaching, for piquing students’ interest and engaging them on the various topics discussed (van Esch & Wiggen, 2020). Game-based learning is also more effective when the students playing the games are able to exercise critical thinking and relate their gameplay experience to real-life workplace applications, à la D. A. Kolb’s (2015) four-stage experiential learning process of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation (Gazdula & Farr, 2020). In this article, we explore how HeroClix®, a chess-like game with variable piece characteristics, can be used to teach a 2.5-hour undergraduate business management class on various fundamentals of human capital management. Unlike chess, where pieces are limited to stipulated moves based on their predetermined functions, HeroClix® treats its pieces as dynamic, multifaceted individuals, emphasizing flexible strategies to win. This mirrors how organizations should implement holistic, people-first strategies that enable employees to adapt over time for business success (Pfeffer & Veiga, 1999). The game thus provides a realistic simulation of the various fundamentals of human capital management that may be overlooked in traditional curricula (Schwabenland & Kofinas, 2023).

Theoretical Foundation

Human capital refers to the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), as well as other characteristics of employees, such as personal motivation, which bring value to an organization (Wright, 2021). Studies on human capital have examined how it can be optimized within teams, focusing on an advantageous mix of team member KSAs, as the organization’s competitive advantage (Wang et al., 2012).

Despite the gravity accorded to the human capital discourse, management teaching is plagued by significant limitations in the fullness of considerations that can be conveyed to, and learnt by, students (Schwabenland & Kofinas, 2023). One main reason for this is the dominance of thin abstraction in the teaching process, which involves simplifying complex concepts and theories into stripped-down ideas for a quicker grasp of their gist (Folger & Turillo, 1999). For example, most school curriculums would view the development of individuals’ human capital as just a change from one state of being to another. They seldom discuss the interactions between individuals’ choice of personal development and their immediate environment, although such interactions may affect the outcomes (Wright, 2021). Instructors may also gloss over the ambidextrous refinement of human capital mix that takes place as one adapts to shifting market conditions. Yet, such intricacies, which are left out through thin abstraction, do matter in real-world human capital management.

This article does not argue that thin abstraction is wrong, or questions its usefulness in the teaching and learning of human capital management. Due to the complex nature of human capital management, thin abstraction plays a critical role in helping students grasp its foundational ideas. Rather, we make the argument that students should also be made more aware of the various fundamentals symbiotic to effective human capital management, should there be teaching apparatuses that permit thicker descriptions of the contextual considerations. We have thus modified the HeroClix® game to accommodate multiple players, and for them to learn the fundamentals of human capital management. The first author has successfully implemented the game activity in a variety of human capital management classes.

Game Description

HeroClix® is a tactical board game, which pits two or more players (each having a team of miniature figurines) in combat on a game map. Two six-sided dice are used during gameplay to determine the outcomes of attacks and defense actions, in addition to various game calculi. The player who knocks out all of an opponent’s miniatures, or scores more points from the “knock-outs” by the end of the game, is deemed the winner.

Each HeroClix® miniature is a two-inch figurine of a superhero like Wolverine, a villain-like Joker, or a character from other franchises such as The Lord of the Rings. Each miniature is affixed to a Combat Dial™ base, which is a rotatable disk that displays its combat values of “speed,” “attack,” “defense,” and “damage,” along with “powers and abilities” indicated by color shapes. The “powers and abilities” color codes grant specific gameplay effects to the miniature that have a potential impact on the game state and are displayed when the base is rotated to a position relevant to the player’s turn in the game. Additionally, a prefixed “range value” and lightning symbols are printed on the base, where the “range value” denotes the extent across the map that a miniature’s gameplay effects may reach and the lightning symbol refers to the number of opposing miniatures that may be targeted. Whenever a miniature takes damage from an opponent, its Combat Dial™ is rotated clockwise to reveal new combat values at that turn. When a miniature’s dial shows “KO,” it is deemed “knocked out.” Furthermore, each miniature has a point value stated on its base, which portrays the cost to add that character to the team—all players start with a pre-determined “build-total,” which refers to the maximum total point value of miniatures allowed on a team. To structure a well-balanced match between opponents, players ensure that the build-totals of all miniature teams are comparable. The point values also aid in the summation of “knock-out” scores at the end. For players’ quick reference, each HeroClix® miniature comes with a corresponding 3.25 inches by 2.5 inches character card that lists its special powers and abilities, and combat values across its full range of rotation, that is, clicks (see Figure 1).

Figure 1.

HeroClix® Game Setup and Miniatures.

Separately, action tokens, for example, beads or poker chips, are used to demarcate the number of actions taken by a miniature. Also, a HeroClix® rule booklet and a Powers and Abilities Card (PAC) that summarizes the “speed,” “attack,” “defense,” and “damage” gameplay effects, and various printable game maps, can be downloaded freely from the WizKids^TM HeroClix® website (https://wizkids.com/heroclix/). See Appendix A for the game mechanics. Furthermore, gameplay tutorial videos are available on YouTube (e.g., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKvESNPbte4). The miniatures are sold in secondhand markets affordably. We bought a total of 90 HeroClix® miniatures and several game maps for US$15 from the secondhand market. This helps keep teaching material cost low.

Learning Objectives

Through the HeroClix® gameplay, students will gain a deeper understanding of various human capital management fundamentals that are identified in research but seldom explored in depth during class. The associated learning objectives, which address these critical yet plausibly overlooked aspects, are aligned with Bloom’s Taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) and outlined alongside the game mechanics used to convey them and the key takeaways for students; all of which are provided in Table 1.

Table 1.

Learning Objectives of Human Capital Management (HCM) Concepts Through HeroClix® Gameplay.

Learning objectives of HCM concepts	Gameplay components and mechanics	Key takeaways for students
Recall the significance of employment regulations in human capital management (Rodriguez et al., 2017)	HeroClix® Rule Booklet on the maneuvers and deployment allowed for the miniatures in the game	Reading game rules is like studying employee regulations for lawful deployment and treatment of employees
Identify the importance of recognizing one’s own perceptual biases when managing teams (Judge et al., 2000)	The miniatures of superheroes and supervillains shaping students’ perceptions and creating expectations about their abilities during gameplay	Inclusive personnel policy development requires unbiased, ethical decision-making on employee capabilities, with clear links to business objectives, not subjective personal perceptions and preferences
Recall the need to assess employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) before deployment (Wright, 2021)	Each miniature has unique powers and abilities; optimizing team performance involves configuring roles like attacker or defender based on gameplay needs	Achieving person-job fit involves assessing employees’ KSAs in relation to their job roles, team requirements, and organizational needs
Explain the dynamic process of learning and doing in optimizing human capital in teams (Wang et al., 2012)	The collective powers and abilities of each miniature team are dynamically used to maximize their timely and effective deployment as gameplay progresses	Employee development is a dynamic process where employees grow by applying skills in new ways and adapting to diverse challenges, alongside colleagues over time
Apply the human capital perspective to human resources (Sheehan et al., 2014)	The game features asymmetry, where player groups follow the same rules but may use different numbers of miniatures, each with unique powers and abilities; a group’s chances of winning are not limited by the number of miniatures it controls	Human capital encompasses employees’ unique talents that are essential to an organization’s effectiveness; employees are therefore not merely interchangeable quantities of labor, but distinct individuals whose qualities drive organizational performance and success
Analyze the impact of effective and ineffective workload planning on employee performance and develop strategies to assign realistic workloads (Saks, 2022)	Each miniature that has taken two action tokens is barred from taking any further actions for a turn	Balancing organizational goals with employee workload is challenging; employers can improve this through more strategic workload distribution, for example, by anticipating competitor moves and fostering better task coordination
Examine the effects of employees’ idiosyncrasies (e.g., fluctuations in ability) on work outcomes and develop approaches to accommodate them (Della Torre et al., 2018)	Changes to miniatures’ powers and abilities as their dials are rotated, or the knocking out of miniatures from a player group, will cause a corresponding change to the group’s calculus for winning the game	There is a need to stay closely aware of labor market trends, such as aging, diversity, and employee preferences; and adjust manpower strategies accordingly to optimize talent deployment after setbacks and attrition

Preparing the Class

Preparation of Students

Students are informed about the HeroClix® game 1 week before the human capital management class. At this juncture, the rule booklet and PAC are made available to the students for prior reading on a voluntary basis.

Game Preparation for the Class

The HeroClix® game, usually played between two persons, is modified to suit a class size of 25 students (nonetheless, it can also be applied in larger classes; we provide two options for scaling the game in Appendix B). Before the students arrive, the classroom is set up in a cluster seating format with three tables and chairs around each table. A HeroClix® game map is laid on each table for two opponent groups. There are thus altogether six player groups of three to five students each. The instructor pre-packs 30 HeroClix® miniatures, their corresponding character cards, action tokens, six-sided dice, and PACs into six zip-lock bags beforehand. All bags are packed with miniatures of equal build-total, ensuring balanced matches despite varying miniature counts across some bags. See Figure 2 for the bags’ contents and seating arrangement.

Figure 2.

Student Seating Arrangement and Distribution of HeroClix® Miniatures and Accessories.

Running the Class

Pre-Activity Briefing

The instructor gives a lecture on human capital management. This sets the stage for students to learn through the contrast between the thin abstraction of human capital management theories and the thick description of its fundamentals through the subsequent HeroClix® gameplay. The instructor then conducts a brief demonstration of the game.

Gameplay

The opposing student groups are then told to start their HeroClix® games. The game objective is for a student group from each table to win by either knocking out the entire team of opposing miniatures or scoring the most points from knock-outs, within a 50-minute time frame. The students are allowed to refer to the rule booklet and PAC during the game. Meanwhile, the instructor will go around the tables to clarify the game rules should there be questions. Our observations on the students’ typical gameplay are provided in Appendix C.

Debrief

The class debrief reviews the student groups’ game performance and discusses their experience managing the human capital of their HeroClix® miniature teams. The debrief involves having the instructor ask the students guiding questions to help them concretize their game experience, construct reflective observations on the gameplay, explore their abstract game experience, and relate it to real-world management practices.

Debrief for the Game

The link between human capital management and the HeroClix® game is twofold. First, real-world business competition necessitates the pitting of one organization’s human capital, in the form of its employees’ KSAs, against that of another organization. This is analogous to the manner in which one HeroClix® team’s powers and abilities are pitted against that of a competitor’s team. Second, thriving in an evolving business world, where competitors respond dynamically, implies adaptively structuring employees’ KSAs into an optimal mix to compete better. Winning in a HeroClix® game similarly requires adaptively structuring the powers and abilities of one’s miniature team into a favorable combination, in response to internal volatility (e.g., when one’s miniatures take damage and dials rotated) and external changes (e.g., adjustments in an opponent’s strategy).

Debrief on Gameplay Experience

Students are asked to discuss their experience from the different junctures of the game in response to the instructor’s questions. For example, on why the students have subsequently used certain combinations of miniatures in their teams as the game progressed, they may explain that they noticed certain synergistic powers and abilities among certain miniatures within their teams. The instructor can then tap this observation to encourage them to explore real-world management practices where managers combine employees’ KSAs strategically to gain a competitive edge. See Table 2 for the suggested instructor questions and prompts for leading students to the learning objectives and Table 3 for the time allocated to each agenda item during the class.

Table 2.

Instructor’s Guiding Questions and Prompts for Steering Students Toward Learning Objectives.

Learning objectives	Instructors’ guiding questions on junctures of gameplay experience	Common student responses	Prompts for leading students to learning objectives
Recall the significance of employment regulations in human capital management (Rodriguez et al., 2017)	Whether students referred to the rule booklet provided a week ago as they proceeded with gameplay, and how a prior reading of the rules may have made a difference	● Read the rule booklet and managed a smoother miniature deployment process; felt more confident about winning ● Did not read the rule booklet; felt significantly constrained during gameplay ● Lamented about having to read the rules before being able to play well	What the difference is between being familiar with the game rules and otherwise, and how the experience may be projected to managing human capital with and without prior knowledge of employment regulations
Identify the importance of recognizing one’s own perceptual biases when managing teams (Judge et al., 2000)	What students have expected their miniatures to do when they first performed an action using the miniatures in the game	● Showed biases by performing actions on their preferred superhero or supervillain miniatures first, without planning holistically a coordinated maneuver based on their miniatures’ combat values and character cards ● Harbored preconceived notions about miniatures’ superpowers without studying their character cards	How students’ earlier misperceptions have influenced their judgment in the deployment of miniatures, and what managers may miss out if they were to rely on their impression or gut feel about employees when assigning work
Recall the need to assess employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) before deployment (Wright, 2021)	Why students have subsequently used certain combinations of miniatures in specific ways as the game progressed	● Found certain miniatures’ powers and abilities complementary to one another; thus configured attack and defense strategies more carefully along the way Wondered why only certain miniatures were given to their group, and yearned to swap certain miniatures with classmates or instructor for a more balanced skill set in their miniature teams	How the process of miniature team optimization may relate to that of forming employee teams with complementary KSAs, and how students may experience a similar process during organizational expansions, for example, formation and reconfiguration of departments
Explain the dynamic process of learning and doing in optimizing human capital in teams (Wang et al., 2012)	What the process of using the miniatures in various combinations was like, after the students’ miniatures have started taking damages along the game	● Suggested that there was a need for them to dynamically adapt to their opponent’s strategy and reconfigure the powers and abilities mix of their miniatures ● Noticed that miniature team optimization was not a static one-off procedure but a continuous improvement process, with some trial-and-error, and learning and doing, as they went along	Might this experience be similar to the real-world ambidextrous process of human capital optimization amid a volatile business environment, where managers have to optimize their employees’ mix of KSAs as a continuous learning and improvement process
Apply the human capital perspective to human resources (Sheehan et al., 2014)	For student groups that won with fewer miniatures in their teams (as compared to their opposing teams), why they have won in the end; for the rest, why they were able to hold out despite the circumstance of having fewer miniatures	● Argued that it was based on lucky dice rolls ● Alluded to the quality of miniatures’ powers and abilities as opposed to the quantity of miniatures	What the qualitative concept of human capital and the quantitative concept of human resources are; whether there is a parallel between the former and their gameplay experience; and whether it is possible for the skillful combination of KSAs (workforce quality) to help with an organization’s odds of overcoming adversity (e.g., lack of workforce quantity)
Analyze the impact of effective and ineffective workload planning on employee performance and develop strategies to assign realistic workloads (Saks, 2022)	What the two action tokens given to a miniature after performing two actions may symbolize at the workplace	● Replied that it meant the miniature had gotten its hands full and needed a rest ● Argued that the miniature’s plate was full and cannot take on additional workload ● Grumbled that they felt helpless during the turns when their hard hitter miniatures with two action tokens were immobile	Whether students have read about or heard of managers overloading their employees to the extent of burnout, and how important it is to plan a team’s workload holistically, considering each employee’s KSA as a long-term strategy, instead of over-burdening the better employees for short-term gains
Examine the effects of employees’ idiosyncrasies (e.g., fluctuations in ability) on work outcomes and develop approaches to accommodate them (Della Torre et al., 2018)	How students felt when they saw the new combat values and color codes whenever they turned a miniature’s dial during the game	● Suggested that the combat values shown at the latest click reflected a miniature’s competencies at that juncture Worried that various combat values had deteriorated, for example, an “attack value” has decreased, or a special power lost ● Observed that certain new powers and abilities were revealed after certain dial rotations	How employees’ KSAs may change when they encounter setbacks (some may experience a decrease in performance while others may find new strength to carry on), and how important it is for managers to take such changes into account when managing human capital over time

Table 3.

Time Allocated to Agenda Items of Class Session.

Time (minutes)	Item	Instructor activity	Student activity	Resources
30	Before Class Setup	Pack HeroClix® miniatures, Powers and Abilities Cards, action tokens and six-sided dice into six zip-lock bags; distribute the zip-lock bags and lay out the game maps on three tables; upload slide presentation	Not applicable	HeroClix® Miniatures, Action Tokens, Powers and Abilities Cards, Six-sided Dice, Slides, Projector, Computer
5	Introduction	Introduction to session	Listen, make notes	Slides, Computer
30	Lecture on Human Capital Management	Outline the theories and concepts of human capital management	Listen, make notes	Slides, Computer
10	Brief Demonstration of HeroClix® Game	Show the typical actions of HeroClix® miniatures in a game, such as move, attack, defend, and use powers and abilities at one of the tables	Gather round the table and observe	HeroClix® Miniatures, Action Tokens, Powers and Abilities Cards, Six-sided Dice and Game Map on table
50	HeroClix® Gameplay	Walk around the three tables and facilitate students’ gameplay; take questions from students about game rules	Play the HeroClix® game at their tables, using the zip-lock bags of miniatures and accessories provided, to meet the game objective	HeroClix® Miniatures, Action Tokens, Powers and Abilities Cards, Six-sided Dice and Game Map on table
20	Debrief	Use slides to guide discussions on learning objectives and the fundamentals of human capital management	Give feedback and answer questions	Slides, Computer
5	Summary	Review learning objectives and close	Ask questions if any	Slides, Computer

Conclusion

Using games in the classroom has been shown to improve student engagement and focus, especially for the more qualitative management courses (van Esch & Wiggen, 2020). The HeroClix® game allows for an exciting and fruitful learning experience. Its game mechanics offer the potential for students to explore the abstract fundamental concepts related to human capital management and gain a fuller understanding. In our teaching endeavors, students have enjoyed both the learning process and the game, even those without prior exposure or interest in superheroes. This is a sample of student feedback received:

I loved the game and saw many parallels between the game and real-life human capital management. It served me well as a rehearsal of what I would do in an organization managing and deploying precious manpower in a competitive business environment. Most worth mentioning was the way we had to rejig the combination of “employees” when my Iron Man started taking damage from Killmonger. I will recall this lesson whenever I manage people next time.

Additionally, the game’s physicality supports information processing, reinforces concept recall, and offers opportunities for knowledge application (see A. Y. Kolb & Kolb, 2005; for a discussion on these science of learning principles). As such, it can be adapted to teach other management concepts too, such as those found in short segments of MBA or graduate-level courses. We suggest two such adaptations in Appendix D. Finally, instructors may wish to clearly outline the learning objectives to students, right at the start, so that they focus more on learning instead of just winning the game.