Every thing I need to know about risk management I learned from Pac-Man

This post is part of the Pac-Man Risk Management series.
1. Introduction :: 2. You are Not Pac-Man :: 3. Paranormal Psychology

Okay, not really "every thing" about risk management. But, you can get the basics which is vital to be going on with.

In putting together this blog, I stumbled on to a Pac-Man "widget" at Widgetbox and was reminded of the "Pac-Man Analogy" that I've used at various times in the risk management class. I don't always use this (it depends on the flow of the class), but it is fun and it does have a simple important conceptual lesson in it. As an analogy, it works quite well. Plus, it is kind of fun to have a little game on this blog and it actually be relevant!

Pac-Man is a quintessential risk management exercise. Simplistic in nature, most of us have spent (and can still spend) countless hours eating those little dots. Our challenge is to eat all the dots for a particular game board without running into the ghosts. Clear the board, and move to the next level. Simple, right? Four ghosts chase us around the maze while our hero, Pac-Man, gobbles small dots. If in jeopardy, Pac-Man can make his way to one of the large dots or make for a pass-through and then turn the tables on those pesky ghosts - he can eat them for a short period of time and earn additional points with the large dots. Very tempting!

Then there are the fruit that come hopping along as we try to work through the maze. Oh, how these fruit are bait for us! Oh the decision we must make!! Do I go after the dots, or do I detour and chase the fruit?!? The longer I run around this maze, the more likely I am to get in a pinch with those ghosts. Oh, the strategy involved!! What a wonderful game!

I put the Pac-Man game on the lower right-hand side of the blog. Give it a spin and give some thought to the risk / reward decisions you make as you play. I'll follow-up with additional posts that touch on the analogy further so keep an eye out for updates.

Enjoy!