Games People Play

There's a popular drinking game that doubles as a mixer, of sorts, to help party guests get to know each other. Players are seated in a circle. Whoever is taking the first turn says, "Never have I ever," followed by a short description of something that he or she has never done before. Everyone in the circle who has done that thing takes a drink, or eats an M&M, or does whatever other thing the players have agreed on.

The nature of the various things that players have not done can vary based on the composition of the group playing the game. For example, coworkers at a large financial firm might say things like, "Never have I ever used a collateralized debt obligation to hedge," or, "Never have I ever issued a bond that was rated below investment grade." A rodeo clown might say, "Never have I ever broken a bone running from an angry bull."

Those of us who run in IT certification circles are likely to have our own pointed revelations. If you've only ever used courseware from TestOut Continuing Education to train for certification, then you might say, "Never have I ever failed a certification exam," or, "Never have I ever showed up on the first day of a new job with an IT firm and felt badly prepared to assume my new responsibilities."

You could most likely also try out, "Never have I ever spent too much time memorizing facts and not enough time learning practical applications," or, "Never have I ever not had enough review material in the form of practice tests and quizzes." Based on direct feedback from past users, quite a few people might say, "Never have I ever gotten bored from listening to Robb Tracy explain IT concepts and theory."

Those are just the first couple of things to come off the top of our heads. We're sure that there are others that would work just as well. Even if TestOut CE products don't give you great fodder for your next party game, however, they will help you advance your IT career. It wouldn't be accurate to say that never we have had a dissatisfied customer, but that's what we strive to accomplish every day. Give us a shot, and we'll prove it to you, too.