Frequently Asked Questions

As long as one adheres to the framework of the Creative Commons license, respecting the brand guidelines set by the LEGO Company for LSP and other intellectual properties and copyright, anyone can offer training for facilitators in the LSP method in the Open Source version or its derivatives.

Trainers authorized by the Global Serious Games Institute all have at least 5 years of extensive experience in real-world application contexts of the methodology itself, as well as apprenticeship in facilitator training. Thanks to the polycentric approval system for new Trainers, both the Technical-Scientific Committee of the Institute itself and the international community of facilitators have complete visibility and feedback opportunities on the process of accreditation of new Trainers, in the fullest respect of the values of the LSP method itself and of serious play in general. Their approval as Trainers is based on the broad recognition of their professional and human value, and never by political or commercial dynamics as often happens in centralized and less transparent contexts.

This is an important question. If you are considering facilitator training programs, it is advisable to study the content offered and the instructor’s experience. Most importantly, verify that signing contracts or agreements imposed by the training entity does not restrict your complete and legitimate freedom post-training (while safeguarding potential intellectual properties of the training entity). Additionally, if possible, seek references from someone who has participated in these training programs.

The idea of using LEGO® bricks for business-related purposes emerged in 1995. Between 1995 and 1999, Johan Roos and Bart Victor experimented with this concept. In 1999, they developed version 1.0 with the contribution of Robert Rasmussen. The LEGO Company was not involved in the initial development of LSP; it was one of the businesses where the LSP methodology was utilized as a research and development tool. LSP was officially launched at the end of 2002 and was developed under the supervision of Executive Discovery LLC, a company owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the current owner of the LEGO Company. Executive Discovery organized certification events for facilitators in the USA and Denmark and managed all intellectual property rights for LSP and the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® name until 2004.

The company closed in 2004, and the rights to LSP were acquired by the LEGO Company, which continues to own the trademark. Between 2004 and 2010, the LEGO Company attempted to establish a sustainable business unit based on a licensing model. In 2010, they realized this model was inconsistent with their core business (producing and selling bricks) and subsequently closed the business unit dedicated to managing licenses for LSP use.

All known versions of LSP are generated autonomously and arbitrarily by different autonomous entities, and none comes from the official origin at LEGO Company, which permanently discontinued proprietary methodological development with the release of the LSP methodology as open source in 2010.

The original LSP version released as open source is composed of a skill building section based on three phases and three applications: Real-Time Personal Identity, Real-Time Strategy for the Team, and Real-Time Strategy for the Organization. All subsequent versions are composed of a specific methodology that allows facilitators to design customized workshops for a wide range of applications and for workshops of variable length (from 2 hours to 2 days). Clearly, the quality of a version is determined by the competence of the entity that releases it, in terms of field experience, theoretical knowledge at the base, competence in designing and implementing training experiences, investment in continuous development of the methodology itself, and, not least, the ecosystem that deals with it.

Since 2016 a group of facilitators with extensive experience, from Italy, Spain, England and several Latin American countries, well aware of the characteristics and limitations of the existing versions of LSP, began the development of a broad and flexible application system, in particular catalysed by Lucio Margulis’ continuous experimentation around the world. With the 2020 – 2021 pandemic, this workflow then received a strong acceleration, in the face of the obvious need for a more flexible, open application version that was closer to the needs of practitioners and participants. Thus, the Serious Games System (SGS) methodology was born, based both on many years of in-depth experience with LSP worldwide, as well as on just as much work conducted in the use and methodological development with other serious games tools, and backed by extensive theoretical foundations in the new cognitive sciences, the development of socio-technical organisational models, complexity science and related disciplines. The SYSTEM version of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® that saw the light of day in 2023 builds on and complements this work.

In 2010, a small but determined community of LSP professionals, including Lucio Margulis, believed in the method and built their businesses around the LSP methodology. The LEGO Company did not want to deprive these professionals of the opportunity to practice LSP. Moreover, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and the new CEO believed in the method’s potential. They decided that the use of the LSP name and the basics of the method should be publicly available, joining Creative Commons to authorize public use of the brand while acknowledging the rights of the LEGO Company (the so-called Open Source version of LSP).

Since 2010, the LEGO Company continues to produce and market four sets of bricks (kits) specifically designed for the LSP method. These sets are distributed via www.lego.com/shop. The LEGO Company does not endorse any of the training programs in the LSP method, nor the individuals offering these programs.

Anyone can use LSP in its Open Source version as part of their business proposal, as long as they respect the guidelines set by the LEGO Company regarding the LSP trademark and adhere to other intellectual properties and copyright.

From 2002 to 2010, only Executive Discovery and later the LEGO Company were authorized to certify LSP facilitators. Additionally, only after completing the training and paying the license fee to Executive Discovery/LEGO Company was it possible to purchase the special LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® kits. Lucio Margulis was trained by the LEGO Company during this period.

No, they operate under the same conditions as anyone else practicing LSP. The only distinction is that they are the only facilitators who can refer to themselves as “LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Trained Facilitators”.

No. While the LEGO Company recommends that facilitators participate in a training course before using the LSP method, there is no official facilitator training program approved by them.

No. There are no facilitators officially appointed by the LEGO Company, no master trainers of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, nor facilitator trainers. Since 2010, there has been no LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Training Board or Advisory Council, no LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® partners with a special status or formal relationships with the LEGO Company. No association, group, or individual facilitator is formally endorsed by the LEGO Company.