🎯 Serious Game Rulebook

Deal IQ

MEDDIC Sales Qualification Simulation

Learn qualification by doing it, in a safe world with real consequences.

1–100 players
60–90 min / level
5 progression levels
Browser-based · EN / DE
↓ Scroll to learn the rules
Section 01

The Premise

You've been assigned a B2B enterprise opportunity. The company is real enough to feel it. The stakeholders have agendas. The information is incomplete. Your job: qualify the deal using the MEDDIC framework, or fold before you waste months on the wrong opportunity.

Alex, AI Game Master
AI Game Master
Alex
Narrates every turn as a real scene. Not a summary. A scene, with NPC reactions, specific details, and tension that demands a decision. Alex remembers what happened before and builds a continuous story across your entire session.
"You step into the glass-walled conference room. Sarah Chen is already seated, laptop open, reviewing something intently. She looks up. 'You're early,' she says, with a half-smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes."
Klara, AI Sales Coach
AI Sales Coach
Klara
Watches every move. After each action, she gives you a specific coaching insight: what worked, what did not, and what a senior seller would have done. She scores your discovery approach and flags blind spots.
"Good instinct researching before the meeting. But you asked about metrics directly. Try discovering them through the annual report or a conversation about business challenges instead."
Two voices, two functions
Alex tells the story. Klara teaches the skill. Alex lives inside the simulation world. Klara steps outside it to give you professional MEDDIC analysis after every move.
Section 02

The MEDDIC Framework

Every evidence item you collect maps to one of six qualification elements. Each has a level from 0 (Unknown) to 4 (Validated). Your MEDDIC Board tracks your progress.

M
Metrics
What measurable outcomes does the prospect need? ROI, cost savings, revenue growth. Find the numbers that justify the investment.
E
Economic Buyer
Who controls the budget and can say YES? Not the sponsor. Not the champion. The person with sign-off authority.
D
Decision Criteria
How will they evaluate solutions? Features, price, vendor stability, integration fit. Know what they're scoring you on.
D
Decision Process
What steps lead to a signed contract? Map the buying committee, approval stages, and timeline.
I
Identify Pain
What business problem are they really solving? Surface pain goes deep. Find the impact on people and P&L.
C
Champion
Who will advocate for you when you're not in the room? Find, test, and activate your internal ally.
Section 03

How to Play: Intent-First Decisions

Deal IQ does not give you a menu to pick from. You describe your move in plain language, or speak it. The engine interprets, and you decide.

1

Describe your move

Type what you want to do in plain language, or use voice input. Example: "I want to reach out to Sarah Chen and ask who controls the budget."

2

The engine interprets

Your intent is mapped to game mechanics: action type, MEDDIC target, difficulty, AP cost, and success probability. You see a consequence preview.

3

You decide

Commit to the interpreted action, edit your intent, or pick from 2 AI-suggested alternatives with honest tradeoff explanations.

4

Alex narrates the consequence

The outcome plays out as a real scene. NPC reactions. Story continuity. Specific details, not summaries.

5

Klara's Training Insight appears

A coaching card steps outside the story to give you a sharp MEDDIC insight about your decision. Color-coded: 🟢 Excellent, 🔵 Good, 🟡 Risky.

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Story
Documents
Stakeholders
🎭
Alex · Game Master
You step into the glass-walled conference room on the 14th floor. Sarah Chen is already seated, laptop open. She looks up. "You're early," she says, with a half-smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. A printed org chart is visible on her screen...
What's your move? Describe what you want to do...
🎤
Decide →
MEDDIC Board
M
Metrics
E
Economic Buyer
D
Decision Criteria
D
Decision Process
I
Identify Pain
C
Champion
Action Points · Chapter 2
Section 04

Action Points

Every action costs AP. You have 10 AP per chapter. Spend them wisely.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Action Type AP Cost Primary MEDDIC Benefit
Research1 APMetrics, Decision Criteria, Pain
Outreach1 APEconomic Buyer, Champion
Meeting2–3 APAll elements; highest yield but highest cost
Analysis1 APDecision Process, Metrics
Navigation2 APDecision Process, org chart
Response0–1 APRelationship repair, stakeholder trust
Fold0 APClean pipeline, document your reasons

Your character archetype gives a +15% bonus on one action type. Your skill sheet (Research, Rapport, Empathy, Strategy, Persistence) modifies success probability on each action.

Probability & Outcomes

Before you commit to a move, you see the estimated success probability. This factors in your relevant skill score vs. action difficulty, current stakeholder trust level, and archetype bonus.

⭐
Critical Success
Breakthrough info or relationship leap
✓
Success
Worked as intended. Evidence gained.
〜
Partial
Some progress, some resistance.
✗
Failure
Didn't land. A teaching moment follows.
Section 05

Discovery Approach

Deal IQ scores how you discover information, not just what you find. Senior sellers uncover MEDDIC answers without the prospect realizing they are being qualified.

Indirect Excellent
"Review the annual report for cost data before the CFO meeting."
Full MEDDIC advancement, rich stakeholder response. The gold standard.
Indirect Good
"Ask about their business challenges in a general conversation."
Good advancement, natural information flow. Solid professional instinct.
Direct Acceptable
"Ask the VP what their evaluation criteria are."
Surface information only, lower advancement. Gets answers, but misses depth.
Blunt Ineffective
"What are your metrics for success?"
Stakeholder gives a vague answer, possible trust penalty. A rookie move.
Pro tip
The game rewards indirect approaches with richer information and deeper MEDDIC advancement. The best sellers make prospects feel like they're having a conversation, not being interrogated.
Section 06

Your Sales Archetype

Choose your archetype at the start of each game. Your choice shapes your skill defaults, bonus action type, and personal avatar.

🔍
Researcher
Research +15%
Finding data, metrics, criteria. Preparation is your superpower.
Watch out: Delaying direct engagement
🤝
Relationship Builder
Outreach +15%
Building trust, spotting Champions. People open doors for you.
Watch out: Skipping quantitative qualification
♟️
Strategist
Navigation +15%
Mapping process, org politics. You see the board, not just the pieces.
Watch out: Missing emotional pain signals
🎯
Closer
Meeting +15%
Creating urgency, handling objections. You thrive in the room.
Watch out: Rushing qualification steps
Section 07

Klara: Your Sales Coach

After every action, Klara appears with a coaching insight. She operates outside the story world, giving you professional MEDDIC analysis of your decision.

🎓
Klara
Sales Coach · Training Insight
"Good instinct researching before the meeting. But you asked about metrics directly. Try discovering them through the annual report or a conversation about business challenges instead. An indirect approach raises your success rate with senior stakeholders by 20%."
Discovery: Direct Acceptable
MEDDIC: Metrics

Klara scores your discovery approach (indirect vs. direct vs. blunt) and your action relevance (critical, advancing, maintenance, or waste). Over time, her feedback reveals your selling patterns and blind spots.

Section 08

Champion Building

The Champion element has the most nuanced mechanics in Deal IQ. It mirrors the real-world complexity of building an internal advocate.

The Influence × Authority Matrix

IA
Real Champion
High Influence + High Authority. Has both the credibility and the power to push your deal through.
✓ Champion Capable
INA
Coach Only
High Influence + Low Authority. Can advocate, gives great intel, but cannot push decisions through.
✗ Not Champion
ANI
Positional Power
Low Influence + High Authority. Has the title, but directives get slow-walked by the org.
✗ Not Champion
NINA
Friendly Contact
Low Influence + Low Authority. Warm and enthusiastic but zero organizational weight.
✗ Not Champion
The most common Champion trap
Confusing a friendly, enthusiastic contact (NINA) with a real Champion. Friendly doesn't mean powerful. Always test before you rely. The Champion journey: Build Relationship Capital → Build Professional Capital → Test → Use.
Section 09

The 5 Levels

Progress from a single deal to managing a full portfolio under time pressure. Each level introduces new mechanics that mirror real selling complexity.

1
Level
Single Deal
One company, one deal, full MEDDIC. Tutorial support available. Learn the intent-first system, meet Alex as your narrator, and practice Champion basics.
New: Intent-first input, Alex narrator
2
Level
Portfolio Intro
Manage 3 deals with limited AP per week. Learn to prioritize: which deal deserves your time this week?
New: Pipeline management, weekly AP budget
3
Level
The Fold Decision
5 deals. Some are traps: false champions, budget sinkholes, time wasters. Disqualify before over-investing. A well-documented fold is better than grinding a dead deal.
New: Deal health scoring, fold mechanics
4
Level
Complex Scenarios
Competitive pressure, false Champions, procurement blockers. Curveball events hit when you least expect them.
New: Curveball events, multi-Champion scenarios
5
Level
Master Qualifier
8 deals, tight quota, time pressure. Prove your expertise. The full behavioral mirror debrief reveals who you really are as a seller.
New: Full behavioral mirror debrief
Section 10

After the Game: Your Debrief

The debrief is not a report. It is a reveal sequence. Every section appears in order, showing you what happened and why.

1
Your Deal Story
What happened, told as a narrative. In portfolio mode, each deal's hidden archetype is revealed with a dramatic card flip.
2
MEDDIC Scorecard
Per-element scores across five dimensions: discovery quality, depth, validation, timing, and application.
3
How You Discovered
Your discovery approach breakdown: what percentage was indirect (pro-level), direct (acceptable), or blunt (ineffective).
4
Action Focus
How you spent your time: critical actions, advancing actions, maintenance, and waste.
5
Pipeline Management
Portfolio mode: fold accuracy, AP efficiency, and quota achievement.
6
Sales Behavior Mirror
Your dominant selling style, behavioral patterns, blind spots, and self-insights.
7
Key Decisions
The 5 decisions that most shaped your outcome, with alternatives and lessons.
8
Growth Path
Three personalized improvement recommendations and a shareable summary card.
9
ICCE Behavioural Scorecard
A four-dimension reading senior leaders trust: Intelligence (research depth and signal use), Character (champion integrity and discovery posture), Coachability (response to Klara's coaching cues), and Experience (recovery from mistakes, MEDDIC fluency under pressure). Every number is derived deterministically from your session evidence; the same session always produces the same score. Each dimension shows its weights and source signals so a recruiter, sales VP, or manager can verify the reading.
Section 11

Tips for Success

✍️
Write your own intent. Don't just pick the first suggestion. The act of articulating your move forces strategic thinking.
📂
Check Documents and Stakeholders early. Your deal briefing is there from turn one. Use it before your first outreach.
📊
Respect the probability. If the consequence preview shows 35%, that's information. Prepare before you act.
🛡️
Build Champion early. The champion journey takes multiple turns. Starting late means finishing never.
🚪
Fold is a valid move. A well-documented fold is better for your pipeline than a stall you never end.
🎓
Read Klara's insight card. It's outside the story for a reason: it's the part that transfers to your real deals.
⏱️
In portfolio mode, fold early. Recognizing a trap deal in week 2 saves AP for the deal that matters.
🎤
Speak your moves. Tap the microphone. Sales reps think out loud. The engine processes speech identically to typed text.