One of the first games we learn as children is Chutes (or Snakes) and Ladders. Simple by board game standards, Chutes and Ladders relies entirely on luck to win—whoever happens to get the best die rolls succeeds. But Chutes and Ladders teaches children basic lessons about how to play games: that the world of the game has its own set of self-contained rules that must be followed, and that cheating to win both violates the spirit of the game and makes it so others don’t want to play with you anymore.

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These most basic of lessons can be extrapolated to every other game and, according to Claude Comair, founder of DigiPen Institute of Technology, are relevant in many other areas of life, including business. “Games are simulations of worlds, imaginary or real, with their own sets of laws and rules,” Comair says. “The objects in these worlds interact with each other and obey the rules that are set in place. This is essentially the same way the physical world operates, only on a much larger scale.”

Comair views everything, from economics to business to physics, in the same way. “I see the entire universe as a giant game made out of billions of smaller games. Each of those games is made out of smaller games. The scenarios we simulate are nothing more than games.”

Learning how to make games is practical in and of itself because you’re learning how to build complex systems. By learning how to simulate virtual worlds, you gain a better understanding of how the real world operates.

Games are often dismissed as frivolous—the opposite of serious. But as Comair knows, they are anything but. Gaming as a serious and purposeful pursuit is exactly what Comair advocates at DigiPen, and was the foundation of the school’s inception. In fact, he acknowledges, “When I started DigiPen, I was not involved with games but rather in serious simulations.” Those simulations were powered by intense 3D computations, far beyond the reach of game consoles in the late 1980s. Anticipating that these simulations would be of interest to game companies—and all kinds of businesses—Comair founded DigiPen to educate the people who would facilitate the transition to 3D simulations.

For businesses interested in modeling complex ideas, Comair knows games can be extremely helpful. “Learning how to make games is practical in and of itself because you’re learning how to build complex systems. By learning how to simulate virtual worlds, you gain a better understanding of how the real world operates.”

Serious simulations will become increasingly important ways to solve complex problems, and businesses that can apply the “serious fun” approach of games will be one step ahead when trying to solve them.

There is an enormous opportunity for businesses to apply serious games and game design principles to their problems. Games “can make any experience more interactive and engaging, and certainly that can be applied to any industry,” Comair says. Those who have simulation modeling experience—a widely applicable skill set, found in many industries and professions, which serious gaming fosters, will be an asset to any business.

Economics, production, agility, and other business challenges can be reduced to closed, rules-based systems—and therefore can be modeled in a game. These serious simulations will become increasingly important ways to solve complex problems, and businesses that can apply the “serious fun” approach of games will be one step ahead when trying to solve them.