Not only are tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and FATE a blast to play, they can actually improve your life. Whether you're new to tabletop RPGs, or you're a goblin-slaying veteran, there are plenty of tricks to make your games even more immersive and fun.

Playing tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder thankfully doesn't carry the same stigma it once did. That's great because as this TEDx talk explains, the game can do a lot to help you in real life.

If you search for advice on creative thinking, there's plenty to be found on how to be more creative but little written on how to avoid blocking others' creativity. Why is that?

Remember back when you were in school, and your teacher would announce that a new group project was being assigned? If your classrooms were anything like mine, you recall hearing a collective groan echo from chalkboard to chalkboard.

As you grow your small business you will naturally want to recruit new people into your company. That changes the workplace dynamic and it can be a challenge to keep everybody motivated, especially when the going gets tough. Introducing a company tradition could bring the team closer together and ensure your staff are on course to continue to grow the business with you.

If a lazy coworker is dragging your productivity down, a genuine offer to help might be enough to light a fire under them.

When you're working together with people, nothing kills a productive mood like naysayers. If you want to keep their negativity to a minimum, intentionally ask everyone for opposition so they can get it out of their system.

High-performance teams within a company are the ones that are more productive, reliable, regularly exceed expectations and stand strong when the business is facing hard times. Analyst firm Gartner has some advice on how to create your own A-team.

Getting a group to move forward on a project can feel impossible early on. Emails, meetings, and busywork get in the way. For a speed boost, get your collaborators together for a "one-dayer".

What better pick-me-up is there than praise for your hard work? Praise can turn a bad day around. It can remind you that although you're stressed and buried in piles of work, you're doing a good job. That's why team members, regardless of their positions, shouldn't hesitate to praise each other.

When it comes to planning, you want to have every aspect covered. The "tenth man rule" has someone play the part of contrarian to make it even more effective.

If you work in a remote team, one of the aspects you quickly notice is the importance of communication. Finding the best ways to communicate with your team is imperative when you're not working face-to-face, because you're missing most -- if not all -- of the context of each person's situation.

Last week, we visited Mission Escape Games (MEG) in Sydney to partake in a "puzzle game simulator". This involved finding and solving various clues to escape a series of locked, interconnected rooms in under an hour. While strongly geared towards entertainment, the game is also a valuable team-building exercise that can reveal a surprising amount about your employees or workmates. Who has the strongest leadership qualities? Who is the least capable of cooperating? Who is likely to crack under pressure? The answer is likely to be found in MEG's dimly-lit rooms.