“It’s not about getting it right. It’s about getting it started.”
Most people don’t need more information.
They need a game worth playing.
The Bigger Game is a simple, powerful way to step out of business-as-usual and into a life — and work — that actually feels alive.
The Bigger Game starts with a simple premise: If life is a game… why not play one that matters?
Not just one that pays the bills. Not just one that keeps you busy. But one that stretches you, fulfills you, and asks more of who you are.
Visually, it’s a simple board — nine squares, reminiscent of tic-tac-toe. In practice, it becomes a way to create meaningful, intentional change in how you live and work.
You can learn it in minutes. And you can spend a lifetime playing it.
Stop spinning. Get clear on what actually matters to you — not what you think should matter — and build from there.
When you’re playing a game that matters, showing up stops feeling like work. Everything changes.
Not forced. Not fear-driven. Action that flows from who you really are and where you truly want to go.
At some point, most people feel it.
Things are working… but something’s missing. You’re successful… but not fully expressed. You’re busy… but not deeply fulfilled.
That’s not a problem. That’s a signal.
The Bigger Game gives you a way to respond to that signal —
not by blowing up your life, but by stepping into it more fully.
This isn’t about fixing what’s broken.
It’s about creating something bigger than what’s comfortable.
The Bigger Game is built on a deceptively simple board. Nine elements that, together, create movement, clarity, and real change. It’s not a checklist. It’s not a linear process. It’s a game you play.
Click any square to discover what each element means — and how it shows up in your life and work.
Click any square to explore!
— Rick Tamlyn
The Bigger Game shows up where it matters most — your actual life. Your work. Your relationships. Your health. Your sense of meaning.
It helps you:
This is where people stop waiting… and start playing.
Most organizations say they want innovation, engagement, and alignment.
But you can’t demand those things. You have to create the conditions for them.
The Bigger Game brings people out of autopilot and into ownership. It connects individual purpose with organizational direction. It creates conversations that actually matter.
The result:
Because when people are playing a game that matters to them… everything changes.
Download the Bigger Game Whitepaper here.
This isn’t about pushing harder or fixing what’s broken. It’s an inside-out approach. Instead of asking, “How do we fix this?” we ask, “What are we here to create?”
From there, things shift. Clarity replaces confusion. Energy replaces inertia. Action becomes natural. It’s flexible. Adaptable. And it meets you exactly where you are.
The Bigger Game was created in 2001 by Laura Whitworth and Rick Tamlyn — not as a theory, not as a program, but as a way to live.
Co-Founder
Someone once described Laura as having brass knuckles in a velvet glove. That’s about right.
She had a rare ability to both challenge and champion people at the same time — to see who they really were, and call them forward into it.
Laura was the co-founder of the Coaches Training Institute (CTI) and co-author of Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives — work that helped shape the coaching profession as we know it today.
She was also a true Bigger Game Player.
Laura passed away in February 2007 after a courageous battle with lung cancer. She is deeply missed. And her spirit — her fire, her compassion, her belief in what’s possible —lives on in every Bigger Game that gets played.
Co-Founder
Rick Tamlyn has a simple mission: to inspire people to be their best — and then actually live that way. His work is bold, playful, and deeply human.
He’s known for challenging people to see that much of what holds them back is, in his words, “all made up” — and that realization creates space for something entirely new.
Rick has worked with individuals, leaders, and organizations around the world, helping them step out of default living and into something more intentional, more alive.
He is the author of Play Your Bigger Game: 9 Minutes to Learn, a Lifetime to Live (Hay House).
And at the heart of it all — he’s still playing his own Bigger Game.
Over the years, something unexpected happened.
The Bigger Game started to travel.
What began as a simple model — nine squares, a conversation, a way to look at life differently — found its way into rooms, organizations, and communities all over the world.
And along the way, a group of people stepped forward to carry it.
They learned it. They lived it. They brought it to others in their own way.
For a time, we formally certified facilitators to share the Bigger Game in their own communities and organizations. That chapter mattered.
It helped shape the reach, the stories, and the impact of this work in ways that are still unfolding today.
These days, that network isn’t actively coordinated. But the spirit of it? Still very much alive.
Because the Bigger Game was never about a centralized system. It was always about people — stepping into something bigger, and inviting others to do the same.
If you’ve been part of that community — thank you. You’ve played a role in something that continues to ripple outward. And if you’re finding your way here now, you’re part of that story too.
Were you a Certified Bigger Game Facilitator? We’d love to reconnect and hear what you’re up to.
Play Your Bigger Game is Rick Tamlyn’s invitation to stop waiting — and start playing. It’s simple. It’s honest. And it will challenge you in all the right ways.
You can learn the model in minutes. What you do with it… can change everything.
If something here resonates — if there’s even a small voice saying “there’s more here for me” — that’s enough. Let’s talk.
Whether you’re exploring this for yourself, your team, or your organization, we’ll start with a conversation and see what wants to unfold.
Play bigger. Not someday. Now!
Comfort zones aren’t the enemy — they’re just sneaky. Left unchecked, they slowly shrink the life you’re willing to live. The question isn’t “Do I have them?” Of course you do. The real question is: are they supporting your Bigger Game… or quietly negotiating it down?
There comes a moment when “fine” isn’t fine anymore. That’s hunger. You may not have words for it, but you feel the pull — more meaning, more aliveness, more you in your life. Hunger isn’t a problem to solve. It’s the signal that something bigger is ready to be played.
At some point you’ve got to ask: what am I really up to here? Not the safe answer — the real one. A compelling purpose has a charge to it. It pulls you out of bed and into the game. It’s not just about you — it’s about making something happen that actually matters.
If you can’t tell the truth about where you are, you can’t move forward. Assessment is simple —but not always easy. No drama, no self-beating. Just: what’s working, what’s not, and now what? Clean assessment creates clean movement. Period.
Playing a Bigger Game will eventually corner you — in a good way. It will ask you to make a move that feels… bigger than you. That’s bold action. Not someday. Not when you’re ready. This is where you stop circling it — and actually go.
GULP is the price of admission. It’s that moment where part of you says, “Yes,” and another part says, “Who do you think you are?” Good. That’s the spot. If you know exactly how to do it, it’s not your Bigger Game. GULP means you’re growing into it.
No one plays a Bigger Game solo. You need people in your corner — and not just the ones who nod and smile. The challengers, the truth-tellers, the ones who won’t let you off the hook —they’re part of this too. Choose your allies on purpose. Design the support you actually need.
Your Bigger Game will cost you something. Time. Energy. Money. Growth. Probably all of it. The real question isn’t what it requires — it’s what you’re willing to invest. Because at the end of the day, you don’t get to play a Bigger Game at a discount.
