This book is a master class in the study of human motivation.Ok, but what is Gamification? Per the author,"Gamification is the craft of deriving fun and engaging elements typically found in games and thoughtfully applying them to real-world or productive activities."He continues by emphasizing that this is more than just applying the superficial shell of games i.e. game mechanics (such as points, badges, leaderboards, progress bars, medals, countdown timers, etc.) to otherwise mundane activities and calling it gamified.True, effective gamification is about "Human Focused Design", which optimizes for human motivation in a system rather than optimizing for pure functional efficiency.As it pertains to products and experiences, it is a combination of Game Design, Game Dynamics, Motivational Psychology, Behavioral Economics, UI/UX, Neurobiology, Technology Platforms, and Business Systems that drive ROI.As such, this book will teach you more about Human-Focused Design, Choice Architecture, Behavioral Economics, and human psychology in general, than similar popular science books by Khaneman (Thinking Fast and Slow), Thaler (Nudge, Misbehaving), Nisbett (Mindware), Cialdini (Influence), Swartz (The Paradox of Choice), Eyal(Hooked), and Ariely (Predictably Irrational) combined.The titles above are all excellent, but what Yukai Chou has managed to do is take the decades of academic research as presented by the previous authors and synthesize it with his vast experience designing games, and as a gamification consultant.The result is a conceptual framework called "Octalysis" that guides actionable design principles that put Human Motivation front-and-center. Game mechanics (points, badges, leaderboards, progress bars, medals, countdown timers, etc.) are relegated to a superficial support role in the effective implementation of this framework.This framework is unreasonably helpful in anchoring various motivational core drives in a graphical (schematic) presentation that serves the reader in effectively analyzing and dissecting all kinds of products/experiences for their strengths and weaknesses. It is very easy to memorize and it will pretty much feel like having a cheat sheet available at all times when evaluating products even after finishing the book. Product managers - take notice!The framework explains clearly between "Intrinsic" and "Extrinsic" core drives (left vs. right side of the diagram) and between "White Hat" and "Black Hat" core drives (top vs. bottom regions of the diagram). This is all presented adroitly with plenty of examples to cement the material.Surely some readers will be quick to dismiss this book and its author as lacking the academic/research chops to be able to present himself as an authority in the field. He hasn't designed nor performed, much less published any peer-reviewed studies/experiments to be able to back his material with any substantial evidence. Or has he?Consider that games aren't just "voluntary attempts to overcome unnecessary obstacles", as some experts put it. Games are, practically, massive experiments in motivation and behavior. As the author put it, no one has to play games yet millions of people excuse themselves daily of the many activities competing for their time and attention (and money too) to plug into these virtual experiences. What's more, many remain faithful fanatics years after the initial excitement of playing the latest title has faded.Why is that? How is that? How can product/experience designers harness these powerful motivations?Furthermore, in the latter chapters he analyzes more widely known frameworks (Deci's "Self-Determination Theory", Fogg's "Behavior Model", Chiksenmihayi's "Flow Theory") to decisively show that his framework is not only coherent with these, but that it also closes some of the gaps found in them.To close the book, he provides several examples of the ways one might use two of the Octalysis levels to either audit an existing product for strengths and weaknesses (level 1) or design one from scratch (level 2). His analysis of Waze (yes, the GPS app) is spot on.If you are a Product Manager, Marketer, Executive, Designer, Data Scientist, or budding entrepreneur, then do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of "Actionable Gamification" by Yukai Chou.Highest possible recommendation!