In the everyday work of a foresight consultancy and platform developer, we keep coming across tools that inspire us, excite us or are simply fun. Whether analyzing trends, designing future scenarios or playfully experimenting with new methods – the right tools can not only make our work easier but also open up entirely new perspectives. In this regular series, we introduce our current favorite tools – useful, exciting and sometimes just plain cool discoveries that support us in our work.
We don’t just want to briefly introduce the tools. We also show how they support us in our daily work and what ideas came to us while using them. Our recommendations are meant to inspire you to try new approaches and think outside the box.
In this post, we take a look at three exciting tools that have really won us over. Discover what becomes possible when creativity meets technology and playful approaches are integrated into serious methods. Have fun exploring and trying them out!
InfiniteCraft – creativity meets future scenarios
InfiniteCraft is an interactive online game that seems simple at first glance but quickly becomes fascinating. Players start with basic elements such as water, earth, fire and air. The trick of the game is that you can combine these elements to create new objects. The combination works like this: a large language model (LLM) combines the selected elements and generates a result that is displayed as output – for example, “water + earth = mud” or “fire + sand = glass.” This output is then stored in a central database.
The special appeal of InfiniteCraft lies in the so-called “New Discoveries” – discoveries that no one has ever made before. Every time players find a unique combination that doesn’t yet exist in the database, it is recorded as a “New Discovery.” This discovery remains one of a kind: once an element has been found and saved in the database, other players can create it too, but it no longer counts as a new discovery. The incentive is to be creative and try combinations no one else has found yet. It’s a race against other people’s imagination – and that’s exactly what makes InfiniteCraft a real hit among streamers and creative minds worldwide.
© Neal Agarwal, Infinite Craft
What makes InfiniteCraft particularly exciting for us is its creative combination technique, which translates directly to our foresight work. Instead of combining physical elements like fire or water, we imagine how real-world influencing factors could be linked to create dynamic mini-scenarios. For example, we could playfully combine social trends, technological innovations or environmental developments to discover entirely new perspectives on the future. As a fictional example, take the combination of the factors “artificial intelligence” and “demographic change.” In the tool, this combination could lead to a scenario in which autonomous care robots support an aging population – a glimpse of a future in which technological innovation meets social needs head-on. Or how about combining “climate change” and “urban farming”? The result could be a mini-scenario in which vertical gardens on skyscraper rooftops are standard, securing urban food supply. Another example could be combining “digitalization of the labor market” with “growing social inequality.” Here, the result could show an image of the future in which exclusive platforms offer access to high-quality education and jobs only to paying members, while others are left behind. Scenarios like these could help us identify and address potential challenges and opportunities early on.
© Neal Agarwal, Infinite Craft
The playful approach of InfiniteCraft lets us make complex interactions visible and develop creative ideas that might otherwise remain undiscovered. Playfully combining influencing factors creates tangible mini-scenarios that can serve as food for thought for more in-depth analyses. This approach could help us make workshops more dynamic and interactive and give participants the chance to get creative themselves and build their own mini images of the future.
Our goal is to integrate playful methods like these into our foresight processes – not only to shed light on abstract future topics, but also to make them accessible in an intuitive and understandable way. InfiniteCraft inspires us to push the boundaries of traditional approaches and find new ways to explore complex questions playfully – while developing innovative, future-proof solutions.
And now for our little challenge…
…how many “New Discoveries” can you make? Our CEO André Winzer holds the record with 36 discoveries. Can you beat him? Every combination opens up new possibilities – so let your creativity run wild and try it for yourself!
Globe Explorer – exploring knowledge visually
Globe Explorer by Globe Engineer is a tool that completely rethinks research. It’s no longer just about getting simple search results, but about gaining a rough overview of complex topics in no time. Instead of combing through endless texts, Globe Explorer automatically creates clear tables of contents and visualizes each topic as tiles with matching images, charts and relevant data. That way, you can see at a glance what it’s all about – and dive straight into the details.
What makes Globe Explorer really exciting is the way it simplifies your path through the flood of information. Each tile not only takes you deeper into the topic but also leads to subtopics and related areas you might not even have had on your radar. One click, and you’re at the next exciting topic or right at the sources – a true voyage of discovery through knowledge. This makes even the most complex topics tangible and quick to grasp.
© Globe Engineer
For us as a foresight consultancy, this is exactly what makes it a game changer. We often need a quick overview of new, complex topics without having to dig through specialist literature for weeks. Globe Explorer gives us a visual map of knowledge within minutes that we can work with right away. Whether we’re preparing for new technology trends or examining the social impact of a topic, the tool helps us capture the most important information quickly and efficiently and develop the right questions.
Another highlight is the seamless navigation between topics. Clicking on a tile about “artificial intelligence” takes you to related areas such as “machine learning,” “ethical issues” or “technology acceptance in society.” For us, this means we not only get to the content we’re looking for faster, but also come across topics that may only seem relevant at second glance – yet deliver exactly the insights that make the difference.
© Globe Engineer
Put it to the test: Globe Explorer is ideal for anyone who wants to get up to speed on new topics quickly and satisfy their curiosity in a playful way. Let the tiles guide you and discover what connections and insights open up – maybe you’ll find the crucial aha moment that moves your next project forward.
Cramify – academic excellence made easy
Cramify isn’t just a learning platform – it’s a smart companion that fundamentally changes the learning process. Designed for students who want to ace their exams efficiently and purposefully, Cramify offers personalized support tailored to each user’s individual needs. With customized learning materials, targeted practice exercises and specific exam preparation, the learning process is precisely guided and focused on the essentials. The platform uses large language models (LLMs) to develop personalized learning paths that build on exactly what is needed at the moment – making exam prep child’s play.
The cool thing about Cramify is how seamlessly it adapts to users’ needs. Through the targeted use of LLMs, it not only conveys relevant knowledge but also optimizes the way people learn: Cramify recognizes which topics still need more work, where your strengths lie and how learning can be made more efficient. It’s no longer about spending hours going through study material – Cramify filters out the content that is crucial for individual learning success and offers exactly the support that’s needed.
© Mathpresso Inc.
The cool thing about Cramify is how seamlessly it adapts to users’ needs. Through the targeted use of LLMs, it not only conveys relevant knowledge but also optimizes the way people learn: Cramify recognizes which topics still need more work, where your strengths lie and how learning can be made more efficient. It’s no longer about spending hours going through study material – Cramify filters out the content that is crucial for individual learning success and offers exactly the support that’s needed.
© Mathpresso Inc.
For us in foresight consulting, Cramify is more than just an exam prep tool. It shows how personalized learning can change the way we share knowledge. The platform inspires us to integrate similar approaches into our workshops and platform development to offer participants a tailored learning experience. In futures studies, we could use this technology to design specific learning scenarios that are tailored precisely to the needs of a team or project. Instead of conveying general information, we could create adaptive learning paths that close individual knowledge gaps and prepare people specifically for the challenges ahead.
Imagine every workshop participant receiving exactly the content and exercises tailored to their own knowledge and goals – no detours, straight to the point. With Cramify-like features, our workshops could become dynamic, interactive learning environments that not only share knowledge but actively respond to learners.
Test Cramify for yourself and experience what personalized learning support feels like. Whether for your next exam or to acquire new knowledge – Cramify shows that learning can be smart, efficient and tailored precisely to you.
Conclusion
With InfiniteCraft, Globe Explorer and Cramify, we’ve introduced three exciting tools in this post, each of which enriches our work in foresight consulting and platform development in its own way. InfiniteCraft shows how playful combinations of influencing factors can open up new perspectives on the future. Globe Explorer offers a visual voyage of discovery through complex topics that helps us gain an overview in no time and dive straight into the details. And Cramify puts tailored learning paths center stage, making the learning process efficient and individual – an approach we also find exciting for our own methods.
Each of these tools shows how creative technologies open up new ways to share, discover and apply knowledge. They inspire us to keep questioning and developing our own processes. Because whether in research, education or practice – using the right tools can make all the difference.
We’re curious: which tools do you use in your work, and why? What discoveries have enriched your everyday work or opened up new perspectives? Share your experiences and recommendations with us – by email, on social media or at our events. We look forward to your insights and love being inspired!
