THE rules of Happy Hour are deceptively simple. You are a bartender. Your challenge is to tell what sort of drink each of a swelling mob of customers wants by the expressions on their faces. Then you must make and serve each drink and wash each used glass, all within a short period of time. Play this video game well and you might win a tantalising prize: a job in the real world.

Unveiled to the public on May 28th, Happy Hour is one of several video games developed by a start-up Israeli entrepreneur. The games include a version of Happy Hour in which sushi replaces booze, Words of Wisdom (a word game) and Balloon Brigade (which involves putting out fires with balloons and water). They are designed to test cognitive skills that employers might want, drawing on some of the latest scientific research. These range from pattern recognition to emotional intelligence, risk appetite and adaptability to changing situations.

A pilot now under way with students at Yale combines the results of games with academic grades. As little as ten minutes of play can yield enough data to predict performance.

Happy Hour combines three fashionable trends: gaming, the use of massive amounts of data and the application of behavioural insights from science. The games have huge advantages over traditional recruitment tools, such as personality tests, which can easily be outwitted by an astute candidate. Many more things can be tested quickly and performance can’t be faked on the games. The two biggest challenges are ensuring the games are fun to play and convincing recruiters, who typically make no attempt to measure cognitive skills, to pay attention to these new data.

沪江英语快讯：近日，以色列某游戏公司发布了一款新游戏“快乐时光（Happy Hour）”。这是一款既有娱乐功能，又能帮助求职者找工作的游戏。游戏者扮演酒吧的酒保，要在规定的时间里通过辨别客人的表情来给他们提供相应的饮料，还要负责清洗打扫。在游戏中顺利过关的人，有机会获得实实在在的工作机会。招聘人员可以根据求职者操作游戏的情况来判断他是否合适改职位。求职者也可以做到休闲求职两不误。