WORK AND PLAY combine at Mind Candy, the company that created the online Moshi Monsters children's game. It's bright, young and fun, and Mind Candy's 134 staff are full of team spirit, producing an 89% positive top-20 score for survey questions on My Team.Simon Hill, a producer and game designer on the firm's next project, explains: “I thought it would be a lot of ‘crunch working' outside of hours, but it couldn't have been more different. Everybody has a lot of input and the ethos is to give people room to play.” The privately-owned, London-based firm, founded in 2004 by Michael Acton Smith, has grown from 77 people in 2011. People agree their jobs are good for personal growth and the experience is valuable for the future (both scoring 90%). Jocelyn Stevenson, executive creative producer for film and television projects, likens working for Mind Candy to her early days working with Jim Henson. “There's that feeling of people with different skills all working for the same company, with mutual respect, driving for excellence,” she enthuses. Mind Candy has a caring team (91%) and people share a strong family feeling (88%). The firm lays on healthy snacks and fruit, and each month a chef cooks lunch for the whole company. People have fun (92%) sharing “beer o'clock” drinks every Friday and getting together for the annual MoshiCon, held last year at Disneyland Paris. For Divinia Knowles, chief operating and chief financial officer, it is all about giving people a chance who are “ambitious but not necessarily tried and tested”. Now that the firm is growing, she and Acton Smith, the chief executive, are careful to hire the right ones. “We also have to have a bit more process, systems and structure,” she says. “You can go crazy or do it in a sensitive way.” Everyone gets share options and the firm runs workshops to explain how the scheme works. The firm has a strong social conscience (90%), and although people talk about being entrepreneurial, profit isn't the only driving force (82%). Owning shares is critical, Stevenson says: “They could be worth nothing, but it's that feeling you are part of it and can benefit. It makes a big difference in your head, particularly in a creative company.” People feel proud of their work here (92%) and love the sweet taste of working for Mind Candy (89%).