To give a creative answer, you need an unusual question, the question that encourages you to think differently, answer the question that is not expected, or not framed the way you are used to. This is what my Creativity Game is all about: framing expected environment in an unexpected way. The principle is: "When you want the results you never had, you have to do something you've never done." (Thomas Jefferson) This is exactly what we do in this game: first, we co-create an unusual and unexpected environment using a crowd-sourcing technique, and then, we frame and resolve the challenges of this environment by coming up with unexpected and innovative solutions to the issues presented. In doing so, we exhibit creativity, innovative thinking, ability to resolve obstacles, and have a ton of fun. I've never heard so much laugh in a professional environment as with people who are playing this game. It's based on an old kids' game and promotes solution-based approach to problem solving, presenting it in a new and unexpected way.

The way the problem is crowd-sourced is fun, and the problems that it uncovers are unexpected and not trivial. Framing and solving them within this game is an unexpected process which always brings great advice that the participants can take back to their organizations and teams, as well as use the game itself in their organizations to bring out the creativity we all naturally have.

It’s said that two heads are better than one, in reference to problem solving. We will use Tangram puzzles to simulate this experience, and via structured debriefs of these exercises, discover the powerful behaviors of awesome collaboration, and the negative warning signs of poor collaboration.

We will jump right into simulation exercises, come prepared to have FUN and learn by doing.

No lecture - if you want a lecture… go here: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=+collaboration+pair+programming+lectures

References will lead you to the science behind collaboration - if you wish to know more.  Seems like an example right about now might be helpful,  wish I had a chicken tangram....

 In this interactive and engaging workshop, you will learn the concepts behind, and the value of, several Agile Engineering Practices. Without requiring programming or other technical knowledge, these concepts can be explained through the use of play and understanding the importance of failure in individual and team growth.

You will be given several challenges to complete in LEGO bricks and through this, and the subsequent debrief, you will learn about the agile technical practices.

We'll cover simplicity, TDD, refactoring, technical debt, and continuous integration.

Based on the matchmaking game "Hot or Not" - the game "Scrum or Not" is designed to conclude an introductory scrum training workshop.  It gives the group an opportunity to test their knowledge in a fast-paced game where everything is not scrum, but it certainly sounds like it could be.  In addition - the team members get an opportunity to share how "hot" they are to apply each agile concept to their "real world" projects.   This same game structure could be applied to other training topics - limited only by the evil creativity of the facilitator to create humorous, "almost by not quite" game cards.

In collaborative environments communication between team members is key to not only success, but survival.  But how aware are your team members of how they communicate?  Is there a common language and approach that is understood and agreed to?  

Using the Empathy Toy from Twenty One Toys we explore the difficulties that can occur when a common language is missing and how to create a framework that can be used to avoid misunderstandings and other pitfalls.  This games was developed by Paul to be used with Agile teams and is not part of the Empathy Toy Facilitator's guide.

The goal of this workshop is to create games about politics that will be played by at least 100,000 people before the U.S. political election. 

We will begin with a group discussion of the current political situation (e.g., who is leading?) and relevant frameworks such as Laloux's Reinventing Organizations and Boal's political theatre. We will introduce the game creation recipe created by Chris Sims and Laura Powers and presented at Agile Games 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyEzHHo7-sU). 

We will then break into groups and create games. We will end by selecting a game that the entire group will promote throughout the country.

The Agile Apocalypse has already happened. Agile workshops from Boston to Bangalore have been overrun by Agile Zombies whose brains exploded from too much Powerpoint. 

Fortunately, there is a ray of hope. A small band of Agilists have discovered a more humane way to teach. Games, simulations, and interactive exercises revive the brains of Powerpoint Zombies - leading to better learning that sticks.

Join us in this session to discover the "neurological why" behind effective agile games and "how" to use it to design even more effective games & workshops.  Leave with new ideas and strategies to put into action with your next group.

 This workshop is based on Bernice McCarthy's 4Mat System of Learning, Dr. Judy Willis' book "Research-Based Strategies to Ignite Student Learning", Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) from the Association for Integrative Psychology, and Sharon Bowman's work on "Training from the Back of the Room."

FeatureBan is a simple and quick simulation that introduces several of the key concepts of Kanban, including visualization, feedback loops and limiting work in process and that lets participants learn by doing.  The simulation is also useful because it lets organizations who are curious about Kanban quickly learn about it before investing further.  Mike Burrows invented the simulation, but in this session I will present a modified version that I have used with both technical and non-technical audiences.

Using one of Thiagi's Frame Games, we'll run through the Hello Game, which is a highly interactive way to begin a workshop. The Hello game serves the purpose of collecting useful information from the group, such as experience and expectations, in a fast and collaborative way.

Feedback is vital to our personal and professional growth. It helps create self awareness, identify areas of strength, and areas of opportunities. However, in our everyday life we do not find enough time to provide or ask for feedback. We frequently do not know how to respond to feedback and start explaining our motives or take it personally, while the only correct answer to feedback is "thank you". This game provides an opportunity to give and receive feedback in a positive and non-confrontational way. It can be used for alignment and team building, or as a format for retrospectives. This is my original game that I practices with multiple teams in several organizations, and everywhere we found a lot of value (and fun) in it.

We will be playing two games during the session: a collaboration game (which is a learning experience by itself), and then will use my original feedback game to give each other feedback as a retrospective. What is most fascinating, both are silent games. The power of silent communication is yet to be understood and quantified, and these two games will show how powerful silent communication may be and how it can create thoughtful and respectful atmosphere on the team.

Want your team to really learn Agile? Have them teach it back to themselves. Here’s their assignment:
 
"Design, implement, and deliver courseware that teaches you everything you need to know about Agile."
 
Guide your team one step at a time through the complete Agile product development lifespan, from team formation all the through product delivery and team retrospective. Your team members leave your session with:

• a demonstrated high level of Agile proficiency—they delivered an actual product,
• high internalized knowledge of Agile—they taught the subject matter to their teammates, and
• an important artifact—a team-specific guide to everything they need to know about Agile

You've probably heard all of the wonders of one piece flow, how it's faster and results in higher quality than traditional batch production line methods, etc.

We'll put this assumption to the test - HOWEVER - we're going to throw in some obstacles for added FUN!

Gelling is an interactive multiplayer application game designed for a team of 5 to 9 players. There are 9 puzzle games teams need to solve within the allotted time.  Each puzzle is time boxed between 2-3 minutes. Teams will be scored on their participation, passes, throws, stacks and catches. The puzzles start easy and slowly get more difficult.  The game accelerates team bonding, teaching teams to collaborate, cooperate, and coordinate better. In this session we will split participants into teams and each team will play each level of the game. Each level is time boxed, simulating a sprint. Sprint duration is anywhere between 1 to 3 minutes.  The objectives of the game will be to complete each level as a team.

Is Improv just a fun diversion to wake the team up and get the blood flowing?  Or could it be something more?   

Applied Improvisation can energize a group, spark creativity, and facilitate communication.  And perhaps there’s an even deeper value to be found in the world of Improv.  This active workshop explores Applied Improv in the context of the Agile Manifesto – putting our Agile values in action.

Mob Programming is based on the simple concept that five brains are smarter than one, but how do you harness those brains to focus on a single goal?  In this fun and interactive session we explore the roles and concepts of Mob Programming using LEGO® Serious Play®.

Attendees will be part of Mob teams that take a product request from a customer and, using the Mob roles of the Driver, the Navigator, and the Team, will create their product in LEGO®. Utilizing a Test Drive Development (TDD) framework, each Mob team tests, builds, tests, and delivers a finished product using a basic set of requirements.  Discover what it’s like to be a Mob team member as you cycle through the various roles and phases in a fun, non-technical setting; you don’t even need previous LEGO® experience, after all that is what the Mob is there for!

Although it's not easy, as an agile community we "know" how to do agile in teams.
One of the next challenges is scaling agile to the programm- or portfolio level.
In this game you will experience all kinds of manmade scaling issues.
Do you have an idea that will make scaling easier? Try your idea in the simulation and get instant feedback.

The scaling game is based on a very popular agile game, that has been around for almost 10 years. 
This version has been presented at Agile Lille, XP-Days, and the Agile Games Lab Belgium.

During the game you will experience scaling issues that occur when multiple teams work on the same product. Multiple Teams will look for solutions to scaling issues and experiment in an iterative way with their ideas on solving them..

It was co-created by Markus Wissekal & Yves Hanoulle.