Snakes and Ladders

Use:
Situation: Snakes and Ladders is a classic board game. On the way to the finishing point, the players meet with hurdles in the form of snakes and opportunities in the form of ladders. Replace the game with work in an Agile team setup where teams play the game of snakes and ladders to meet the set goals. However, unlike the regular game of Snakes and Ladders, all the team members have to reach the finishing point together to call the project a success.

Length of time:
60 min

Instructions:
In your Retrospective ceremony, compare your project to a game of Snakes and Ladders. How do we reach the finishing line together? 1. Imagine the snakes to be the impediments which teams face during their iterations. 2. Think of the ladder as best practices we should continue following, which could help us realize our iteration goal, in increments. 3. Fire torch could indicate the precautionary measures or things to help the team improve and meet the iteration goal.

Simple in its approach as it might be, the basic concept of gamifi-cation in retrospectives does two things, brings in a lot of fun and excitement and brings out ideas which would not have come out through conventional approaches.

Innovation Games:
http://innovationgames.com/game_view/instant_play/XAJGTFPWGZBJ5OKYOK1XCE3PFYL3VBKQ

Author:
Madhavi Ledalla: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madhavi-ledalla-6454237/