Non Musical Chairs

Timing:

Between 30 minutes and 1 hour.

Materials:

Several chairs in an empty space (no table) – No specific disposition, leave some chairs in the middle

1 chair for each team member + 1 empty chair

Between 10 to 15 players (maybe more)

Instructions:

The facilitator will start the chronometer and walk (do not run) in the room trying to sit on the empty chair (all other chairs have a team member sitting on it)

The goal for the team is to prevent the facilitator from sitting on the empty chair during 1 minute, by moving and sitting on the empty chair (each move leaves an empty chair somewhere in the room)

Team should not move the chairs (the solution is not in moving the chairs) but it’s not a real problem if they do it because it doesn’t change the output of the game.

Rules:

- Team member could not touch the facilitator: holding, blocking, pushing … are forbidden

- Team member HAS to move to an empty chair after standing up (a team member could not sit on the same chair … even if the facilitator is close to them)

Iterations:

When the facilitator wins (it takes a few seconds to WIN), give the team some time to do a retrospective and define a new strategy.

Try the new strategy:  the facilitator will win again … do a retro and try a new strategy

Repeat the processus … until the team find a winning strategy

Learning objectives:

This game enforce the importance of SELF ORGANIZATION, COMMUNICATION, SIMPLICITY and TRUST

1. Self-Organized team is really efficient (no manager needed)
2. Team should find a quick and simple way to communicate (short verbal word)
3. The strategy has to be very simple (no time for thinking or organizing the team during the play)
4. Each member should trust other members (for taking care of the chair he left)

Special note:

Thanks to Frédéric DUFAU-JOEL for having presented this game during an agile event organized by the CARA (Club Agile Rhône Alpes)

(English) Written by: Alex Boutin (English) on abril 22, 2011.(English)
Last revised by: Tatyana Yanush on octubre 25, 2011.