<div dir="ltr"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">The "Play Personality" types are really interesting. As a fan of modern
boardgames, I want to point out that the "Competitor" doesn't have to be
in competition with other people. Cooperative games are a great example
of fulfilling a desire to win, but doing so *with* others, rather than
*against* them. Plus, as the full description of that type mentions,
it's about optimization as well as winning. I would argue that it's more
about optimization than winning: Doing my best in a game is far more
important than doing better than someone else. </blockquote><div><br></div>We
talked about this, too, and acknowledged that in this setting Fluxx was
almost like a team game, seeing whether or not it was possible to get
to the end (not always a clear given). I also ventured Pandemic as an
example of a similar analogous game, but more serious-minded and
explicitly co-op (though much harder).<br><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">I was wondering if based on your experience or what was shared each one
might be more appropriate to use at certain points with Scrum team or
events. For example, a game may be used at a retrospective or one if
it's a newly formed Scrum team?</blockquote><div><br></div><div>I think Fluxx is actually a good game for getting a new group of people to bond in 45 mins. Walls to intimacy are quickly broken down, and participants quickly leave their comfort zones (or quickly recognize boundaries). The group also rapidly develops a shared understanding around language used to "enforce" the rules of the game, which can be crucial when working with a team in a Scrum setting (or any setting in which there are clear process "rules" yet space to push back).<br><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">Also, I would like to ask if there was any sharing on <a href="https://submissions-production.s3.amazonaws.com/attachments/attachments/000/002/620/original/Humor_trumps_all_Agile_2016.compressed.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIKK35CR3V3P7N25A&Expires=1476918863&Signature=oY1vSG%2FGC7mavsyO5hYWrokHtEs%3D" target="_blank">Humor in the workplace</a>? There was a <a href="https://www.meetup.com/Silicon-Valley-Agile-Leadership-Network/events/234420664/" target="_blank">Meet up</a> where
Tamsen Mitchell recently share this topic. If you have any experience
or thoughts on the topic I'd love to hear. My previous experience it's a
common language that often brings a team together.</blockquote><div><br></div><div> There wasn't much discussion of humor specifically but it did seem to be wrapped into the keynote discussion on "play" and the importance of enjoying yourselves.<br></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 4:06 PM, Geeta Kavathekar <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:geetakavathekar@gmail.com" target="_blank">geetakavathekar@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Hi Max, All,<div><br></div><div>I really enjoyed learning about these games. I can see how it definitely can increase the productivity, cohesiveness and collaboration with the team. I was wondering if based on your experience or what was shared each one might be more appropriate to use at certain points with Scrum team or events. For example, a game may be used at a retrospective or one if it's a newly formed Scrum team?</div><div><br></div><div>Also, I would like to ask if there was any sharing on <a href="https://submissions-production.s3.amazonaws.com/attachments/attachments/000/002/620/original/Humor_trumps_all_Agile_2016.compressed.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIKK35CR3V3P7N25A&Expires=1476918863&Signature=oY1vSG%2FGC7mavsyO5hYWrokHtEs%3D" target="_blank">Humor in the workplace</a>? There was a <a href="https://www.meetup.com/Silicon-Valley-Agile-Leadership-Network/events/234420664/" target="_blank">Meet up</a> where Tamsen Mitchell recently share this topic. If you have any experience or thoughts on the topic I'd love to hear. My previous experience it's a common language that often brings a team together.</div><div><br></div><div>Thanks,</div><div>Geeta</div><div><br></div></div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 1:57 PM, Kevin Smith <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ksmith@wikimedia.org" target="_blank">ksmith@wikimedia.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Thanks Max!!!<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">This was all a good reminder of that wide variety of activities that fall under the "play" and "games" umbrellas. Learning a new language, collecting salt shakers, and telling jokes can all be considered part of that world. <br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">The "Play Personality" types are really interesting. As a fan of modern boardgames, I want to point out that the "Competitor" doesn't have to be in competition with other people. Cooperative games are a great example of fulfilling a desire to win, but doing so *with* others, rather than *against* them. Plus, as the full description of that type mentions, it's about optimization as well as winning. I would argue that it's more about optimization than winning: Doing my best in a game is far more important than doing better than someone else. <br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Although I'm not a huge fan of the card game Fluxx, it sounds like that next session used it very effectively. There is an obscure cooperative game ("Divinity") that has similar core mechanisms to Fluxx. If I buy it, maybe I'll bring it to a TPG event to try. <br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif">Like Arthur, I want to hear more about the sorting hat. At a glance, it reminds me of the old (apparently misnamed) "Bayesian" email spam filters I played around with years ago. Or more generally, neural networks, I suppose. In an odd twist where the brain ends up simulating a simulation of a brain. When reviewing code, I often describe it in terms of feelings or odd sensations that something is out of place, even if I can't quite identify the specific offense. Fortunately, with more analysis, the true/objective cause usually becomes clear. <br></div><span class="m_-2506607910263990284HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><br><br><br></div></font></span></div><div class="gmail_extra"><span class="m_-2506607910263990284HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br clear="all"><div><div class="m_-2506607910263990284m_7281950548938577923gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><span><font color="#888888"><br>Kevin Smith<br>Agile Coach, Wikimedia Foundation<br></font></span><font><font><i><font color="#888888"><br></font></i></font></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></font></span><div><div class="m_-2506607910263990284h5">
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 5:48 PM, Arthur Richards <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:arichards@wikimedia.org" target="_blank">arichards@wikimedia.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Thanks for sharing this Max, sounds like an interesting few sessions. Would love to hear more about 'the sorting hat'!</div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><span><div dir="ltr">On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 6:09 AM Max Binder <<a href="mailto:mbinder@wikimedia.org" target="_blank">mbinder@wikimedia.org</a>> wrote:<br></div></span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><span><div dir="ltr" class="m_-2506607910263990284m_7281950548938577923m_2324674460374989365gmail_msg">I recently attended a "pre-conference" to Agile Open California. I wrote up my experience and posted it on the Team Practices Group MediaWiki page:<br class="m_-2506607910263990284m_7281950548938577923m_2324674460374989365gmail_msg"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Team_Practices_Group/Agile_Games_West" class="m_-2506607910263990284m_7281950548938577923m_2324674460374989365gmail_msg" target="_blank">https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki<wbr>/Team_Practices_Group/Agile_Ga<wbr>mes_West</a><br class="m_-2506607910263990284m_7281950548938577923m_2324674460374989365gmail_msg"></div></span>
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