Learning Games

What’s up with the cupcakes? So there was this wacky little session at Agile Roots 2009 that I really enjoyed that was put on by Chris Sims. It was called “Agile Learning Games”. It was one of those sessions where everyone gets to try out the games as a participant and get a feel for the kind of learning that takes place. I loved the games that he chose to demonstrate, and he was kind enough to provide some references for places that you could look for more learning games – one of which was called, “TastyCupcakes.com”.

I think these learning games are very useful because they allow teams/groups to experience or play with an idea rather than having it preached to them by some sort of expert. I find that I learn things much better when I can participate in a hands on fashion. So as a facilitator and coach, I find these kinds of exercises to be especially powerful when working with teams.

These games can form an important part of any facilitator’s toolkit. I’ve been collecting a list of sites that catalog these learning games for a little while. Here are some references that you might find useful:

http://blog.tastycupcakes.com/

http://uoleadership.uoregon.edu/exercises/energizers

http://www.businessballs.com/teambuildinggames.htm#leadership%20management%20exercise%20for%20teams

http://www.squarewheels.com/scottswriting/mission.html

http://www.nasaga.org/

http://industriallogic.com/games/

http://www.funandgames.org/Games_icebreakers.html#2TruthsAndLie

http://www.isnare.com/?aid=193973&ca=Business+Management

The tastycupcakes site has games that are most relevant to Agile Development, so I would start there first. This list is by no means comprehensive, but if you are looking for some games that might help you get an idea across, this list should get you started.