Flow of the Day: one Kanban puzzle a day
Eight cards, two people and two weeks. You order the backlog, pick the WIP limit and watch value arrive or melt away day by day. Everyone gets the same board, so you can compare results with your team.
Order the backlog and pick a WIP limit
2 people · 10 working days · each person does 1 day of work per day
Your first run today is your official result.
Drag the cards or use the arrows. The top card gets pulled first.
- A. Site is downExpedite Value 35 −4/dayLoses 4 value for each day it waits.
- B. Sales reportStandard Value 40 −1/dayLoses 1 value for each day it waits.
- C. Trade show demoFixed date Value 20 due day 7Full value until day 7. Loses 80% after that.
- D. Keyboard shortcutsStandard Value 10 −1/dayLoses 1 value for each day it waits.
- E. Security holeExpedite Value 30 −7/dayLoses 7 value for each day it waits.
- F. Shorter sign-upStandard Value 45 −1/dayLoses 1 value for each day it waits.
- G. Export to spreadsheetStandard Value 10 −2/dayLoses 2 value for each day it waits.
- H. Dark modeStandard Value 30 −2/dayLoses 2 value for each day it waits.
Next Flow of the Day in 14:58:38
How it works
Every day, Flow of the Day builds the same board for everyone: eight cards with an effort of 1 to 4 days of work, a value of 10 to 60 and a class of service. Standard cards lose a little value for each day they wait, expedite cards lose a lot, and fixed date cards keep their full value until the deadline and lose 80% after it. The team has two people and ten working days.
You make two choices: the backlog order (drag, tap the arrows or use the keyboard) and the WIP limit, from 1 to 4. Then you run the two weeks and watch cards move through Backlog, Doing and Done. Your first run of the day is the official one; later runs are marked as practice.
What you learn
- Cost of delayShipping early what loses the most value while it waits pays more than following arrival order.
- WIP limitsWith more open cards than people, the team switches context, works slower and everything slips. With WIP 1, the leftover time on the day a card finishes sits idle, because the team only pulls in the morning.
- Lead timeIt counts from the day the team pulls the card to delivery, as in the Kanban Method.
Who it is for
For people who prioritize work and want to train their cost of delay instinct in two minutes a day, for teams that want a light ritual before the daily meeting, and for Kanban practitioners who want to check their intuition against the best possible result.
Using it in a class or workshop
Ask everyone to play the puzzle of the day without talking. Then compare the shared squares: who shipped the expedite cards first, who missed the fixed date, who opened WIP 4. Close with the question from the result screen, applied to the group’s real backlog.
What the game simplifies
Everyone works on any card at the same pace, effort is known, the team only pulls at the start of the day and no new work arrives. The best of the day is found by testing all 40,320 orders with every WIP limit.
Keep practicing
- Order the queue by cost of delay →How much is lost per week of waiting, item by item.
- Practice WIP limits →Watch flow change as work in progress goes up or down.
- Run the kitchen at Kanban Pizzaria →Six nights at a pizzeria to feel WIP limits, bottlenecks and classes of service. No sign-up.
- Forecast when it will be done →Monte Carlo using your team throughput.
Frequently asked questions
When does a new Flow of the Day come out?
At midnight in your local time. The puzzle number counts the days since January 1, 2026, and the countdown at the end of a run shows how long is left.
What is cost of delay?
It is how much value an item loses while it waits. In the game it shows up as a bar that melts every day, and it decides what should go to the top of the queue.
Why does a high WIP limit hurt?
Because two people working on four cards switch between them and get less done. Each open card beyond the team size takes 15% off the team’s efficiency that day.
How is the score calculated?
It is the value you delivered divided by the best value possible with the same cards, from 0 to 100. The best comes from a full search in the same engine as the game.
Do I need an account to play?
No. Your official result, streak and history are saved in your browser. A free account takes your score to My Progress.
Want to decide with a whole squad?
The Kanban Game takes cost of delay and WIP limits to a product team, with a leaderboard and seasons.
