Games and experiences

Kanban games to learn by doing

No quizzes here: you move orders, limit work in progress and watch the flow react. Start with the 3 minute game and work up to the full squad.

Start here

DoorDoughToppings OvenOut

New3 to 6 min per nightNo sign-up Kanban Pizzaria Run a pizzeria kitchen and find out why starting more does not ship more. WIP limits, pull and bottlenecks, in practice. Play: Kanban Pizzaria

To do

Doing · WIP 0 of 3

Testing

Done

0 Delivered

about 15 minFree account Kanban Game Take over a product squad, decide what to pull and compete on the leaderboard with the best flow management. Play: Kanban Game

Daily challenge

The same puzzle for everyone, a new one every day. Come back tomorrow and keep your streak.

Mini puzzle: in what order does the team work?

A 3 days · loses 1 a day
B 1 day · loses 4 a day · urgent
C 2 days · loses 2 a day
D 1 day · loses 1 a day

Tap Move up to change the order. The top card goes first.

WIP

New2 min a dayNo sign-up Flow of the Day A new puzzle every day: order eight cards, pick the WIP limit and watch two weeks of work play out. Compare with the best of the day and share your grid. Play: Flow of the Day

Short games

One concept per game, from batch size to delivery forecasts.

You

PrintCutPack

0/6

Batch of 6

PrintCutPack

0/6

Pick a tray and race

New4 minNo sign-up Batch Race Make twelve kits in batches of 12, 6, 3, 2 or 1 and watch two lines race side by side: a smaller batch ships the first one much sooner and finds the defect early. Play: Batch Race →

20 items in the backlog. Which week do you promise?

Tap the week you would promise the customer.

New3 minNo sign-up When Will It Be Done? Drag the flag to the week you would promise the customer and watch a thousand simulated futures drop into the histogram. Promising on the average breaks the promise almost half the time. Play: When Will It Be Done? →

How many kanban cards does the wheel shelf need?

Cards coming back

Shelf

Assembly

New4 minNo sign-up Flow Factory Supply an assembly line with real Kanban cards: produce by forecast, then pull with cards and tune how many cards each part needs so nothing runs out or piles up. Play: Flow Factory →

5 minute practices

Each experience isolates one Kanban concept in a short simulation.

A squad of 4 people with 9 cards open. What do you do?

Delivered per week4

Lead time21 days

5 minNo sign-up 5-minute missions Short simulations with one hard Kanban decision at a time, and the consequence shows up in the flow. Open: 5-minute missions →

Drag the team’s WIP limit

WIP limit: 8

Delivered per week1.9

Lead time39 days

Too much work open: everything slows down.

5 minNo sign-up WIP limit Move the limit and find the point between a starved team and a drowning one. Open: WIP limit →

You have 2 extra people. Where do they go?

Delivered per day: 3

5 minNo sign-up Bottlenecks Find the step that sets the pace and why improving the others does not change delivery. Open: Bottlenecks →

On which day does Testing get stuck?

To doDoingTestingDone

Bands of constant width: the flow is stable.

5 minNo sign-up Cumulative flow diagram Learn to read the CFD bands and see where work is stuck. Open: Cumulative flow diagram →

Same queue, two rules. Which costs less?

StandardStandardExpediteFixed dateStandard

5 minNo sign-up Classes of service Prioritize by risk and cost of delay, not by who shouts loudest. Open: Classes of service →

Tap the order in which the team works on the requests

8 minNo sign-up Flow War Room Diagnose the bottleneck, handle the urgent and prioritize the queue with data. Open: Flow War Room →

For classes and workshops

Activities that run on each participant’s phone, with results to compare at the end.

Room codePIZZA 4821

45 minFree account Kanban Pizzaria for classes Create a room, the class plays on their phones with no account, and the dashboard shows each person’s wait and the strategies that worked. Includes a 45 minute lesson plan. Open: Kanban Pizzaria for classes →

1 minNo sign-up Spin the Wheel Draw who speaks first or the order of a retrospective, with a bit of suspense. Open: Spin the Wheel →

Day 0 of 6

Team AWIP 2 0

Team BWIP 4 0

Team Cno limit 0

45 minFree account Facilitator rooms Run the Kanban Game with a group and see everyone’s results on one dashboard. Open: Facilitator rooms →

Frequently asked questions

Are the games free?

Yes. Kanban Pizzaria, the missions and the experiences work with no sign-up. The Kanban Game asks for a free account to keep the leaderboard.

Where do I start?

With Kanban Pizzaria: three minutes per night, no sign-up, and the first night already shows why starting more does not ship more. Then Flow of the Day brings a new puzzle every day.

Can I use them with a class?

Yes. Kanban Pizzaria runs on each student’s phone, and Facilitator Rooms gather Kanban Game results on one dashboard for the debrief.