Agile Games: Ball Game

One activity/game I found really helpful when coaching teams about scrum, is the ‘Agile Ball Game.’

The beauty of this game is that it breaks down several agile/scrum rituals into something fun and tactile. Even teams working outside of development can better understand how iterative cycles can be used to help them improve quickly.

The Overview

The game can be played in groups of 5 people to over 100, however, I find it more useful to have group sizes that are similar to their work department/team sizes. For example, if a scrum team consists of 8 people, think about having groups of 8.

I recommend keeping each group around the same size to even the playing field.

Materials

1. Tennis balls, or something similar. Around 6 to 10 per group is good.
2. A whiteboard or a paperboard.

Rules

1. Split the group into teams of 5 to 20.
2. When the same ball touches each team member, it’s a point.
3. The ball must have air time between each team member.
4. The ball may not be passed to the team member to your direct left or direct right.
5. Teams can use the balls again once it’s been counted as a point (or restarting…