This game is part of the custom workshop I create and facilitate for a product team when I first join the project.
Today, I want to introduce the last game of the workshop. This is the game I usually close the workshop with. I picked it up from Jordan Bowman and I found it so useful that I didn't have to make any modifications to apply it to my workshops.
The game is called What? So What? Now What?
Here's how you play it.
- Time needed: 20 to 30 minutes
- Participants: 4 - 20
- Materials: Square sticky notes
- Prep work: You'll need to create three columns on a whiteboard. Title the first column What?, the second column So What? and the third Now what?
Then introduce the game by saying:
Alright, this is the last game we’re going to play today. It’s called What? So What? Now What? The purpose of this game is to come together as a team and summarise what we’ve learned. We’re playing this game because we want to have an overview of what happened today, what went well and what we could do better next time. Here’s how you play.
And explain the steps of the game.
- You’ll see I’ve created three columns on the board. We will have to fill each up with post-it notes.
- In the What? column, I want you to write what actually happened today.
- In the So What? column, write what was important, what you learned or what you hated.
- In the Now What? column, write any changes or actions that we should take as a result of the workshop.
- Write one idea per post it and stick it in the appropriate column.
- You can write as many ideas for any of the columns as you wish.
- You will have 10 minutes to do this.
- At the end, we will reconvene as a group and go through some of them.
There's no talking throughout the game, until you reconvene as a group.
Now, set a timer for 10 minutes and instruct everyone to get to work.
This game is great for critical reflection on the workshop as a whole and processing what you’ve learned and you'll do next as a result.