Chain Reaction for an IT company

Goal:

To create a team-building game where employees improve communication skills: clarifying tasks, asking the right questions, setting clear goals, and checking whether their colleagues understood them correctly.

Story:

Every culture has a myth about the end of the world. And every time, the end does not come. Do you know why?

Because there are people who can stop it.

They are called The Order of Keepers.

One of its most famous members was Leonardo da Vinci. His notes became the basis for the plans of an incredible mechanism — The Positivity Machine.

When the machine works, it creates a field of positive thoughts around the world. Traffic jams disappear, computers stop freezing, and the end of the world never happens.

Once a year, the Order of Keepers gathers the best of the best to try to build their own Positivity Machine.

Can the teams build it?

That is what we are going to find out.

Game Mechanics:

Leonardo’s notes are strange and confusing. Well, he did live in the 15th century. But here is what we know for sure:

• The machine works as a chain reaction.
• The machine must be built by 4 teams.
• Each team must build 4 chain-reaction sequences.
• In total, the machine consists of 16 sequences.

Each team has its own construction area, but all parts of the machine must connect with each other. At the start of the team-building game, each team receives four “legend instructions” for creating chain reactions: one instruction for their own team and three for the other teams. The instructions describe the chain-reaction elements in a metaphorical and indirect way. First, teams need to decode them. Then they create a visual scheme for another team and pass it on. The team receiving the scheme can — and should — ask questions. The team that created the scheme must answer them.

The best strategy is not to start building immediately, but to think, clarify, and ask questions. In essence, this is a communication exercise: within teams and between teams. It helps participants practise clarifying tasks, identifying hidden needs, and making sure everyone understands the goal correctly.

Communication Challenge:

At the first stage of the game, communication between teams is limited to writing only. This simulates business communication: emails, internal chats, and written task-setting.

At the second stage, teams are allowed to communicate freely. This helps participants compare the strengths and limitations of different communication formats.

Resource Negotiation

Teams can use any available materials for construction. Very likely, two teams will want the same item.

At first, this creates a feeling of competition. But in reality, there is no real competition. One team may need that exact material, while another only needs something similar. If they manage to understand each other’s real needs and negotiate, both teams can earn more points in the final stage. This mirrors real company situations, where teams may feel they are competing for resources — while the real goal is to solve a shared task together.

How “Leonardo’s Machine” Differs from a Traditional Chain Reaction Game:

A standard chain-reaction team-building game usually works like a construction kit for adults: teams build structures according to fixed instructions. Leonardo’s Machine gives participants much more creativity and freedom. The same chain-reaction task can be solved in different ways, using different materials and tools. That means every game — and every final machine — is unique. The second key difference is the intellectual and communication challenge in the first part of the game.

Teams decode Leonardo’s descriptions, ask questions, create schemes, and pass them to other teams. When a team receives a scheme for its part of the machine, they need to ask the right questions and get the right answers in order to understand what exactly they need to build — and how.

First, teams communicate in writing. Then they communicate verbally. This allows them to clarify the task as much as possible and experience how different communication formats affect teamwork.