The Fluxx ensemble exercise

Joep Schuurkes — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 22:00:00 GMT

Earlier this week I ran a full-day workshop at the excellent HUSTEF conference on working in an ensemble (aka mob programming/testing or software teaming). As part of the workshop I tried out a new exercise, in which participants were allowed to change the rules of the ensemble. The goal was to experience why the basic rules of ensembling are the way they are and what happens if they are different.

Since the participants really liked the exercise, I figured I'd write about it and name it: the Fluxx ensemble exercise. For those not familiar with Fluxx: it is a card game in which changing the rules is a key part of the game. It's one of my favourite games.

Before I go into the exercise, though, I'll first need to explain the basic rules of ensembling.

Joep Schuurkes (Posts about ensembling)

The Fluxx ensemble exercise