Work LabInstitute

Unblock

A tabletop game that gets stalled AI work rolling

Built on our field studies, this deck of cards lets a group surface the friction nobody mentions, talk it through openly, and leave the table with a short list of moves that pay off.

How does Unblock work?

Unblock is a facilitated round of play where colleagues map their current habits with assistants and spot the places a better setup would pay.

Each card poses a situation or a question. Players sort them into piles to show which tasks feel slow, where usage has leveled off, and which initiatives look busy on slides but change little in practice.

A full round fits in forty-five minutes, any team member can host it, and it opens up the frank discussion that busy groups tend to put off for months.

Best suited to

Play Unblock when the group is sold on new tools yet can’t quite explain why results lag behind.

Groups that get the most from it:

  • Change, ops and strategy staff responsible for rollout targets
  • Department heads and CIOs deciding where budgets go
  • Mixed working groups who need a common plan by quarter end
  • Companies past the trial phase that want assistants woven into routine jobs

If the room keeps wondering,

“Why hasn’t this
landed yet?”

or

“Who is actually using
these tools?”

it’s time to play.

  • Spot the hidden sources of friction

    Surface the habits, handoffs and team structures that quietly keep new tools from catching on.

  • Get everyone using the same words

    Offer managers and staff a low-stakes format to separate real gains from theater and pick a starting point.

  • Leave with a plan, not just a chat

    Finish the round with a ranked shortlist of changes that move the group from loose trials to tools with numbers to show for them.

Play Unblock with your group

Run Unblock during a planning day, a quarterly review, a staff retreat or a weekly team sync.

Ask for a boxed set and we’ll ship one free, so your group can skip the buzzwords and settle on changes that improve ordinary days.