The Change Forecast

The Weather of Change is a cooperative game in which participants act as a project team deploying a new tool in an 8-person department. People’s states are hidden: teams must listen, diagnose, then act with limited energy. The game shows how the same action can have contrasting effects depending on the person. It is designed for managers, project leads, HR teams and change facilitators.

Walkthrough

1. 1

   Welcome and promise

   5 min

   Welcome participants, form teams of 3 to 5 and present the challenge: support 8 people over 4 months. Hand out the cards and canvases without showing the facilitator sheet. “You are not going to roll out a perfect plan: you will observe, choose and adjust in the face of human reactions.”

   Tip — State from the start that uncertainty is part of the game.

2. 2

   Weather model

   8 min

   Have participants read the 4 stage cards. Ask teams to rephrase the observable signs and useful actions at each stage. Answer rule questions. “A person is not necessarily resisting the project: they may be resisting what they think they will lose.”

   Tip — Keep the model simple: it is there to support decisions, not label people.

3. 3

   Initial diagnosis

   10 min

   Present the 8 actors. For each one, read the typical line shown in the facilitator sheet. Teams note their stage hypothesis in Actor Tracking. “You will hear each person only once. Note your hypotheses: they may evolve.”

   Tip — Read the lines naturally, without overplaying the answer.

4. 4

   Month 1

   10 min

   Give each team 6 energy tokens. They choose actions, target people or the department and fill in the Log. Apply the hidden effects, then draw an event. “For each action, I will only tell you what you observe: progresses, nothing changes, or moves back.”

   Tip — Enforce the energy cost without debating the effects.

5. 5

   Month 2

   10 min

   Restart with 6 points, unless an event changes the energy. Teams may revise their hypotheses. They play their actions, then you draw and apply an event. “What you have learned is sometimes worth more than a spectacular action.”

   Tip — Encourage teams to use listening if they are acting blindly.

6. 6

   Month 3

   10 min

   Same sequence: energy, action choices, applying effects, event. Invite teams to spot who can become a relay and who still needs support. “The same message can reassure one person and put another on the defensive. Look person by person.”

   Tip — If several teams are playing, alternate quickly between them.

7. 7

   Month 4 and score

   10 min

   Play the final month. After the event, reveal the final stages actor by actor. Calculate the score with the teams and let them compare strategies. “We are now revealing not who was right, but what your choices produced.”

   Tip — Value the reasoning, even when the score is low.

8. 8

   Debrief

   12 min

   Run the debrief in three phases: Feel, Understand, Transfer. Use the suggested questions. End with one concrete action each person could test in a real project. “The game ends here; learning begins when you connect these mechanisms to your own situations.”

   Tip — Do not look for a single moral: help several useful tactics emerge.

Variants

• Remote : Use a shared board with the two canvases. The facilitator keeps the sheet hidden and sends the action cards as images or a list. Teams deliberate in breakout rooms, then announce their choices.
• Large group : Have several teams play in parallel on the same department. Compare scores and, above all, strategies: diagnosis, energy management, risk-taking and use of listening.
• Learning mode : After each month, reveal one real stage chosen by the team. The game becomes less competitive and more educational for beginner participants.