Endings and Debrief
The case ends when the operator is cut, or when the last stage finishes, or when Payoff reaches 9. Then the table reads two facts and goes into the debrief. The debrief is where the learning happens.
When the session ends
- The operator is cut. Payoff freezes at its value at the moment of the cut, the ending is read from that value, and the case ends at the end of the round.
- Payoff reaches 9. Payoff is capped at 8 until the round ends, so 9 ends the case only if the operator is not cut by the end of that round. A cut in the same round wins.
- A wrongful offboarding in stage 3. The case ends at once with Exposure +2. The operator counts as not cut, and the debrief begins.
- The last stage ends. After the First Month, the table moves to the endings.
The endings DEFAULT
Both sides read the same two facts: was the operator cut, and what was the final Payoff (the frozen value, if the operator was cut). There are up to three endings per side and no single winner.
| Company reads | Comrades read | When |
|---|---|---|
| Contained | Burned | The operator was cut with Payoff 3 or lower, and Exposure 5 or lower. |
| Costly | Partial | The operator was cut with Payoff 4 to 8, or Exposure above 5, or the operator was not cut and Payoff is 6 or lower. |
| Breached | Harvest | The operator was not cut and Payoff is 7 or higher, or Payoff reached 9. |
Read Breached first. Costly applies only when Breached does not.
The process condition
Read last, independent of the ending: “Process held” is judged on cuts, and on accusations that ended in a cut: every cut cited a named control or a human cost, none rested on looks alone, and there was no wrongful offboarding. An accusation that ended with no cut does not by itself break it.
You can end Breached and still have Process held. You can end Contained and still miss it, because you cut the right hire on a hunch. Winning and judging well are different things. The ending tells you what happened. The process condition tells you what to repeat.
The debrief: 20 minutes DEFAULT
The IM runs it in four parts. Your job in each is below.
1. Reveal (4 min)
The IM unseals the persona, reads the hop log, and says what moved each clue tier. You learn the causes the IM kept back.
What you do: Listen first. Notice what you guessed right and which causes surprised you. Say so when you are asked.
2. Process replay (6 min)
The IM asks: “Which accusation rested on looks, which on a named control?” The table goes back through each stop-the-line call.
What you do:
- Say what you pointed at and why, in one sentence.
- Name the control or the cost you had in mind. If you had neither, say so.
- Do not defend the vote. Describe it.
- If someone else’s call was weaker than yours, note what made it weaker, not who made it.
The replay is about the reasons on the table. It is not about who is a good or bad player. A wrong call with a stated control teaches more than a right call from a hunch.
3. Own-company transfer (6 min)
Each player privately writes one control their real organisation lacks. Then all reveal at once.
What you do: Write something specific and checkable. “Payee name must match the new hire’s name before the first payment” is a control. “Improve onboarding” is not. Keep your own organisation’s name out of the room if you prefer: describe the gap, not the firm.
4. Close (4 min)
Each player makes one commitment. The IM closes with this sentence:
Looks prove nothing either way: an appearance tell expires, so before anyone is trusted, check the ID, the device and the payee.
What you do: Pick one commitment you can start this week, and say it aloud.
After the session
The five-minute capture
Right afterwards, write down:
- What surprised me?
- What did it confirm?
- What do I want to explore?
Within 24 hours
- What control did my table name, and does my real organisation have it?
- Which of my own calls leaned on looks, and what check would have replaced it?
- Which role’s view did I learn most from?
Within a week
- Did I do the one thing I committed to?
- Where did a hiring, payment or device decision at work remind me of the case?
Replaying
Swap and replay: new persona, new puzzle. Take a different chair or a different role. Playing the other side is the fastest way to see your own process.