The framework
Five conditions.
One extraordinary team.
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five dimensions
SPACE for Play
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S
foundation #1
Safety
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P
Intention
Purpose
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A
foundation #2
Autonomy
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C
Community
Care
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E
Growth games
Enablement
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where it comes from
Five months with 14 folks
The SPACE for Play framework is an amalgamation of my experiences as a UX designer, facilitator, and game enthusiast over the last 15 years. In 2025, I ran a 5 month experiment using games and playful methods in a community model. For 5 months, I used this framework in our community of software engineers, designers, product managers, and data admin.
74%
improvement in sense of team connection
7+
soft skills improved per person on average
100%
would like to bring play methods to their own teams
78%
reported more energy at work
70%
felt less isolated during the workday
67%
improved empathy + active listening
from the community
How it feels to play
Here’s what folks in the community experienced
“I really enjoyed the safe place built for communication and community. I liked having a place where others understood the struggles of working environments and allowed me to express them in ways that wouldn’t affect my job.”
Heather J
Admin
“It showed me how important having fun is and how playing with people can build the intangible elements of better communication, skills, and relationships.”
Brad S
Product manager
“I’m used to just simple run of the mill ‘conversation starter’ style games with coworkers, but this provided more experiences that gave a refreshing forum with others.”
Jeff M
Sr. Software Engineer
“It’s refreshing to connect with other tech workers over things that aren’t always work/tech related.”
Sarah S
UX designer
It”s refreshing to connect with other tech workers over things that actually matter(or over things that aren’t work/tech related?).
Njeri C
Software engineer
“The gulf between my work and any sense of community is one of the reasons I left tech. I think Lissy is so cool for imagining a different way for folks to connect and reconsider how they relate to one another in an environment that most folks think has no room for people to actually be people.”
Michael B
Project manager
In practice
How to use SPACE for Play
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