15cards in the envelope
3rounds, 40 minutes
1rent clock, already running

The brief

In teams40 minutes, then the reveal

The three rounds

Round 1 · 15 min
Sequence. Lay the cards out in the order you would pursue them. Cards that can run at the same time go side by side. Draw the dependency arrows — which card cannot start until another finishes?
Round 2 · 15 min
Estimate. On each card, write how many weeks it takes from a complete submission and what it costs in fees (not construction). Use ranges if you must. Add any concept-specific cards your venue needs.
Round 3 · 10 min
The longest path. Trace the chain of dependent cards that takes the longest from lease to opening. Add up the weeks. That number is your opening date. Name the one card most likely to blow it.
Then
We compare. Where your sequence differs from the reference is where the discussion is — you may be right. Where your estimates differ by more than double is where the reading is.

Two hints

Team sheet

One person opens the venue. Everyone else joins it with the venue code — then the whole team works the same sheet, each on their own phone, and sees every change live.

Opening the venue?

Joining a teammate? Join with a venue code

The deck

Read the envelope before you touch the table. The issuer line is on every card — the drill at the end takes it away.

Start your team sheet in the brief above and the rounds appear here.

Round 1 — Sequence

15 minutes

Tap a card in the envelope, then place it on the table as its own step or stacked with the last step. Cards in the same step run at the same time. Then open each placed card and draw its arrows: what must finish before it can start?

One teammate places the cards; everyone else watches the table update on their own screen — and argues.

The envelope

The table

Round 2 — Estimate

15 minutes

Weeks it takes from a complete submission, and what it costs in fees for year one — not construction. Ranges are fine. Cards appear in your table order.

Split the deck: each teammate takes two or three cards and fills them in on their own phone.

Concept-specific cards

Outdoor sound, late hours, food trucks, all-ages, signage, right-of-way. Add the ones your venue needs, then estimate them like the rest. They also show up in the envelope for Round 1.

Round 3 — The longest path

10 minutes

The chain below is built from your arrows and your weeks: the sequence of dependent cards that takes longest from lease to opening. If it looks wrong, the arrows are wrong — fix them in Round 1.

The reveal

Reference timelineCompare, then argue

Metro or State?

The accuracy drill15 cards, issuer hidden · first answer counts

Who actually issues each card? The most common error in this assignment is mixing up Metro and the State — and a wrong answer here is a wrong office, a wrong form, and a wasted week.

Before you leave the table

The team sheet compiles your sequence, arrows, estimates, longest path, delay card and drill score as plain text for Canvas.

Instructor