UX/UI & Board Games, Ep. 9: The Power of Player Roles

In "Pandemic" you are not a generic scientist.

You are a specific role with real strengths and limits.

The Researcher shares knowledge. The Dispatcher moves teammates. The Medic cleans up outbreaks fast.

You win when those roles combine at the right moment, not when everyone tries to do everything.

Watch that for a minute and the parallel shows up.

A healthy design team works the same way, not by cloning skills, but by timing the handoffs so strengths stack.

If we translate that into day to day design work:

🧭 Make roles explicit, who probes assumptions, who explores options, who prototypes, who stress tests edge cases

🔁 Show the handoffs, each role owns inputs and outputs, the next person knows what arrives and in what shape

🤝 Pair your powers, researcher plus prototyper, writer plus interaction designer, mix on purpose for tricky problems

🎚 Rotate the lead, discovery, concept, validation, delivery, different phases need different captains

🗂 Write role cards, one or two lines each, what they optimize for and how to ask for help

🎯 Practice combo moves, name two or three repeatable pairings you can call during standups so timing becomes muscle memory

If everyone plays the same role, progress stalls.

Lean into distinct strengths, keep handoffs clean, and momentum shows up.