Planning Poker

Planning Poker (also called Scrum Poker) is a team estimation activity. Everyone picks a card in secret to estimate a piece of work, then all the cards flip over at once, so the numbers people choose aren't swayed by whoever speaks first. It's built for agile teams sizing stories, but works for any "let's all guess and compare" moment.

How players experience it

1. Each participant is either an estimator or an observer. A button in the corner lets anyone flip between Estimate and Observe. Estimators vote, observers just watch and run the round.
2. Estimators tap a card from the deck to cast their estimate. Your pick is highlighted, and you can change it before the reveal.
3. Until the reveal, everyone else only sees a check mark next to your name, never your number. The person running the room sees a live tally of how many have voted (for example "3 / 5 estimated").
4. When the room is ready, someone hits Reveal and all the cards flip face-up together. Each card shows the percentage of the team that chose it, and Tikroo highlights the consensus, the numeric card with the most votes.
5. The facilitator can note a final agreed value in the Consensus field, then hit Start New Round to estimate the next item.

The deck includes a few special cards alongside the numbers: ? (not sure), a coffee cup (need a break), and infinity (too big to estimate).

Setting one up as a host

• Give the room a name (the heading everyone sees).
• Pick a Cards type deck: Regular, Fibonacci, or Powers of 2. You can also drag the cards to reorder them.
• Optional live settings let you control the flow:
  • Only observers can reveal (on by default). Estimators won't see the Reveal button.
  • Only observers can start a new round (on by default).
  • Auto-reveal when everyone voted. Flips the cards automatically once every estimator has picked.
• You can also set an optional round timer to keep estimation moving.

You can attach the item you're estimating by typing an issue title or pasting a link into the issue box at the top.

Tips

• Reveal early, discuss more. You don't have to wait for everyone. One vote is enough to reveal. The value is in the conversation when estimates disagree.
• Use ? and coffee freely. They're signals that the story needs clarifying or the team needs a pause, not a cop-out.
• Keep the presenter as an observer. Whoever runs the session usually facilitates rather than votes. The presenter defaults to observer, which keeps their pick out of the tally.

Planning Poker isn't scored. There are no points or winners. It's a shared, anonymous way to reach an estimate together.