Epic Asteroids

Epic Asteroids is based on the classic 1979 Atari video game. It demonstrates, experientially, the cost of multi-tasking — of taking on too many projects at once.

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The game uses Agile terminology, but you can think of an Epic as a project and a Story as a set of tasks. An Epic will require multiple Stories to complete it.

Strategy 1

Epic Asteroids screenshot showing a chaotic, overlapping asteroid field on Hard difficulty

Strategy 1

Multiple Epics broken down into stories concurrently.
Lots of Epics in progress concurrently.

Complexity "explodes"
Lots of context switching / multi-tasking overhead
Cluttered backlog increases management overhead
Cluttered backlog is more difficult to order and prioritise
Individual Epics take longer to complete (lead time increases)
Throughput decreases due to greater context switching overhead
Loss of meaningful progress
The pile never shrinks
Fragmented focus and depleted energy
Disconnected from the "why"
Everything urgent, nothing clear
No room for craft or judgement
Refinement as treadmill
Reactive not purposeful
Grooming work that never ships
Lots of movement, little progress
Constant reorientation, no flow
Assembly-line ticketing, not problem-solving

Life and work demands add an extra layer of complexity too. Those unforeseen urgent requests that cannot be ignored!

Epic Asteroids screenshot with a green UFO representing an urgent request interrupting the player

Strategy 2

Epic Asteroids screenshot showing a contained, manageable asteroid field on Easy difficulty

Strategy 2

Epics broken down just-in-time.
WIP limited at Epic level.

Complexity contained
Decompose just-in-time, not upfront
Keep big stories big until they're needed
Only break down what's next in the queue
Small stories exist to be completed and removed, not to accumulate
Premature decomposition destroys optionality
Strategic targeting beats random breaking-down
Thoroughness that creates noise is not thoroughness — it's risk

Questions

Which scenario is the closer reflection of your team?
How does each scenario feel?
What's the impact long-term on the product?
What's the impact long-term on the team?

Insights

✓ Decompose just-in-time, not upfront
✓ Keep big stories big until they're needed
✓ Only break down what's next in the queue
✓ Break down & refine work when knowledge is greatest
✓ Don't let Stories age and "pass their sell-by date"
✓ A cluttered backlog is a dangerous backlog
✓ Small stories exist to be completed and removed, not to accumulate
✓ Premature decomposition destroys optionality
✓ Strategic targeting beats random breaking-down
✓ Thoroughness that creates noise is not thoroughness — it's risk

Ready to feel it for yourself?

Reading about multi-tasking is one thing. Watching your own asteroid field spiral out of control is another.

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