Before group working can be explained the anti-pattern should be mentioned first, which is equal to a robinson crusoe island. The protagonist is alone on his property which is equal to a maximum of autarchy. Autarchy means, that no connections to external systems are needed. The main purpose of such a setup is, that it allows to simulate larger systems. A board game which is completely observable is such an isolated system.
But let us investigate a more interesting social game which has to do with group interaction. On the first image two isolated islands are available in the ocean, the robinson island one and the robison island two. In case of minimum interaction, they are not communicating at all with each other. In the next image, island1 sends a request to island2. For example “I need food”. The request gets answered by island2 with a respone, for example with the statement “Sorry, that is not my fault.” Until now, no group working is visible. There are only two islands which are sending a request which is denied. Group working is initiated by an external instance, called helpdesk. A helpdesk is an conflict hub which moderates a conversation. The task of the helpdesk is to identify and intensify a conflict.
In the image left bottom, the helpdesk puts himself between the islands. He is asking island1 what the request is, and then the request is transmitted to island2. So called conflict deescalation means, to put the request higher in the hierarchy. This is shown in the last image on bottom right. To make the workflow more visible an example dialogue is presented:
island1: “i need food”
helpdesk to island1: “Please hold”
helpdesk to island2: “The island1 needs something which is tasty.”
island2 to helpdesk: “Not from me.”
helpdesk to island2: “Very funny, Prepare a boat with mango fruits.”
island2 to helpdesk: “You're asking for too much ressources.”.
helpdesk to island2: “Perhaps i can help you in increasing the efficiency on your production facility?”
island2 to helpdesk: “No thanks. The barge is under way.”
helpdesk to island1: “Food is a costly resource. Pay for it in advance. Your request is denied. Bye”
The only reason why an intermediate between island1 and island2 was utilized was to increase the conflict. Without the intermediate, the conflict would become much smaller and perhaps the two parties doesn't need to communicate at all.