UCLA UniCamp

Games Guidebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents Facilitating 101 Game Theory …………………………………………………..…………Pg. I Introduction ……………………………………………….….………....Pg. II Practice …………………………………………………..…………Pg. II Planning …………………………………………………..…………Pg. III Facilitating …………………………………………………..…………Pg. V Debriefing …………………………………………………..…………Pg. VII Game Categories Warm-Up ……………………………………….………….…………Pg. IX Name ………………………………………………….……….…………Pg. IX Get to know ya …………………………………….…….…………Pg. IX Fun ………………………………………………………….…….………Pg. X Teambuilding ………………………………………………….….……...Pg. X Unity ……………………………………………………………..………Pg. X Communication …………………………………………….….……Pg. XI Consensus Building …………………………………………….…….…Pg. XI Closing ……………….…………………………………….………Pg. XI Warm-Up Games 1,2,3,4 ……………………………………………………………………..Pg. 1 Boop …………………………….……………………………………….Pg. 2 Do What I Do/ Do What I Did ……..………………………………Pg. 3 Human Scrabble ….…………….……………………………………Pg. 4 Imaginary Object Juggle ….……….…………………………………Pg. 6 Joining …………………….……….………………………………Pg. 7 Lemonade ………………………….…….……………………………Pg. 8 Little Sally Walker …………………….…….…………………………Pg. 9 My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean ……….…….………………………Pg. 10 Name Exchange ……………………….……….……………………Pg. 11 Number Up ……………………………………………………………..Pg. 12 Quick Cards ……………………………….………….…………………Pg. 13 Quick Line-Up …………………………………….……….………Pg. 14 Ride that Pony ……………………………………….…….………Pg. 15 Shoes …………………………………………………………….……….Pg. 16 Striker …………………………………………………..…………Pg. 17 Switch, Change & Rotate ……………………………………..………Pg. 18 Tag – Asst. Variations …………………………………….….……Pg. 19 Team Poker ……………………………………….…………….………Pg. 25 Toe Tag ………………………………………….………….………Pg. 26 Name Games Bumpity-Bump-Bump-Bump …………………….……….………Pg. 27 Group Juggling/ Toss a Name Game ……………….…….………Pg. 28 Name Impulse ………………………………………….….………Pg. 29 That Person over There ……………………………………..………Pg. 30 The Blanket Game …………………………………………….….……Pg. 31 Womp-Em …………………………………………………….…….…Pg. 32

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Get to know ya Games 1 Word ……………….……………………………………………Pg. 33 3-D Commonalities ………….…………………………………………Pg. 34 Categories …………………….………………………………………Pg. 35 Guess Who… ……………………….……………………………………Pg. 36 Human Bingo ………………………….…………………………………Pg. 37 Interview Introductions …………….………………………………Pg. 38 Known & Unknown ……………………….……………………………Pg. 39 Ring Tones… ………………………………….…………………………Pg. 40 Personality Tree …………………………….………………………Pg. 41 Speed Dating ……………………………………….……………………Pg. 42 Spice of Life ………………………………………….…………………Pg. 43 Timeline …………………………………………….………………Pg. 45 Worst Day ……………………………………………….……………Pg. 46 Fun Games Ah-So-Ko …………………………………….………………………Pg. 47 Big Booty ……………………………………….……………………Pg. 48 Bunny Bunny Bunny ………………………….…………………Pg. 49 Evolution …………………………………………….………………Pg. 51 Frogger …………………………………………………………….Pg. 52 Human Foosball …………………………………………………….Pg. 53

Moded, Coroded, your Booty Exploded ……………….……………Pg. 54 Roll 6 ………………………………………………………….…………Pg. 55 Salute the Captain …………………………………………….………Pg. 56 Screaming Feet …………………………………………………….Pg. 57

War ………………………………………...…………………………..Pg. 58 Whoosh Ball ……………………………………………………….……Pg. 60

Wizards, Elves & Giants ………………………………………….…Pg. 61 Team Building Games 3 Tarp Games …………………………………………………….Pg. 62 Appendages …….………………………………………………………Pg. 64 Balloon Frantic .……………………………………………………Pg. 65 Birthday Line-Up ….…………………………………………………Pg. 66 Circle the Circle …….………………………………………………Pg. 67 Crossing the Great Divide .……………………………………………Pg. 68 Don’t Drop that Ball ………….…………………………………………Pg. 69 Electric Fence …………….………………………………………Pg. 70 Everybody Up ……………….……………………………………Pg. 71 Group Jump Rope …………………….………………………………Pg. 72 Helium Stick ……………………………….……………………………Pg. 73 Human Knot ………………………………….…………………………Pg. 74 Knot Ties …………………………………….………………………Pg. 75 Lap Sit ……………………………………….……………………Pg. 76 Lava Pit ………………………………………….…………………Pg. 77 Pass …………………………………………………….………………Pg. 78 Reach ……………………………………………………….……………Pg. 79

Table of Contents

Skin the Snake ………………………………………….…………Pg. 80

The Clock …………………………………………………….………Pg. 81 The Web …………………………………….………………………Pg. 82

Traffic Jam …………………………………….………………………Pg. 83 Zig-Zag .……………………………………………………………Pg. 84 Unity Games 4 of a Kind .……………………………………………………………Pg. 85 Agenda Wall ….…………………………………………………………Pg. 86 Exchanging Knots.………………………………………………….……Pg. 87 Frenzy……………….……………………………………………………Pg. 88 Marble Movers ….…………………………………………………Pg. 89 Sort the Cards …….………………………………………………Pg. 90 The Prisoner’s Dilemma .……………………………………………Pg. 92 Communication Games A What? ………………….…………………………………………Pg. 93 Back 2 Back Art …………….………………………………………Pg. 94 Blind Polygon ……………….……………………………………Pg. 95 Blind Seek & Find ………………….…………………………………Pg. 96 Communication Corridor …………….………………………………Pg. 98 Count Off ……………………………….……………………………Pg. 99 Hog Call ………………………………….…………………………Pg. 100 Line-Up …………………………………….……………………....Pg. 101 Positive & Negative ……………………………….……………………Pg. 102 Problem Pit ………………………………………….…………………Pg. 103 Telephone Charades ………………………….…………………………Pg. 104 Consensus Building Games Islands …………….………………………………………………Pg. 106 Lost At Sea …………………………………………………………….Pg. 108 Lost on the Moon …………………………………………………….Pg. 111 Plane Crash Survival …………………………………………….Pg. 113 Newspaper Bridge …………………………………………………….Pg. 116 Penny Pondering …………………………………………………….Pg. 118 The Great Egg Drop …………………………………………………….Pg. 119 Closing Games/ Activities Cinnamon Roll Hug ……………………………………………………Pg. 120 Cup of Dreams/ Life ……………………………………………………Pg. 121 Highs & Lows ……………………………………………………Pg. 122 Holy Cups ……………………………………………………………Pg. 123 Leaners ……………………………………………………………Pg. 124 Noodle Trust Run ……………………………………………………Pg. 125 Shoulder Touch ……………………………………………………Pg. 126 Vortex ……………………………………………………………………Pg. 128 Web of Life ……………………………………………………………Pg. 129 Wind in the Willows ……………………………………………………Pg. 130 Yarn Bracelets ……………………………………………………Pg. 131

Facilitating 101

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Why Games???

Game Theory

• We are of two minds. Popular cognitive theory suggests that we have an experiential mind and a rational mind. Our experiential mind learns quickly, thinks quickly, pays attention to the outcome, and forgets slowly. Our rational mind learns indirectly, thinks deliberately, pays attention to the process, and forgets rapidly. The theory suggests that you need both minds. Games and interactive exercises appeal to the experiential mind, and when combined with debriefing discussions they provide a balanced approach to teaching the whole brain.

• We have Seven Intelligences. Another popular concept is that of multiple intelligences. According to this theory, you have at least seven types of intelligence: linguistic (using words), logical-mathematical (working with hypotheses), kinesthetic (physical), spatial (3-D thinking), musical (pitch, rhythm, tone), interpersonal (interacting with others) and intrapersonal (understanding one’s self). Traditional learning caters to the first two intelligences while games and experiential activities tap into all of your intelligences and get you ready for the real world. (P.S. – when planning activities, incorporate as many of these intelligences as possible.

• Challenge by Choice. This is another important concept associated with games. The concept means that everyone chooses their own level of challenge and no one is forced to do anything that they don’t want to do. This doesn’t mean that people don’t have to participate; rather it means no one will be forced to do anything that they don’t feel safe doing. You should explain at the beginning that everyone has the right to pass during an activity. If they choose not to participate do not let them sit out, instead find another way for them to be involved, whether keeping score or helping to referee. Many times the reluctant player will see how much fun everyone else is having and eventually decide to play.

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Intro Before you begin to lead any of these games and activities it is important to go over some tips on leadership to make sure the games are more meaningful, fun and educational. There is a lot to think about before, during and after doing any of these games with groups. For example: you will learn that some activities work best with a specific number of people, a particular time in the program, or with a certain age group. The main goal of this chapter is to get you started on learning to be a good facilitator. To help the process the chapter is broken up into different categories:

• Practice • Planning • Facilitating • Debriefing

Practice Before you play any of these games with anyone else you need to practice how to facilitate and how the game itself is going to run. Training and practice will do several things:

- make you more comfortable presenting the rules to the group - make you more confident that you can handle difficult situations or questions - make your program go more smoothly - make sure the game you picked actually runs the way you thought it would - allows you to have more fun when you are leading the activity

The main reason that you need to practice any of these games is because each one of them is different based on who is facilitating them. The games all have guidelines that mention the group size, target group, time and space needed. These are all guidelines that any experienced facilitator can look at and change in a heartbeat. That is exactly why you need to practice the games and see how you want to play them. Besides just practicing the game you can practice the goals and concepts that you want this game to have. This is a good time to think about how you are going to debrief the game and how you are going to fashion it so that they participants understand the point you are making during the game without you having to spell it out for them. You should also practice your own leadership style – how you present the activities, the rules and the safety reminders. An easy-going, interested, knowledgeable, humorous style will make a big difference on how the group reacts to you and the activities.

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Planning Once you’ve become confident with the games you have to figure out what games you want to play with the group. Here are some things to think about before you choose games:

- group goals - age of participants in the group - size of the group - sequencing of the games - location available to you - length of time you have with the group

Group Goal will help determine what games you choose. With a group that is just meeting one another and needs to get to know each other better, you should select lots of Warm-up and Get to know ya games. Another group may know each other well but wants to work together and communicate better. In this case you would use more communication and consensus building games. Age of participants in the group is important because what can be fun and interesting for a younger group might bore an older group. You can probably use the same activities with both groups but you are going to have to alter how you facilitate the game. Sometimes making the game more difficult by giving fewer rules, giving fewer supplies, limiting the time etc will make the game more suitable for an older group. Size of the group will help you decide what types of activities you will use and also if you are going to need any help to facilitate. A lot of games can be played in multiple groups if you wanted to go beyond what the book has listed as a game’s number of participants. Some games really do require smaller groups to be effective while on the other hand, some games you can push the number that is listed and still have an effective game. This is where the practice comes into handy. Hopefully you’ll do your homework and be able to figure out if your group is too small, too big or just right for each game. Sequencing of the games is very simple but possibly one of the most important concepts to think about when you’re choosing which games to play. Depending on the age, size and goals of the group, you will be playing certain games in a certain order. If it’s a new group that doesn’t really know each other yet then you want to start off with some Warm-Up Games and then jump into Name Games and then a few of the lighter level Get to know ya games. Once the group knows each other a little bit better then you can play a few team building and communication games to really solidify their new bond. You have to get a good mixture of games that suits what your outcome for the session is and how well the people in your group know one another. If you are working with a group that has had a lot of time together but is having a hard time really bonding with one another you would probably start off with some Warm-Up Games or Fun Games and then jump straight into team building games that emphasize the team versus the individual and then continue with some consensus building games. On the other hand, if you play games that are too high level, too soon, before the group members know each other well enough or are used to working with one another then they may struggle and become overly frustrated with the games.

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Location is an obvious factor to consider but always something you have to think about. Knowledge of the game will help you utilize the space the best. Some of the games that say they require a large space can probably be played in smaller spaces. Some games need flat area while others can be played anywhere. Once again, practice makes perfect. Amount of time is going to be the last huge factor you have to take into account when deciding what games to play. Most of these games hover from 10 to 25 minutes but some of them really do take the hour listed. You will need to factor in how many games you want to play and how much overall time you have. Also take into account that most games that are longer require much more thought and group sharing, this may not be suitable for younger kids. It’s always smarter to over plan rather than under plan. Write down the order of games you plan on playing and have contingencies in case you finish early, or in case the group just doesn’t get a game. Here is a good final checklist:

- Do I have all the props that I need? - Do the facilitators all understand the agenda for the day? - Is the weather what I had hoped it to be? Do I have a contingency plan? - Have I reviewed the site and made sure it is up to standards? - Do I know what activities I want to do and in what order and why?

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Facilitating Tone setting is vital to your success. Start the day off with a quick introduction to the group. If it is the first time you are meeting this group then you may want to introduce yourself quickly and tell them why you are doing what you are doing. After that jump into the day and let them know that they’ll be having fun playing different types of games today but part of the fun will be overcoming group challenges together. It is important to show enthusiasm during this opening. If you show enthusiasm and excitement then this will spread to the group and they will develop a sense of enthusiasm as well. Participating with the group is going to be a personal preference for each facilitator. There is no reason why the facilitator can’t play with the group as long as you don’t reveal the tricks or become disruptive. Pick your games carefully, some games are designed to really test the group and its dynamic, you’ll want to stay away from those games. But more low level games and more fun games are perfect for you to facilitate and participate. Giving Direction is also a vital part of leading games. You don’t want to read cue cards with the rules on them. Rather you should know the game and then add your personal flare to the instructions. Make the instructions as fun as the game is itself. Here is a rule to follow when giving directions: D) Describe the activity – an intro & rules A) Ask if there are any questions D) Demonstrate – some games are more easily understood if you demonstrate the basic movements. D) Do it A) Adapt it if needed – add more rules, safety instructions or add a new twist to it. Trust the group. A novice facilitator can panic easily. When something doesn’t appear to work, they conclude the sky is falling. Seconds later the facilitator rushes with an alternative, only to get caught in a vicious circle. When something doesn’t appear to work, you should conclude that the group is still working things out. The experienced facilitator waits until things fall in place and the activity flows smoothly. Three pieces of advice to help you leap from novice to the expert state:

o Trust the team. Most teams are self-correcting systems. For example, they will bring a disruptive member under control without your having to throw a temper tantrum. o Trust the process. Focus on the overall results and not on the temporary glitches. Sooner or later, the bad things will be swamped by the good things. o Always stay positive. It is the job of the facilitator to encourage the group while they are working out the problems. Keep the mood light and always remember Positive Reinforcement!

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Flexing is an important aspect of being a leader. Flexing means that no matter what you have planned ahead of time, you always observe what is happening in front of you and you modify your plans accordingly. With all that has been said about preparing and not changing rules and restrictions in the middle of a game and allowing the team to work through the game, sometimes it becomes evident that it would be better for the team’s experiential learning experience if a guideline was changed. By this we are not talking about changing the complete structure of the game, rather slight variances assigned to a participant that may be: controlling the conversation and being the only leader (person is now a mute), someone who is bearing most of the physical load in a physical activity (this person now has two broken arms). This should only be done if you feel the group will benefit from creating the variation of the game, and these changes should also be planned or at least anticipated for before you start the activity. Ending an activity before it gets boring is also vital. Every activity has a high point, quickly followed by a low point. End a game while it’s still fun and before it gets to a low point. Always be ready to play another game or jump straight into the next activity.

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Debriefing Any game or activity that has an intended outcome needs to be debriefed immediately following the conclusion of the activity. It is best to debrief right after the activity so people are honest with their answers and everything is still fresh in their mind. You can do a later debrief of the whole day if you want to see how they feel about the activity after they have had some time to think about it. How Do You Feel?

A sample debriefing model begins with this question:

How do you feel about the activity and the results?

The purpose of this question is to give an opportunity for the participants to get their feelings and emotions off their chest and get ready for the intellectual analysis in the latter phases of debriefing. Skipping this step can be hazardous: The participants can be so preoccupied with their own internal conversations about their feelings that they do not mindfully participate in the external conversation. Also, their responses to other questions (such as what happened during the activity? Or what did you learn from the activity?) are likely to involve emotional outbursts or griping comments.

This does not mean that you should overemphasize the discussion of feelings. Explain that your aim is just to give people an opportunity to briefly vent their frustrations or share their elations and move on to the other phases of debriefing. Treat the statements as bits of information and not as personal attacks. Don’t get defensive.

When an exercise/ game Bombs… What if your game fails miserably? What if the participants behave in an unusual fashion and produce unexpected results?

Don’t worry. There is no failure or success of an activity. It just gives you data to debrief. You now have interesting data to discuss during the debriefing of the activity. You can confess that the results are a little atypical and then ask for explanations of what happened. Say something like.

Usually, when I conduct this game, the top bid is $6. Your top bid was only $1. What do you think made the difference?

You may find that this actually makes it easier for the participants to see the outcome of the activity.

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Other Tips on Debriefing

• Give group members the ability to pass during discussions. Allowing passing helps the members to trust the facilitator and allows them to process at their own pace.

• Create a safe and positive environment. It’s risky for people to share their ideas in an environment where they feel unsafe or exposed.

• Silences are okay. Allow time for the group members to think and formulate ideas.

• Empower them take responsibility for their learning. • The facilitator does not have to hear the reflection for it to be effective.

Try breaking into small groups and have the group debrief amongst themselves.

• Let participants know why they are reflecting. Talk about the value of a reflective practice.

• Close up discussion and make sure to be positive and make sure the group feels good about what they accomplished. Participants; do not force your own agenda upon them. Go with the flow - be flexible. Let the group decide what they re comfortable talking about.

Game Categories

Game Categories

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Warm-Up

Objective: These activities are fun and allow group members to get comfortable with one another. These activities are primarily fun and group-based.

Features: • Fun is the major component • They are success-oriented and can be done with little frustration –

challenge is not a big part. • They require little decision-making or problem-solving skills • Most require fast walking or other movement to get blood flowing.

Name

Objective: To help group members learn each other’s names and a little more about each other.

Features: • Fun is the major component • Group members focus on learning about each other • As group members learn more about each other, they start to see that

they have a lot in common. This helps break down cliques. • Names can be learned in a fun and fast manner.

Get to know ya…

Objective: To help group members learn more about themselves and each other and start to acknowledge differences and similarities that make up the unique group dynamic.

Features: • Group members focus on learning about each other • As group members learn more about each other, they start to see that

they have a lot in common. This helps break down cliques • Some of these games will be very personal, helping the individual

participant examine themselves introspectively • Some of these games require very serious tone setting • Group sharing is a major component

Game Categories

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Fun

Objective: These are games that don’t have much of an educational component but are great for keeping energy up and fun to play. These are great to dovetail in with more intense games because it will loosen everyone up and keep the mood light. These can also be used as warm-up games but are much less physically active.

Features: • Fun is the major component • Group members interact with one another in a silly manner • Great for energizing a group, especially after a very frustrating team

building activity • Similar to warm-up games but with a much less physical component

Teambuilding

Objective: Building on the opening activities, these provide an opportunity for group members to work together as a team and learn to value all the different members of the group.

Features: • Once again, fun is the major component. Having fun helps to pull

people together as a team. Since the activities involve problem-solving, the group begins to face challenges.

• Because of these challenges, the group needs to use all of its members well.

• Leadership tends to change hands during each activity. • As leadership role changes, group members can see the strengths that

different members have and that the usual leaders can’t do it alone. Unity

Objective: To make participants question what is more important, their personal growth and gain or that of the group.

Features: • Competition is used to incite the stereotypical ideal of victory • Usually involves something physical • The truest form of victory is working as a team so everyone achieves

the goal • They allow leadership to come from the group. • Most activities are done in pairs or small groups.

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Communication

Objective: To provide an opportunity for group members to get better at communicating thoughts, ideas and feelings and to improve listening skills.

Features: • Require precise, descriptive words to solve the problem. • Involve physical activity, talking and listening, and discussion. • Require sharing ideas with others to help make group decisions. • Solving a problem is the goal of the group. • They allow leadership to come from the group. • Most activities are done in pairs or small groups.

Consensus Building

Objective: To provide an opportunity for group members to communicate and cooperate with each other through activities that require the group to make create an object collectively.

Features: • The problems require the group to listen to one another before the

collectively make a decision • Often times the group will be building something together • People may get frustrated but 99% of participants must be ok with the

answer. Closing Objective: To end the day’s activities with fun group activities. Features:

• They build on the day’s activities • They can be talked about in relation to the theme of the day

(cooperation, communication, having fun together, etc…) • Participants leave the program with an up-beat attitude, feeling good

about themselves and the other members of the group.

Warm-Up Games

Objective: These activities are fun and allow group members to get comfortable with one another. These activities are primarily fun and group-based.

Features: • Fun is the major component • They are success-oriented and can be done with little frustration – challenge

is not a big part. • They require little decision-making or problem-solving skills • Most require fast walking or other movement to get blood flowing.

Warm-Up Games

1

1,2,3,4… 1,2,3,4… is really a series of four different warm up games that in the end will leave you with a very good opportunity to split into smaller groups. Group Size: Any Time Range: 20 to 25 minutes (for all four of these activities – about 5 – 6 minutes each) Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: none Procedure:

• Ask your group of players to each choose a number (to themselves) from one to four. Once they have a number they are not allowed to change that number.

• Now ask them to mingle around the room (without talking) shaking hands with each person. The catch is that they must shake their hand the number of times equal to the number that they picked. Example, if Player A was “2” then Player A will shake twice but if Player B was “4” then Player B will shake four times. When Players A & B shake hands with one another – there will be a very odd exchange. (very fun to watch and be a part of)

• If players shake the same number of times, they stay together and move around to try to find others with shakes like theirs. If the player’s shakes are different then they go on trying to find more of their kind.

• The large group should end up in four smaller groups. Ask everyone to share their shake, especially if there are more than four groups.

• Now ask them to choose a different number and repeat the activity using Winks/ Blinks and Belly Laughs (HA,HA,HA,HA)

• The final option is to assign animals to the numbers that they have selected. It’s fun to select animals that don’t have distinctive sounds or movements. I.e. Iguana, Manatee, Flying Squirrel, Perch, Armadillo. They are only allowed to make the animal sounds or move like the animal.

Things to Think About: This activity is a lot of fun but if the group you are working with isn’t into the activity then do not try to use all four segments. Always remember to end things while they are fun. This is also a great way to break up into smaller groups but it will not yield equal size groups so if you need your larger group to be in four exact smaller groups, this is not the activity to do it with. For Animals you may want to tailor the activity so it’s fitting for an appropriate age group. For instance, if you are working with younger players you may want to have animals that are more recognizable and allow them to make sounds. But if you were working with an older crowd its fun to throw in more obscure animals and if you want, don’t allow them to make sounds and only allow them to make movements. Always have the groups share with everyone else what their movement or sound was.

Warm-Up Games

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Boop Boop is a great indoor activity. It works with any size group because you are splitting them into groups of three anyway. Target Group: A group that doesn’t mind physical contact Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Balloons (Blown Up) Procedure:

• Begin by splitting the large group up into groups of three or four • Have the players in these groups join hands. Give each group a balloon. Make

sure that the groups spread out enough to allow for some moving around. • Each group tries to keep the balloon up in the air. They must keep their hands

joined during the entire game. Give the groups a minute or so to practice. During this time let them use any body part that they’d like to keep the balloon up.

Rules: 1) After a short practice time, you (the leader) call out a body part and that’s what

each group must use to keep the balloon off the ground 2) You’ll want to change about every fifteen to twenty seconds during the activity.

For example, you could start with hand only, move to heads and then elbows, knees, etc.

3) We like to move on to combinations after that, say head-hand-elbow. What this means is that a head shot must be followed by a hand and then an elbow shot. Have fun making up your own sequence

4) Remind the groups that their hands must be joined at all times and that the balloons should never stop moving, even as you call out new body parts.

Other Ideas: A fun way to end the game is to tell the groups to do the next command for as long as possible to see who the “winners” are and then yell “No body parts at all.” There is a solution for this; they just need to figure it out within the next few seconds. Blow the balloon up in the air with their mouths!!!

Warm-Up Games

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Do What I Do/ Do What I Did This is a very fun way to get a large group warmed up. As with most warm-ups, there is no debriefing for this activity. Group Size: Any, as long as everyone can see you – The larger the better Time Range: 5 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: none Procedure:

• Have the group stand up scattered around the room, facing you. • Stand in front of the group and have them mirror the body movements that you

show them. For example, touching your head, arms out to the side, one leg up, leg down, arm up, and finger on your nose. Try to integrate some funny poses to break the ice.

• Once they have gotten this down, switch it up on them. Now they need to start mirroring what you did, not what you are doing.

• The group will perform the action you did prior to the one you are doing. For example, everyone starts with their hands at their sides, and then you put your hands on your head, then around your ankles. When you put your hands on your ankles, the rest of the group puts their hands on their head. The next time you switch they put their hands on their ankles.

Variation: You can play this game in groups of 8 to 12 and have the group pass the movement down the circle. This game is known “Saggity, Saggity Oom Pa Pa.”

• Have the group chant: saggity saggity oom pa pa over until there is a consistent beat.

• Then have a pre-selected player create a movement to the chant. • After the chant is said once, that person creates a new movement. • The person to the right now copies the movement that the person to their

left has just performed during the previous turn. • This goes all the way around the circle.

You can set the number of moves your group needs to complete to be successful. Or let them set a goal.

Warm-Up Games

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Human Scrabble This is a really fun indoor or outdoor activity for large groups. Human Scrabble is also a great way for people to learn a few things about each other. Human Scrabble works best with a group of at least 30 people and is great for people ages 10 – 62. Its one of the most successful activities performed with adults. Target Group: Any Group Size: 30 to 75 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needed: Indoor Props: Note cards with a letter on them (see below) A Watch Procedure:

• Before your training begins, you need to make enough note cards so that each person gets one. It’s a good idea to make a few extras. Once you’ve made them, stash the cards somewhere so they can be used again.

• Put one letter of the alphabet on each of the cards. If you are making thirty cards, you may want to make one card for each of the letters A to Z and four with * on them. The * is a wild card that can be used as any letter. For larger groups, make more cards with vowels and other letters that are frequently used [s, d, m, l].

• Give each player a card. This is their letter for the duration of the activity. Once everyone has a letter, give the following rules:

Rules:

1) After “Go!” each player has one minute to find at least three other players who have letters that spell out a word. These words must be clean, no profanity.

2) Any * card represents a wild card and can be used as any letter. 3) Once people have formed a word have them raise their hands silently but don’t

make noise so that other groups can continue to work on forming a word. 4) After one minute yell, “stop!” – at which time everyone should stop where they

are. 5) Go around and ask for some of the words that were created. 6) Yell “Go!” again and continue on like this for a couple of rounds. Five to eight

rounds is usually a good amount of time. Thing to think about: If this activity is being used with a group of people that don’t know each other very well, give them a minute to meet everyone in their group after you have gone around asking for the words that they have made up. Then tell them that the next group they are a part of cannot have anyone in the group that they were just a part of. This game can also be played with a limit of people per group. This means you only allow for four person teams. This will insure that more teams are successful in creating a word in the minute given to them. You can also make this into more of a game and assign point values to each letter and create note cards based on the numbers that are in a scrabble set.

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Human Scrabble Pg. 2 Debrief Ideas: If you are playing the original version without a cap on players per group, some groups may try to form a very large word and be unsuccessful in the time given. Ask them why they were unable to finish and if their goal was unrealistic in the amount of time given.

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Imaginary Object Juggle

Target Group: 12 and older Group Size: 10 to 15 players Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Enough room to form a mid size circle Props: None

Procedure:

• Have the group form a circle. • The facilitator begins the process by approaching someone in the circle

carrying an imaginary red ball (their actions should portray that they have a ball - the more dramatic the more fun it tends to be!!) When the facilitator reaches that person she/he says, "JODI (person's name) RED BALL!" and Jodi will say, "RED BALL, THANK YOU."

• Then Jodi (who has the red ball) takes the ball to someone else in the circle (don't forget to encourage the DRAMA here!!) following the same procedure.

• As the red ball is going around the facilitator starts carrying another object across the circle. "BILL, ONE BIG BLUE BAG OF CEMENT!" (You can imagine the acting here?!). Bill says, "ONE BIG BLUE BAG OF CEMENT, THANK YOU!" Then Bill takes his cement to someone else.

• It's often up to the facilitator to keep the pantomime energy going; however, some groups get right into it.

Some other objects: Stinky Socks, Cranky Critter by the tail, and three twisted thorny twigs, a hot coal - you get the idea.

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Joining Joining is a really simple activity for ice-breakers and team introductions, and great for demonstrating the need for communications and team-working when developing teams and a 'joined up' approach. Group Size: Any – The game is played in smaller groups of 3 to 10 players Time Range: 5 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: None Procedure:

• The facilitator calls out (and displays on a flip-chart) an instruction by which each team's members should join with each other, for example: twelve fingers, three thumbs, two elbows, one shoulder and two knees.

• Each team must then work out as quickly as possible how to achieve the 'joining instructions'. When properly joined the team can shout out 'joined' for the facilitator to check they've won the round.

• Scores can be kept and the game played over several rounds. • Obviously, different joining instructions will create different pressures on the

teams to think and adapt. The facilitator should think about joining instructions to use, mindful of the likely group and team sizes. Ensure the joining instructions given are physically possible, and enable all team members to be involved (which is generally ensured by including lots of fingers in the instructions).

• It's preferable to state that joined solutions should involve all team members. Joining Examples: (Depending on team sizes)

• Six knees and twenty five fingers. • Three hands, three wrists, ten fingers and two ankles. • Twenty three fingers, three shoulders, three noses and a chair. • Three toes, a thigh, a forehead, thirty fingers, a wall and a table. • Ten fingers, ten thumbs, two elbows, two knees, and three credit cards. • Six fingers, six thumbs, two ankles, a mobile phone and a calculator.

Things to think About: For the avoidance of (additional) confusion, a hand is just a hand, and cannot also be counted as four fingers and a thumb. Inclusion of inanimate objects is absolutely fine, in which case it's best to confirm that body parts connected to inanimate objects count towards the solution. Extra points for creative solutions can be awarded at the facilitator's discretion. Stipulation of bare skin contact is also at the facilitator's discretion but if in doubt do not insist on this or even offer the option (we live in a litigious world). And unless using the activity for very intimate gatherings it's advisable to exclude tongues...

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Lemonade Lemonade is a fun tag style game that’s similar to Wizards, Elves and Giants Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Requires a large enough space to have your teams’ line up and have running room also. Props: None Procedures:

• Split the larger group into two teams and have them get on opposite ends of the playing field.

• Each team has a home base and have them select a team captain. • Then 1 team is selected to present the charade first. This team then decides what

to profession they are going to be: (i.e.: Cop, Teacher, Waiter, Chef, Race Car Driver, etc.)

• Once this has been done and the actions for the charade have been discussed, the teams each need to design a walk to get up from their home base to the center of the playing area.

• Once the teams get to the middle they begin the game. The call and response is listed below.

• Once the call and response is completed, the acting team shows their charade. • The guessing team then yells out what they think the group is acting out. The

team captain answers by saying yes or no or you’re getting warm, you’re getting closer etc.

• Once the guessing team has guessed the trade, the acting team has to run as fast as they can to their home bases.

• The guessing team then tries to tag as many of them as possible. Whoever is tagged joins the other team.

Play this game until people are tired or until there is only one team left.

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Little Sally Walker This is a game that has its origins on slave plantations from the south. This song began as a way for African American children to poke fun at their “masters”. Now it has been modified to be a great warm-up game. Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes (can go longer with more people) Space Needs: Outdoors or a large enough area to circle up in Props: None Procedure:

• Have your group circle up • Select one person to be in the middle of the circle. Have the circle close-in when

that person steps out. • The people that are still standing in the circle begin to sing the “Little Sally

Walker” song while the person in the middle of the circle begins to walk or dance around the circle walking in a clockwise or counter clockwise motion.

• There is a part in the song when the lyrics are: “Go Girl/Boy do your thang do your thang, do your thang - Go Girl/Boy do your thang do your thang - STOP” – During this time the person walking around the circle stops and dances with the person that they stop in front of.

• Now the person that was just dancing that was part of the circle jumps into the circle and begins to prance around on a horse while the person that was just in the middle takes the empty spot.

Song: “Little Sally Walker walking around the street ( hey hey). She didn’t know what to do so she stopped in front of me. Go Girl/Boy do your thang do your thang, do your thang - Go Girl/Boy do your thang do your thang - STOP “ Things to think about: This game is a lot of fun but make sure if you are playing this game with kids that they are watching their lewdness. Also, as the game progresses push in one or two extra people each round so that there are many people prancing around the circle each round.

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My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean This is a very fun game to start things off a little whacky. This well help you get your group loosened up and acting silly. You may want to make this the final warm-up activity in your sequence. Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: none Procedure:

• Teach the song: “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” Lyrics Below • Sing the song and clap on every “B” word/ sound. • Sing, clap and then add a dip and stand to the “B” word/ sounds. For example,

on the first Bonnie the group claps and dips down (bends at the knees slightly). On the second Bonnie the group claps and stands back up again. Proceed with the dips and stands throughout the song (you should end up standing at the end of the song).

Lyrics: My Bonnie lies over the ocean, My Bonnie lies over the sea, My Bonnie lies over the ocean, So, bring back my Bonnie to me. Bring Back, Bring Back Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me. Bring Back, Bring Back, Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.

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Name Exchange Don’t expect anyone to know anyone’s name after the activity but this is a fun and quick way to get the group to mingle with one another and get the energy up. Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 minutes Space Needs: Indoor room Props: none Procedure:

• Have people go up to someone they don’t know, shake their hand, introduce themselves and tell the person a fact about yourself.

• Make sure they listen closely to all the information that they are told because they are now going to take that person’s identity and introduce themselves and that person to the next person that they meet.

• Identities are exchanged during each introduction. Players are allowed to sit down when they get their own identity back or the facilitator ends the game.

Variation: You can have people create their own handshake and exchange handshakes, but keep their own name and introduction information.

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Number Up This game is a watered down Salute the Captain but its so much fun. Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 minutes Space Needs: Any open area Props: none Procedure:

• Have everyone that is playing stand and cluster amongst one another • When your ready call out a number. 1 through however many people are

playing. • Players must then get into groups of that number and hug as one giant

group. Tell them to hug one another as if their life depended on it. • Those that can not find a group are out of the game. • Play until there are only two people left of stop whenever you see people

are getting tired. Variation: Salute the Captain is this game on drugs. ☺

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Quick Cards This is a very fast paced game that can get out of control if you aren’t careful. Make sure the group you are working with is capable of physical movement and doesn’t mind close physical contact. Target Group: Any Group Size: 30 to 52 people Time Range: 10 to15 minutes Space Needs: Large indoor space Props: Deck of cards 4 Chairs Procedures:

• Have the group circle up. • Hand out a single card to each player. Do not allow the players to look at

their cards until the game starts. • When you say “GO”, each player can look at their card and then each

group must line up in sequence based on the ace through king order. Each of the aces must sit in the chairs and then the two’s sit on their lap etc.

• First group to get in order raises their hand shouting “DONE!” • As the facilitator you should do some spot checking just to make sure no

one is cheating. If there are missing numbers then the team has to figure that out. There is a possibility if you have a smaller group that some suits may only have 1 or 2 players on its team.

• Have people blindly trade cards with one another until you say stop. • Then have everyone circle up once again without looking at their card and

wait for you to say “GO!” Things to think about: You can start this game in smaller groups and then combine it into a larger group. A couple of rounds should be good enough, this is however a very addictively entertaining game so the participants may want to play longer. If you have a smaller group you may want to remove higher value cards so that teams that are sitting on each others laps are equal. Otherwise people will complain that it isn’t fair.

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Quick Line-Up Quick line up is a very fun, action oriented, large group, team building activity. You’ll want to be in a gym or large room. This game works best with large groups – 30 to 200 people! Target Group: Any Group Size: 30 to 200 people Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: A large outdoor area or a gym Props: None Procedures:

• The leader has the group form a square with an equal number of people on each of the four sides. Players should be standing should-to-shoulder and facing the inside of the square. The leader is in the middle and is facing one of the sides.

• Each side of the square represents a team, therefore there are four teams. • For the first part of the activity, all players in the square need to remember

who is on their right and who is on their left. Give the group ten seconds to check out who is beside them – if it’s a group member they don’t know too well then have them introduce themselves.

• The teams must also remember how they are lined up in relation to the leader in the middle of the square. As the leader you want to make it obvious which way you are facing – no angles or anything, just straight on so that one team is directly in front of you, one on your left, one on your right and one behind you.

• Now that you are all set up, the game goes like this; you (the leader) spin around in the middle of the square and stops facing a new direction. When you stop yell, “Quick Line-Up”

• Each team must now line upon the same side of you that they began on. For example, the team that started behind you has to be behind you again; left on the left of you etc.

• Not only do the teams have to line up in relation to you but the players must also be lined up in the same order as they were to begin with.

• When a group is in the right place have all the members lift their hands in the air and yell “Quick Line-Up!”

Things to think about: Forget trying to referee this game. If a fight begins to break out, just spin around and begin another round. Debrief Suggestions: How did you work out the orders? Did everyone participate? What happens if you don't participate? Who won? Was winning important? Is winning important? Did you have fun?

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Ride that Pony This is a great game for large groups, small groups and any group. I have seen 100 kids spontaneously break out and play this game for up to an hour. It gets the blood flowing and is so much fun! Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes (can go longer with more people) Space Needs: Outdoors or a large enough area to circle up in Props: None Procedure:

• Have your group circle up • Select one person to be in the middle of the circle. Have the circle close-in when

that person steps out. • The people that are still standing in the circle begin to sing the “Ride My Pony”

song while the person in the middle of the circle begins to prance around the circle like they are riding a horse.

• There is a part in the song when the lyrics are: “Front to front to front my baby…”, “Side to side to side my baby…”, “Back to back to back my baby” – During this time the person prancing in the middle jumps in front of someone standing in the circle and dances with them. Front to front for the first part, back to back for the second part and side to side for the last line.

• Now the person that was just dancing that was part of the circle jumps into the circle and begins to prance around on a horse while the person that was just in the middle takes the empty spot.

Song: “Here we go… ride that pony… ride around that big fat pony… here we go… ride that pony… this is how we do it… front to front to front, my baby, side to side to side, my baby… back to back to back my baby… this is how we do it. “ Things to think about: This game is a lot of fun but make sure if you are playing this game with kids that they are watching their lewdness. Also, as the game progresses push in one or two extra people each round so that there are many people prancing around the circle each round.

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Shoes This is a great outdoor activity for medium size groups. This game helps energize the group and is very fun. This game is best done indoors because they will be running around without their shoes on. You can also stretch this game and play it on a day when you talk about communication and talk about how important eye contact is… Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 to 30 Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Large indoor space where people can circle up and run around Props: none Procedure:

1) Select 1 person to stand in the center of the circle. 2) Have all other participants circle up and take off their shoes and place them in

front of themselves. 3) Players on the outside of the circle are not allowed to talk from this point on.

They must use their eyes to communicate with others on the edge of the circle. 4) When two players have made contact, when they’re ready they run and change

spots with one another. 5) The person in the center of the circle tries to run and take a vacated spot. 6) If someone has their spot taken by the person in the center, then they become the

new person in the center of the circle. Rules:

1) When you switch places with someone, it cannot be with the person that is right next to you.

2) When you switch places with someone, you must move within the circle and not outside of it.

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Striker This is a great outdoor activity for larger groups. This game can get very tiring and also make sure that the bigger kids are not dominating the game if you have a big mix of younger and older kids. Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 to 40 Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoors preferred or a very large indoors room. Props: 1 beach ball per 15 to 20 people Procedure:

7) Split the group into two even team 8) A goal line for each team should be marked off using cones or other markers. The

size of the goals and distance between them is up to you, taking into consideration the size of the group, age and ability

9) The object is for each team to try to score goals against one another Rules:

3) The game is started by having a member from each team jump for the ball at “center court” – like in basketball.

4) The ball is passed down the field/ gym by the team mummers, each team heading towards the other team’s goal line.

5) No intentional body contact is allowed and striking the ball can only be down with a flat palm

6) Points are earned each time one team gets the ball over the other teams goal 7) After a goal has been scored, the team that has just been scored on gets the ball

and starts from their own goal. Things to think about: This is a very active game with no penalties or time-outs. You need to watch the level of the group and end the game when it is no longer fun or until people begin to show fatigue.

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Switch, Change & Rotate Switch, Change & Rotate is a great game that gets people working closely with one another. It’s very fun, engaging and builds teamwork all at once. Group Size: Any (Split into groups of 3 to 4) Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Dependant on group size Props: none Procedure:

• Ask your players to get into groups of 3 to 4 and stand in a line facing in the same direction, one behind the other.

• When you say “Switch”, the front and back players change places – practice.

• When you say “Change”, the line of players turns 180 degrees to face the opposite direction – practice.

• When you say “Rotate”, the player at the front of the line peels off and goes to the back of the line, the second player in the line is now the leader – practice.

• Spend some time having the teams practice while standing still. Add two more directions: “Freeze” – meaning to stop, and “Move” meaning to walk (not run) forward.

• Then ask the groups to start walking (indicate this with a “move” call) around the room in their line formation – the head of the line being the leader.

• Now call “Switch, Change or Rotate” as the groups are walking around. • When they have mastered this ask them to close their eyes and try to do it

without being able to see. Make sure that they walk very cautiously and that they use “bumpers.”

Things to Think About:

If you have music it helps to play it while they are walking and then you can turn it off when you call “Freeze.” Have facilitators present if you are going to have the groups do this activity with their eyes closed. “Bumpers” means walking with their hands out so that they don’t run into any walls or other groups.

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Tag - Asst Below we are going to list a wide variety of Tag games. Tag games are great for any group, large or small. Just be aware of fatigue and boredom if the game only has two people running around. Group Size: Any Time Range: 1 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor – or a large gym to run around in. (Most “designated areas” should be a good enough size for people to run around in comfortably, but you don’t want to make it too large because the people that are “IT” will get tired and the game will take too long. Some games work better with a more intimate “designated area.”) Props: None – unless you want to use a long rope to set the “designated area.” Variations: Name: Blob Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Players must stay in designated area. • Select one person to be “IT” • "IT" chases players until someone is tagged, once tagged, that player grabs the

hand of "IT". They become a blob. • The blob runs together after another player until that player gets tagged. Once

tagged, that player grabs the hand of the second person and the blob grows. • Play continues until everyone has become part of the blob.

Name: Clothespin Tag Props: 5 Clothespins for each player Procedure:

• Players must stay in designated area. • Players hook 5 clothes pins to the back of their shirts. • The object of the game is to pull off as many clothes pins from other people

without losing your own. You can only pull off the clothes pins, without pulling clothes or pushing.

• Once a player loses all of their pins, they are out of the game. They can not grab anymore clothespins

• Play continues until only one player remains. At that point have everyone count up the clothespins that they were able to grab. The person with the most wins. (This may not always be the last person standing.

• You can also play this game in a certain time limit and count the number of clothespins that each player has after the time has expired.

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Tag – Asst, Pg. 2

Name: Dragon Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Players stand in a line • Players put their hands on the shoulders of the player in front of them forming one

long dragon. The player in the front is the head of the dragon, the player at the back is its tail. The head tries to catch the tail and the tail end tries not to be caught.

• If the head catches the tail, the head links onto the tail and the next person in line becomes the new head of the dragon. Line Up again or give the tail 5 seconds to get away and then the head and begin chasing.

• Play continues until all players have had a chance to be the head and the tail. Name: Dinosaur Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Designate one area, called "home" that is "safe" for the plant-eating dinosaurs to run to in order to avoid being eaten by Tyrannosaurus Rex (“IT”).

• T. Rex is “IT” He closes his eyes and counts to 15 while the other players hide or scatter. T. Rex wanders around and tries to find the plant-eating dinosaurs (the other players).If the head catches the tail, the head links onto the tail and the next person in line becomes the new head of the dragon.

• If T. Rex sees a player, then he can chase after him. • If the plant-eater “freezes” (doesn't move), then the T. Rex can't catch him

(because T. Rex is drawn by movement). • If the plant-eating dinosaur does move, however, then the T. Rex can try and

catch him. The player is only safe if he outruns the T. Rex or gets to "home". If the T. Rex catches the plant-eater, then the caught player becomes the new T. Rex.

Name: ECPT (Eye Contact Partner Tag) Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • Have everyone pair up with a partner. Have them decide who is going to be “IT”

first. • When you say go the partners that are “IT” must run after their partner and try to

tag them. The only way to tag your partner is to make eye contact with that person.

• All players must keep their eyes open (aside from the occasional blink) and continuously scan the room making eye contact with people. For a higher tag ratio limit their eye contact time to 5 seconds.

• Once tagged, the player becomes “IT”, turns around three times and then tries to find and tag their partner again.

• There is no winner for this game so set a time limit or play until people seem to be getting tired.

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Tag – Asst, Pg. 3 Name: Everybody’s It Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • On “Go”; everyone is it and tries to tag everyone else. • If you are tagged you must sit down. This game goes VERY fast so no one is

really out for a long time. • When it’s down to the last two, the rule is: No Backing Up. See if someone can

win in the count of 10. Otherwise call it a draw. Name: Frogger Props: cones and flags Procedure:

• Use cones to outline your out-of-bounds area. • The area should form a rectangle about 30 yards long by 20 yards wide. • One width of the field will have four or five cones spaced out evenly. While the

other side should have one cone in the middle. • Make four or five lines, making sure each line is behind a cone and the lines are

even. These people are cars. • Select about four people to be frogs. • Each frog is to where a flag belt • They are to line up single file behind the side with one cone. • When they hear the whistle the frog is going to try and run from one end of the

field to the other without the cars running them over (pulling off their flag). • The first car from each cone is to run after the same frog (4 or 5:1 ratio). • If the frog steps out of bounds (beyond the cones laid out) or if their flag gets

pulled they automatically become cars and the car that ran them over or the person that is closest to them when the step out-of-bounds becomes a frog.

• Once either action has occurred the game stops for that round. • If the frog can pass the cones on the other side without getting run over they

remain a frog and get a free walk back to the end of the frog line. • If the cars are unsuccessful at running over the frog they go back to the end of

their line and wait for their next turn.

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Tag – Asst, Pg. 4 Name: Hospital Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • On “Go”; everyone is it and tries to tag everyone else. • Everyone starts the game with two invisible band-aids, one in each hand. • If someone is tagged they need to use one of those band-aids to cover up the spot

where they were tagged. They cannot remove that hand for the remainder of the game.

• Players can still use their free hands to tag others until they are tagged a second time. Now the second band aid must cover up the spot where they were tagged and they can no longer tag anyone.

• Since they have no hands left to tag people, these injured people must run around trying to avoid being tagged for a third time. If they do then they must kneel down and are not out of the game.

Name: Link Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • Have everyone in the group find a partner • Have each player hook elbows with their partner • Choose one pair to begin the game. • Of these two people, have one person be “IT” and the other is running from “IT”. • The other pairs remain stationary throughout the game and the players put their

outside hands on their hips so that their elbows stick out. • The chasee wants to avoid being tagged by the person who is it. The way that the

chasee can get to safety is to Link Up with another pair by linking arms with one of them.

• When the chasee links on to another pair, the person on the opposite side of this pair must now release because there cannot be more than two people in a pair. This person is now the chasee and can only avoid becoming “IT” by linking up somewhere else, and so on, and so on.

• If the chasee is tagged before linking up, that person becomes “IT”. This person then needs to spin around once to give the old “IT” a chance to get away and/or link up.

• The game ends when the facilitator calls it to a stop. (five or ten minutes is good – watch the fatigue factor of the people running around)

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Tag – Asst, Pg. 5 Name: Partner Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • Have everyone pair up with a partner. Have them decide who is going to be “IT”

first. • Once they have their partner, have the larger group mingle for a few minutes. • When you say “Go” the partners that are “IT” must run after their partner and try

to tag them. • Once tagged, the player becomes it, turns around three times and then tries to find

and tag their partner again. • There is no winner for this game so set a time limit or play until people seem to be

getting tired. Name: Sharks, Eels, Sea Crustaceans Props: Rope for line markers Procedure:

• Set up two lines with borders on either side (cones work also). • Depending on the size of the group, 1 – 3 start out as sharks, “IT”. • The other participants are behind one of the lines. They choose what species of

fish they’d like to be... giving them options, tuna, octopus, mackerel, etc… When the shark calls out a species, those participants have to run from one line to the other, staying within the boundaries.

• If they are tagged by a shark then they become stationary kelp. They are planted, but can wave about and help the sharks tag others by holding onto them. Eventually, the sharks are “hunting” through a kelp forest.

• The game ends when the sharks win!

Name: Slow Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • Ask everyone to get their own personal space within the designated area – no one

should be able to touch anyone at this point. • The facilitator not calls: “Step.” • Each player can take one step – one foot in any direction. (If the player moves

two feet then he or she must sit) • If you can now touch someone you can tag them. If you get tagged you must sit. • The facilitator yells: “Step” again. This time players may take a step with their

other foot. If they can tag someone this time then that person also must sit. • When you are sitting you are not out of the game. You can still tag players who

are in the game, but you must be in the sitting position and not moving around. • You can not tag the person that tagged you

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Tag – Asst, Pg. 6 Name: Team Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • Split your big group into teams of 4 or 5. Give ach team a different “soft” object

as their “orb”. • When the facilitator says “Go”; everyone goes to tag everyone else. Don’t tag

your own teammates. • If you get tagged you have to kneel down. • To get back up you need the orb passes to you. Hold onto the orb until another

team member needs it. • If you have the orb and you need it then you must pass it to another team member

and have them pass it to you. • Teams cannot steal or interfere with the passing of orbs from one person to the

next. Name: Toilet Bowl Tag Props: None Procedure:

• Everyone must stay within the designated area • Select one person to be “IT” • "IT" chases players until someone is tagged, once tagged, that player has to put

one knee down and have one arm up. The arm should be displayed so that the elbow is bent and wrist is bent over the elbow. (Like a toilet bowl)

• They are to stay in that position until someone else frees them. • To be freed, another player has to sit on their knee and push their hand down as if

they were flushing a toilet. The tagged player must also make the sound of a toilet flushing while doing this.

• If they are caught in the act then the person who was sitting on the toilet is now a toilet and the person that was a toilet becomes another “IT” player

• You can play this game until everyone has been it, or just call the game after a short period of time and switch the “IT” players

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Team Poker This is listed as a warm up game but is also great for team-building, problem solving, consensus building and decision-making skills. Target Group: Any Group Size: 10 or more Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Deck of cards Procedures:

• Hand out a single card to each player. Do not allow the players to look at their cards until the game starts.

• The aim of the exercise is for each person to get make the best three-card hand by joining with two other players. (You can make this five if you’d like. This offers more of a challenge)

• Card hands are to be ranked according to poker rules. • Set a time limit for them to get into group.

Variations:

• Each delegate receives two cards; requiring three players to create a six card hand (clarify rules accordingly).

• Instruct the group to find three or four other players, making four- or five-card hands.

• Allow each player to change their card once with a card from the top of the remainder of the deck, face down of course (exchanged cards go to the bottom of the deck).

• Upturn the card at the top of the remainder of the deck and stipulate that each hand must include that card.

• For very large groups use two decks. • You can substitute Poker with Blackjack, or many other card games.

Debrief Suggestions: Facilitator and players can review various behaviors after the activity - e.g., leadership, teamwork, negotiating, and decision making under pressure. This simple game will break the ice, and get people out of their seats with minimal input from the facilitator. Follow up with a group discussion about aspects of the exercise relevant to the main session or purpose.

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Toe Tag This fun, fast action game is not for every group. Use your judgment on whether or not to use it based on the concern for safety that the group has shown in other activities. Target Group: People that understand boundaries. This game can get out of hand if uncontrolled or played with people that goof off too much. Group Size: Any even number of people Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Enough room so each pair has room to rumble around and not be concerned with slamming into objects. Props: None Procedure:

• Divide the group into pairs • Have each group find a sizable spot to call their own. They’ll probably be moving

around a lot. • The object of the activity is for the players to use their feet to tag (step on lightly)

their partners feet. Players who tag their partner’s feet first are the winners. • Start the activity by having the partners stand back to back. • Players are not allowed to turn around until you say start.

Rules:

1) If players begin to become too violent (stomping another players feet or kicking other player’s shins) then they must be removed from the game immediately.

Name Games

Objective: To help group members learn each other’s names and a little more about each other. Features: • Fun is the major component • Group members focus on learning about each other • As group members learn more about each other, they start to see that they have a lot in common. This helps break down cliques. • Names can be learned in a fun and fast manner.

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Bumpity-Bump-Bump-Bump Bumpity-Bump-Bump-Bump offers a fun alternative to the normal name game. This is probably a game that you would have to wait until the second meeting or so to play since it requires players to already be familiar with the names of those around them. Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: An area large enough for your group to circle up Props: none Procedure:

• Gather your group together in a large circle. Select one person to come into the middle of the circle.

• This person is to close their eyes, put their hands together (palm to palm) while extending their arms horizontally, and spin in a circle. The person will spin until he/she stops and opens their eyes.

• When they stop, they look at whoever they are pointing at and say: “Left”, “Right” or “Center” and follow it with “Bumpity Bump Bump Bump.”

• If the person in the middle says: “Left”, the person they are pointing at must say the name of the person to their left, “Right”, they must say the name of the person to their right and “Center” is themselves.

• If “Bumpity Bump Bump Bump” is said before the person being pointed at says the name of the person they are supposed to say, they are put in the middle of the circle and they repeat the process.

• If the name is said on time, the person in the middles stays in the middle and continues the process.

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Group Juggling/ Toss a Name Game Group Juggling is an excellent introduction to team building activities while allowing everyone to learn each others names. Group Size: 10 to 15 people Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Several Soft Balls Rubber Deck Rings Other small, soft objects Procedure:

• Have the group circle up. • The leaders should join the circle as well and should be the starter (at least for the

first run). • The first part of the activity involves establishing a pattern where one object will

be passed around the circle so that each group member gets it once and it ends up back at the leader. The first person to go is the leader who throws it to someone else in the circle but they cannot toss it to someone right beside them. It must go at least two people away.

• Everyone must remember who threw them the object and who they threw the object to.

• Now that you have the pattern established, you will begin the actual Group Juggling.

• Begin by throwing the object to the same person you threw to in the first round. As soon as that person has passed it on to the next player, add another object. And another. And another. Continue adding objects to the circle.

• As soon as an object gets back to the first person, have that person put it on the ground in front of them.

• Many objects will go sailing by players and get dropped or collide in mid air- just keep adding more. The group may want to decide what to do when someone drops one. Will they all stop and regroup? Give them several tries at it. Luck is the main factor here, but there are definite ways to strategize.

Variant: If you want to use this as a name game then have each player call out the name of the person that they are throwing the object to before the throw it. Have this variant go a lot slower and introduce items at a much slower pace. Let the group go through at least once or twice without adding objects. Three more variations to make the game more exciting: You can reverse the throwing order half way through the game. Time the group and challenge them to complete the circle as fast as possible. Have the group scatter themselves around the circle so everyone has changed spots, but they still have to throw to the same people as before.

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Name Impulse Name Impulse is a good game to start things off in your first meeting. No one will really learn anybody’s name from this exercise, that’s why it’s a warm up, but it gets everyone talking and excited. As with most warm-ups there is no debrief along with this activity. Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: none Procedure:

• Gather the group in a circle. • Ask for a volunteer to start the activity. • Ask this player which way the impulse should go (left or right). • To start the activity, have this person say their name. • As soon as the starter has said their name, the next person will continue. • This continues around the circle with players saying their own name as soon as

the players beside them have said theirs. • Time how long it takes for the impulse to get around the circle and have them

decide how fast they can do it next time.

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That Person over There That Person over There is actually two games. One game is a little more like a warm-up game while the variant is an actual name game. Look under the “Variant” section to see the nice quick warm-up game. If you are going to use this game don’t give out name tags until the end of this activity. Group Size: Any Time Range: 12 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor – You’ll need ample space to move around. Props: none Procedure:

• Gather your group together in a large circle. When you say “Go” each player should go and introduce themselves to another player in the group that they do not know – shake hands, say your names – make sure you emphasize that they should REALLY learn the person’s name.

• Then, each player leaves that person and goes off to find another person that they haven’t met yet. (Players can raise their hands if they need a partner.)

• This time, greet this new person (remember the name) and introduce yourself (both players do the same.) Now, one at a time each player will point out the last person that they met and tell them their name. The pairs may need to move around to find that person. After both players point out “that person over there” they go off to find another player that they haven’t met.

• Repeat this cycle always have the players introduce themselves and then that last person that they met, “that person over there”.

Variation: As promised above there is a warm-up version of this game. This time scatter everyone around the room so that they can not touch anyone else. Tell the players that they are stuck in that position and that they are not allowed to move their feet. Then tell them that they need to introduce themselves to 10 other people and at least one of them has to be on the other side of the room. Shouting and waving will ensue. This is a very fun quick game good for larger groups.

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The Blanket Game The Blanket Game is a high energy name game. It is best done with groups of fifteen to twenty five so that everyone gets a chance to play, but can be done with more. Group Size: 15 to 25+ people Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: Large Blanket or Tarp that you cannot see through Procedure:

• Divide the group in half. Have two people hold up the blanket. Put half of the group on one side of the blanket and half on the other side. Make sure everyone is sitting two or three feet back from the blanket, and be sure that nobody can see anyone on the other side.

• Each team chooses one person to go forward to the blanket. These players should face the screen and be very close to it. Choosing this person silently is best.

• On the count of three, the people holding the blanket drop it to the ground and the two chosen players try to correctly name the person across from them. They can receive no help from their teammates or the other team gets the point.

• Whoever names the opponent first wins that person for their team. • The first team to have everyone on its side wins. With a larger group this may

never happen so you may just want to put a time limit on the game. Variants: Have the two chosen people sit with their backs to the blanket. This time, when the blanket drops, they cannot see each other and the only way of guessing the other person’s name is by using information that their teammate provide. Make sure they use positive descriptions of each other. Another variant could have more than one person behind the blanket. Have five per side lined up behind the blanket and have a five person battle at once. This would be good with larger groups.

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Womp-Em Womp-Em is an activity that helps a group to check in with names. Group Size: 8 - 15 Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: A Boffer – something you can use to hit people that won’t hurt. Procedures:

• Have the group for a tight circle • Have players sit down with their legs straight out in front of them and their feet

towards the center of the circle. If you are outside you can have them stand in a close circle.

• One player is selected to be in the middle and is given the boffer. You, as the leader, may want to be the first person in the middle if you think it will help to demonstrate the game.

• Start by going around the circle having all the players say their names. • One of the players in the circles starts the game by calling the name of another

player in the circle. The person in the middle then tries to whack – on the foot – the player whose name was called before that player can call someone else’s name. If the player in the middle taps the person whose name is called before that person can call out another name, then the player who go tapped goes into the center. This person now takes over the boffer.

• Other ways players can be put in the middle include pulling their feet back to avoid being hit or calling the name of someone not in the group.

• The game begins when the person who was in the middle calls out the name of someone in the circle.

• As the leader, monitor the time and the group’s energy level. Some groups will love this activity while others will be done after ten minutes.

Things to Think About: This game can get violent if you have the wrong group. Make sure you only allow the person in the middle to go for the feet of those in the circle. This game is a lot of fun as long as it is not allowed to get out of control.

Get to know ya

Games

Objective: To help group members learn more about themselves and each other and start to acknowledge differences and similarities that make up the unique group dynamic.

Features: • Group members focus on learning about each other • As group members learn more about each other, they start to see that they

have a lot in common. This helps break down cliques • Some of these games will be very personal, helping the individual

participant examine themselves introspectively • Some of these games require very serious tone setting • Group sharing is a major component

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1 Word This is a simple activity - which contributes to many and various positive outcomes. Target Group: A more mature group Group Size: Any – (if you plan on having them present then you may want to break into smaller groups – at least for the presentations) Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: Different Spices (Optional) – Cardamom pods, aniseed, cloves, etc… Procedures:

• Ask individuals to clear their minds; close their eyes and to think of 1 word – just 1 word – which they feel best describes or encapsulates living a good life. A 1 word maxim for life.

• The facilitator might be required to explain what is meant by 'living a good life'. Use your imagination so as to relate the concept to the situation and the participants. Think about: force for good; civilized society; leaving the world a better place than when you entered it.

• Of course words mean different things to different people, and many people will find it quite difficult to pick just one word, but this is the point: One word concentrates the mind in a way that five or six words, or a longer sentence tends not to. For participants who find it impossible to decide on one word, encourage them to use as few words as possible - but still aiming to focus on the essence, or a central concept, rather than a catch-all or list. It's easy for people to think of a list - one word is a lot more thought-provoking.

• Ask people to write down their chosen 1 word, plus a brief explanation as to what it means.

• Then in turn ask people to tell or present their word to the group. Debrief Ideas: Are your ideals much different from how people behave in societies (local, national, religious and global communities?) Why is this? Where does individual responsibility begin and end? Are we part of the problem? Part of the solution? What is the solution? What keeps us from living to achieve that one goal? Would there be any problems if the world achieved to live by the standards of your 1 word? Variations: You can apply this to sessions, work, life, certain programs etc. Just mold your questions in the end to include whether this is about programming etc. This could also be a good starter for a group or individual to figure out an outcome for their own group.

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3-D Commonalities This is a very simple yet fun game designed for smaller groups because a presentation aspect is present and with a large group, it would just take too long. Group Size: 10 to 20 Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: none Procedure:

• Have participants form groups of five to six people. • Each group must figure out what all of the members of that group have in common.

Then they must figure out a way to present it 3-dimentionally (like a skit) to the rest of the group.

• When everyone is ready, each small group presents to the larger group who shouts out guesses of what they have in common.

• Mix up the players into different small groups for another round. Two to three rounds should workout well.

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Categories Categories is a great large group activity where members can get a sense of what they have in common and also how different they are. It can also be used as a way to get people talking and learning each others names. Group Size: Any Time Range: As long as you want it to run Space Needs: Indoor room Props: none Procedure:

• You will call out categories and, as quickly as possible, they then need to get together with everyone else who belongs in the same category. It’s as simple as that.

Some Categories you may want to use:

1) Get together with everyone born in the same month 2) Left or right handed? 3) Get together with everyone who has the same number of children in their family. 4) Which leg do you put in your pants first? 5) Same color eyes. 6) Same fast food restaurant. 7) Uses a comb or brush or nothing to fix your hair. 8) Get together with everyone who has the same favorite color.

Things to think about: This activity can accomplish two things at the same time. Give the group a couple of minutes between categories for people to meet each other, say “hi,” or answer a question you’d like them to think about.

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Guess Who… This is a great activity for a group just getting to know one another. This game should be played during the first few meetings the group has together. You have to find the right time where they may know some details of each other but not too well yet. Target Group: 12 and older Group Size: 15 to 18 people Time Range: 20 to 30 minutes Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information Props: One index card and something to write with for each player Procedure:

• Have each person write down 4 or 5 facts about themselves on their card – things about themselves that no other person would know. Tell the students not to get too personal right away. Things like the places they have been, favorite movie, something they to be when they grow up, things like that.

• Ask them not to sign their cards and then collect them. • One-by-one read the cards to the group. Have each person guess who they think the

person is. • After everyone guesses, ask the person to raise their hand or stand up.

Things to think about: The extent to which discussion and feedback among the group is encouraged is at the discretion of the facilitator, depending on the group composition and whether the activity is used simply as an ice-breaker, or for more involved discussion, which could easily be linked with developing mutual awareness. Ring tones are for many people an expression and extension of personality, as is handwriting, which is also interesting to compare when discussing personality.

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Human Bingo Human Bingo is a great way for people to meet other people and see what they have in common. Group Size: Any Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Printed Bingo Sheets Procedure:

• Before the training begins create a sheet that has a bingo grid on it that is filled with categories. These categories may be: “Is left handed”, “Is from out of state”, and “Drives a car”, etc…

• When a player finds someone who fits a category, they have that player sign their name next to the statement. Each player can sign someone else’s paper just once. This prevents players from meeting just one person who they have a lot in common with.

• This of course is black out bingo so you want to try to get as many players as possible. Things to Think About: You should tailor this activity to suit the group that you are going to be working with. More Bingo Categories:

• born as the same month as you • can speak a foreign language • has been on TV or radio • has performed on stage anywhere • has been elected to a position • has been in a parade • has the same number of siblings as you • has gone on a road trip • can play an instrument • has lived outside of the US for more than a year • is from a different state • is an only child

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Interview Introductions… This is a very low level game good for warming up and getting to know one another. Whether the participants know each other or not (surprisingly this is often more fun when people do know each other – and if they don’t they’ll appreciate the opportunity to meet and get to know one another early on). Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 1 to 2 minutes per person Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: None Procedures:

• Ask the participants to pair up – You can simply suggest the person sitting next to themselves, yell out a random characteristic pairing or this is also a great game to follow up Known and Unknown.

• Then ask each person briefly to interview the other person (say three minutes each), and then everyone to present the other person to the audience, again briefly, say a minute each.

• If necessary give people pointers as to what they should be finding out about the other person (e.g. - job, home-life, likes, dislikes, hobbies, why they are there, etc).

Things to think about: You can also say that after the exercise that everyone will have achieved useful experiences and developed useful skills, i.e., questioning, listening, interpreting and then (scary for some) speaking to an audience of strangers. These aspects of communicating are usually consistent with at least one theme of the day, so is a relevant and helpful way to start any training session.

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Known & Unknown Many people fear the unknown to varying degrees. The unknown may represent failure, loss, betrayal, being wrong, emotional discomfort, abandonment, or rejection. Simply knowing that the unknown is present can set in motion the building of trust. Group Size: Any – The larger, the better Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor (just make sure it’s a large area, free of obstacles) Props: none Procedure:

• Follow this script: What are some things we know about today’s program? (people give answers) What are some things we don’t yet know about this program? (people give more answers)

• Next, have the participants look around the group and find a person who is unknown to you. If you know all the people there then pick the person who you have known the least amount of time. Don’t make it obvious who you pick.

• Now, once again in secret, pick the person that you have known the longest or at least the person that you know best.

• Let the participants know that these two people represent the “Known” and the “Unknown”

• The participant’s task for the next three minutes is to keep the “known” person between you and the “unknown” person at all times. Ready? GO!!! (absolute chaos ensues as people struggle to maintain alignment)

Debrief Ideas: Debrief afterwards on how difficult it was to protect oneself from the unknown by using the known as their shield. Have people take a risk and identify themselves to their unknown: Ask them to tell you something you don’t know about them. Feel free to share with them something they don’t know about you.

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Ring Tones… This is a simple warm-up ice-breaker activity, or can be used as an exercise to provoke discussion about self-image and mutual perceptions within teams. As an ice-breaker the activity adds variety and interest to the normal personal introductions at the start of a training course or session Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 1 to 2 minutes per person Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: Cell Phones of each Participant Procedures:

• When introducing themselves to the group, participants must demonstrate their ring tones and (here’s the important part) must explain the reason for their choice of that ring tone. Or lack of interest in having a personal ring tone.

• If they do not have a cell phone then have them share what they would use as their ring tone and why.

• Offer some comment as to what this might suggest about their personality and style. Things to think about: The extent to which discussion and feedback among the group is encouraged is at the discretion of the facilitator, depending on the group composition and whether the activity is used simply as an ice-breaker, or for more involved discussion, which could easily be linked with developing mutual awareness. Ring tones are for many people an expression and extension of personality, as is handwriting, which is also interesting to compare when discussing personality.

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Personality Tree This is a high to medium level Get to know you game. It is best reserved for groups that have shown a maturity level to be able to at least listen to one another without talking or making any jokes. Target Group: A more mature group Group Size: Any Time Range: 30 to 60 minutes Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: Large sheets of paper (A4 or larger) Markers, Crayons, Pens etc… Procedures:

• Split the group into teams of 3 to 5 people. • This is a very high level activity so it is wise to set the tone of the event. Sample

Speech: “The purpose of the activity is to develop personal self-awareness and to develop mutual awareness among the teams’ members. This however can only be achieved if this activity is taken with seriousness and respect. Please be true to yourself and be true to us also. Only put things that you are comfortable or at least willing to share with the group.

• Issue each team of 3-5 people with colored pens, markers, or crayons, and a sheet of paper per team member (A4 is fine, bigger sheets are great if there's enough room and some big marker pens or paints and brushes).

• Each team member's task is to draw or paint a tree on their sheet. The tree must include root system, trunk, branches, leaves, buds, fruit, flowers and thorns. After (or before - the choice is yours) the trees are drawn use this 'key' to ask the participants to think about their trees in terms of their life:

• roots = their life influences and beliefs • trunk = life structure and particularly aspects that are quite firm and fixed • branches = relationships and connections, directions, interests, how they spend

time • leaves = information and knowledge - and sources thereof • buds = their ideas and hopes for the future, and their potential • fruit = their achievements • flowers = what makes them special, their strengths • thorns = challenges, threats and difficulties

• Ask team members to share and discuss their trees and interpretations with each other within their teams. Emphasize the usefulness of empathic listening and non-judgmental feedback.

Things to think about: The duration of the exercise is flexible depending on the type of people, and the need, benefit and willingness for sharing personal feelings. Adapt the key above to suit the areas of discussion you seek to encourage, for example you could add birds and bees to the situation to represent temporary 'partnerships' or travel or holidays; or you could add windfall dead branches and leaves to represent discarded 'baggage'; or change 'leaves' to mean 'skills', 'buds' to mean opportunities, etc. You can remove items altogether if they are not relevant to the situation.

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Speed Dating With the current trend of speed dating, it’s only appropriate that it has made its way into a “Get to know Ya” game. This one is fast, and furious. Make sure people don’t get the wrong idea if you do this at the first meeting. Group Size: Any Time Range: 6 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or Outdoor Props: none Procedure:

• Have your group count off: Jelly, Jam, Jelly, Jam, etc • Have the “Jelly” group form a circle facing outward and then have the “Jam” group

form a circle around the “Jelly” group facing inwards. • Have everyone pair up with someone from the other circle. Try to have everyone start

off with someone that they don’t know. Now give them 2 – 3 minutes to discuss a subject announced by the leader.

• At the end of this given time, have the outside circle move one person to the right and continue with a new subject given by the leader.

• You can run this a couple of times so that people get to meet a few new faces. Things to Think About:

If you are working with a group that already knows each other fairly well this activity will not be very effective. This is best suited for a group of people that really don’t know each other that well. Of course this is all based on the subject material that you give them to discuss.

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Spice of Life This activity is a quick simple powerful activity for groups and teams of any size. The exercise can also be used for yourself, and when working with individuals in counseling, coaching and performance reviews and appraisals. Target Group: A more mature group Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: Different Spices (Optional) – Cardamom pods, aniseed, cloves, etc… Procedures:

• Distribute a pod or type of spice to each team member. Alternatively you can give different spices to different people if you have them. This may prompt discussion and expectations. You can mention that spices are symbolic – they are small and natural, of relatively little monetary value, and yet have a remarkably powerful effect. They also have healing qualities and being seeds they represent new life and beginnings.

• Also optionally at this point in the exercise you can ask people to do this calculation in their head to further concentrate the mind: Subtract your age from 90 and add two zeros to the answer. Divide that number in two. This is roughly how many weeks you have left on this Earth, assuming you live to a very ripe old age. If you smoke and don't look after yourself properly subtract 1,200 weeks (if you are very lucky). How quickly does a week pass by? Almost the blink of an eye...

• Then ask the group to close their eyes, take a few slow deep breaths, and visualize.... (It’s a bit morbid but it does concentrate the mind somewhat): You are very close to the end your life - perhaps 'on your deathbed'. You have a few minutes of consciousness remaining, to peacefully look back over what you achieved, and what difference you made in the world. And especially how you will be remembered.

• So how do you want to be remembered? What did you do that mattered? What spice did you add to people's lives? What was the spice in your life? What will you have done that will give you a truly good feeling at the end of your life? And so, how can you best fulfill your own unique potential? – Samples of questions that you may consider asking

• At this point you can ask them to go around and share if they are comfortable or you can choose to turn this into a self empowering leadership activity and have them keep this to themselves but make sure they understand the relevance of the activity. (Remember to never force anyone to share when they don’t want to)

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Spice of Life, Pg. 2 Other examples of things to say: We rarely think about our lives this way: that we are only here for a short time, and that what really matters is beyond money, possessions, holidays, sex and what other people think about us. Thinking deeply about our own real life purpose and fulfillment helps us to align what we do in our work with what we want to do with the rest of our life. This is turn creates a platform for raising expectations and possibilities about direction and development – pushing personal potential rather than simply “working” and finding ways to do so within our work and life outside of it. Things to think about: Buy some green cardamom pods - they are a highly aromatic spice used in Asian cooking and curries - the Latin name incidentally, for interest, is Eletteria Cardamomum. Star Anise - aniseed seed pods - and cloves also work well for this sort of exercise - they reinforce the point and add additional sensory stimulation to the activity.

This type of visualization exercise is also important in helping people to take more control of their lives and decisions – becoming more self-reliant and more pro-active towards pursuing personal dreams and potential. This activity works great as long as the tone for the activity is set from the beginning

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Timeline This activity is a simple powerful activity for groups and teams of any size. The game takes some time so make sure you are willing to commit to it. This is a game similar to Worst Day but it’s a little lower of an intensity because people can opt to talk about positive memories rather than just discuss the hardships that they have overcome. Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 minutes per person in addition to a 10 minute alone period Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: large paper A4 size per person Pen per person Procedures:

• Give everyone the paper and a pen. Everyone has 10 minutes to go off on their own and make a time line from when they were born till now. Ask them to go through and place on that timeline as many (but at least 10) events that have had a changing effect on their lives. Each one of these should have some bearing on who they are today.

• After the 10 minutes are over, gather the group back together and have them sit in a circle to share. Go around the circle having people share these events. They can be positive or negative as long as they have helped mold who you are today. Have each person talk about 5 of the events that they have down.

• Continue around the circle until everyone has had a chance to share. Remember, as always if someone does not feel comfortable sharing anything, then let them pass. Hopefully with so many options for sharing, people will have listed some events that they are comfortable with sharing.

Things to think about: You are going to have lots of people crying in this activity so you may want to have a box of tissues. This is a very deep and intense game for some people, and for others it will be a little awkward that people are spilling so much of themselves. This is a great chance for a group to feel closer with itself. Just don’t force the issue and try to make sure everyone is aware of the time. Let people talk as long as they need to but also ask people not to speak for hours at a time.

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Worst Day This activity is a simple powerful activity for groups and teams of any size. The game takes some time so make sure you are willing to commit to it. This is not the game for groups that have just met because it takes a lot of trust to share what you are about to share. If you want to achieve a similar vibe to this game but aren’t sure if your group is ready for this level of sharing try Timeline. Target Group: A more mature group Group Size: Any Time Range: 45 to 70 minutes Space Needs: A comfortable place to sit and share information. Props: None Procedures:

• Have everyone on your group pair up with someone else • Ask each person to share with another the answer to a question you ask • When they are done, have them find another group, ask another question and then have

them share with everyone again. • Have them find another group and do the same. If you are working with a very large

group it may be good at this point to join more than two groups together. You could join 3 or 4 groups to expedite the process of becoming one large group in the end.

• The questions have all been building in seriousness as the activity has been progressing. The final question is usually something along the lines of... “What has been the worst day of your life?”

• For this final question you should go around the circle having everyone share, but if anyone wants to pass, they are welcome to do it.

Things to think about: You are going to have lots of people crying in this activity so you may want to have a box of tissues. This is a very deep and intense game for some people, and for others it will be a little awkward that people are spilling so much of themselves. This is a great chance for a group to feel closer with itself. Just don’t force the issue and try to make sure everyone is aware of the time. Let people talk as long as they need to but also ask people not to speak for hours at a time.

Fun Games

Objective: These are games that don’t have much of an educational component but are great for keeping energy up and fun to play. These are great to dovetail in with more intense games because it will loosen everyone up and keep the mood light. These can also be used as warm-up games but are much less physically active.

Features: • Fun is the major component • Group members interact with one another in a silly manner • Great for energizing a group, especially after a very frustrating team

building activity • Similar to warm-up games but with a much less physical component

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Ah-So-Ko Ah-So-Ko is a game that takes some explaining but once you have explained the rules the game is very fun. Make sure that you are facilitating the activity so that the action is fast and not boring. Target Group: Any Group Size: 25 to 50 Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or outdoor as long as you have a space large enough for your group to get in a circle. Props: None Procedure: You can start with this story if you would like: Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, executions were very popular. The executioner would cut at the throat, the top of the head or just swing his sword and hit the person in the side of the head. There were specific noises let out for each type of execution. “Ah!” for the throat, “So!” for the top of the head, and “Ko!” for a swing at the side of the head. Since we don’t want anyone to get hurt however, we aren’t going to use real swords for this game.

• Have the group circle up and sit in lotus position (legs crossed in front). • This game involves passing the three sword swipes and their noises in the correct

sequence. The 1st person begins by saying “Ah!” while putting her hand under her chin. This player’s fingers will be pointing as someone – either to the right or to the left, depending on which hand was used. The player who is being pointed to must make the next move.

• The 2nd person must swing their hand over their head while yelling “So!” This person should now have their fingers pointing at the next player. (Once again this player could have used either hand to perform their motion so they are either pointing to the person next to them or the person that pointed at them initially.)

• The person who the fingers are now pointing at yells “Ko!” and makes a sword (hand) chop that points at someone on the other side of the circle.

• The person that receives the chop must start the sequence over again with an “Ah!” which is accompanied by the sword chop below the chin and pointing to the left or right.

Rules:

1. The sequence must always be “Ah!” then “So!” then “Ko!” 2. Whenever players make the wrong cry, make the wrong motion or take too long

to think of either what sound or motion to make, they are out of the game. 3. When someone is out of the game everyone in the circle is to pound (drum roll

style) on the ground and then all together everyone says; “You’re outta the Game!” The survivors must slide closer together and fill the empty spots in the circle.

4. The group member who was sitting to the right of the person who just got ejected from the game has only five seconds to start the sequence again starting with “Ah!” If they fail to do this, then they too are out of the game.

5. The players who are out of the game move to the outside of the circle and become hecklers. They are however not allowed to touch the other players or make them feel uncomfortable.

Fun Games

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Big Booty Target Group: Any Group Size: 10 to 20 (anymore and it can get boring) Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Large enough to circle up your groups Props: None Procedure:

• Have your group form a close circle • Count off around the group from one to … The final person in the group turns

into “Big Booty” while everyone else takes on the number that they just counted off.

• At this point “Big Booty” will begin the song/ clap pattern that is similar to a call response sequence. This pattern must be continued randomly around the circle while the whole circle keeps the beat of the pattern.

• The point of the game is to become “Big Booty”. Whoever is #1 is next in line to become “Big Booty” while the largest number in the group is furthest away from becoming “Big Booty”.

• The only way to advance in the sequence is when the people in front of you break the pattern or forget what number they are.

• Whenever someone breaks the pattern or forgets their number they go to the back of the line and become the largest number while everyone else behind them advances in the sequence.

• Pattern & Song:

• Big Booty establishes a 4-beat rhythm, saying: “Big Booty, Big Booty, Big Booty, Awww Shoot” – The circle joins in. Repeat this until everyone gets the rhythm. It helps to keep beat if everyone is clapping to the original 4-beat rhythm.

• The game then goes as follows: Big Booty passes the pattern to someone else, saying “Big Booty” to 7 (this takes 2 beats, one for “Big Booty” and one for saying “to 7”).

• Number 7 then passes in two beats to another player. (#7 - #2). It then continues until someone makes a mistake.

• When that happens everyone says (in 2 beats) “Awww Shoot!” after which players moves and “Big Booty” begins the pattern over again.

• “Big Booty, Big Booty, Big Booty, Awww Shoot” – x2 Things to think about: This is a great game to kill time and its fun for everyone however with a group larger than 15 – 18 you may want to consider breaking them into smaller groups because you can imagine how boring it can get.

Fun Games

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Bunny Bunny Bunny Target Group: Any Group Size: 30 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Large enough to circle up your groups Props: None Procedure:

• Have your group form a close circle • Select one person in the circle to be the first pointer • At which time that player will now point to someone else that is in the circle and

yell out a command. A point is given when the selected player places both hands together (palm to palm) while extending their arms horizontally. As they point, they call out a command, i.e. “Bunny” or “Oasis” etc.

• The person that is pointed to and the person to their right and the person to their left must now create the pose desired by the pointer.

• If the pose is successfully created the person that was pointed to now selects someone else within the circle and repeats this sequence.

• If any of the three members fails to successfully create their assigned role in the pose, then they are out of the game and are forced out of the circle and must heckle from the back.

• Continue playing this game until there are only a few people left or until your group gets bored of the activity.

Rules:

1) Whenever a player fails to successfully create their task in completing the pose or takes too long to complete it, is out of the game. (Too long is subjective but the group will come to a consensus after the first time someone takes a long time to think of the pose)

2) If a whole team is ejected from the game then the person to their right gets to become the new pointer.

3) The players who are out of the game move to the outside of the circle and become hecklers. They are however not allowed to touch the other players or make them feel uncomfortable.

Fun Games

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Bunny Bunny Bunny, Pg. 2 Poses: (These three are the original poses) Bunny – The person in the middle puts their hands in the air and with both hands, does bunny ears. Person to the right does bunny ears with their right hand and the person to the left does bunny ears with their left hand. All while scrunching together is if they were about to take a picture and continuously saying: “Bunny” Oasis – The person in the middle puts their arms in the air and hula dances (this requires a lot of hip shaking). Person to the right reaches their arms to the right and the person to the left reaches their arms out to the left and they wave their arms in hula style and shake their hips in hula style. This is done while all three continuously say: “Oasis”

Travolta – The person in the middle rolls their arms around one another with the fists clenched (the dancing move that looks like they are hitting a speed bag). Person to the right takes their right hand and points to the ground and then in one fluid motion points to the sky and repeats the motion. The person on the left does the same but with the left hand. This is done while all three continuously say: “Travolta”

(This pose is an example of one of many that have been created by players that wanted to spice things up a little.)

The Matrix – The person in the middle leans back as much as they can and slowly flails their arms one at a time mimicking the classic scene in The Matrix where Neo is dodging bullets. The people on the left and right of the middle person crouch and repeatedly lower and raise their arms while wiggling their fingers. This is done while all three continuously say: “The Matrix”

Fun Games

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Evolution Target Group: Any Group Size: 30 + Time Range: 8 to10 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: None Procedure:

• This game begins with everyone as an egg. The objective of this game is to go around and play Ro-Sham-Bo with other people that are the same in the evolutionary chain as you are.

• If you win the Ro-Sham-Bo battle then you evolve to the next being along the chain. If you lose the Ro-Sham-Bo battle then you de-evolve into the being that you just evolved out of.

• Each evolutionary state has a certain motion that distinguishes it from all the others.

• Players must make this motion the whole time they are in this evolutionary state, unless they are in the middle of a Ro-Sham-Bo contest.

• The goal of the game is to become Buddha – at which point you sit and wait for disciples to come seek you out for knowledge.

Rules:

1) Everyone starts as an egg and evolves or de-evolves along the evolutionary chain. 2) You can only play Ro-Sham-Bo with someone that is in the same evolutionary

state as you are. Evolutionary Ladder: Egg – Squatting Chicken – Flapping their arms and clucking Dinosaur – Use arms to mimic a dinosaur’s mouth and make roaring sounds Elvis - Pucker your lips like Elvis would and snap your fingers in that cool Elvis way. Buddha – Sit cross-legged with your arms at chest level, palms up and with your pointer finger and thumb touching (the A-Okay motion). Alternative Structure: Egg – Squatting Chicken – Flapping their arms and clucking Primitive Being – Arms Hanging and Swinging “Cool Person” – Zoot Suiter walking down the street snapping finger Super Being – Arms raised in the air like they are flying around

Supreme Being – Stand at edge of the gaming area and sing: “Stop at the name of love” – by the Supremes.

Fun Games

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Frogger Frogger is great because it’s the real life version of Frogger the arcade game we all loved playing as kids. It gets the group very motivated and competitive. It brings great energy to any retreat. Target Group: Any Group Size: 15 – 20 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Any open grass area Props: cones and flags Procedure:

• Use cones to outline your out-of-bounds area. • The area should form a rectangle about 30 yards long by 20 yards wide. • One width of the field will have four or five cones spaced out evenly. While the

other side should have one cone in the middle. • Make four or five lines, making sure each line is behind a cone and the lines are

even. These people are cars. • Select about four people to be frogs. • Each frog is to wear a flag belt • They are to line up single file behind the side with one cone. • When they hear the whistle the frog is going to try and run from one end of the

field to the other without the cars running them over (pulling off their flag). • The first car from each cone is to run after the same frog (4 or 5:1 ratio). • If the frog steps out of bounds (beyond the cones laid out) or if their flag gets

pulled they automatically become cars and the car that ran them over or the person that is closest to them when the step out-of-bounds becomes a frog.

• Once either action has occurred the game stops for that round. • If the frog can pass the cones on the other side without getting run over they

remain a frog and get a free walk back to the end of the frog line. • If the cars are unsuccessful at running over the frog they go back to the end of

their line and wait for their next turn.

Fun Games

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Human Foosball Target Group: Any Group Size: 26 people Time Range: 10 to20 minutes Space Needs: Large open space Props: Ropes x 9 Stakes (or any other object) to tie ropes to x 18 Cones x 4 Soccer Ball Procedure:

• First you will need an area that is similar in shape to a soccer field. It does not have to be as large but it just has to be a larger rectangular area.

• Section off the field using the ropes so that it looks like the field does in Figure 1 • Place players also as it appears in Figure 1. If you do not have exactly 26 players

then change up the ratios of players, you should start taking away from the goalie areas first.

Figure 1

Rules:

1) Players and no part of their body are allowed to leave their area of the field

2) Players may not grab other people that are in other areas of the field 3) Players may stop the ball and hold it with their feet but they may not use

their hands at any time during the game. 4) If a point is scored then the ball is started by the middle section of the

opposing team. 5) Play continues until a pre determined # of goals is reached.

Fun Games

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Moded, Coroded, your Booty Exploded Target Group: Any Group Size: 30 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Large enough to circle up your groups Props: None Procedure:

• Have your group form a close circle and sit down cross-legged. • Choose one person to be the person in the center of the circle, the “Guesser”.

Once selected, have that person go outside of the room so that they can not see or hear.

• Select someone to be the “Mark.” The mark is the person that leads the group in movements i.e. clapping hands, tapping the belly and head, snapping fingers etc.

• The rest of the circle copies what the “Mark” is doing. If the “Mark” changes their movements then the rest of the circle also changes their movements to mimic the “Mark” – The key to this is to not have everyone staring at the mark, rather, various other people so the change in action will be a chain reaction.

• When the “Mark” has been selected and the first action has begun, call the “Guesser” back in and have that person stand in the middle of the circle.

• The job of the “Guesser” is to find the “Mark”. • If the “Guesser” makes a wrong guess then everyone screams: “MODED”.

Everyone screams: “CORRODED” on the second wrong guess and “YOUR BOOTY EXPLODED” after the third wrong guess.

• Once this happens the “Mark” becomes the “Guesser” and has to go outside. The change also happens if the “Guesser” finds the “Mark”.

Things to think about: As stated above, you DO NOT want all of the people in the circle to be staring at the “Mark”. This will make the game too easy; people need to be looking at random people throughout the circle to make the game harder. Also the movement made should not be so complicated that the other people in the circle will have a hard time mimicking the action. Variation: Have the group stand, shoulder to shoulder, facing in. Instead of having a “Mark” the group has a small object (marble, etc.) that they have to pass around the circle. Everyone stands into the circle with their hands palm down, in a fist. Passes happen when a player with the object taps the top of another player’s hand. This player turns up his/her open hand, the passer drops the object into the open hand. The receiver closes his/her hand and turns it back down. Try it with a bell! This one is super hard! Debrief Suggestions: Did you feel uncomfortable in the center? What do you think made it uncomfortable? Why was it hard to pick someone? What other situations make you feel uncomfortable?

Fun Games

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Roll 6 This game has little value for names or team building but is REALLY FUN! It doesn’t take long either so if you wanted to throw something in Group Size: Any – The game is played in smaller groups of 5 to 6 players Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Note cards for every player 1 Dice for each group 1 Pen for each group Procedure:

• Form groups of five to six players in each and have them circle up and sit on the floor

• Place the pen in the middle of the circle and randomly hand the dice to someone in the group. Instruct the players not to touch the pen.

• When you say “Go” the player that has the dice will roll the dice. After that the person on the left will pick up the dice and roll it. This clockwise pattern goes around the circle.

• Whenever a player rolls a six they are allowed to pick up the pen and start writing out numbers on their index card starting with the number 1, then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on. At the same time as the other players are rolling the die.

• When another 6 is rolled the player rolling the six takes the pen from the writer and starts to write numbers, starting from 1 then 2 and so on.

• Die rolls continue around the circle until someone reached 100. • The second time you roll a 6, continue writing the numbers from where you left

off, don’t start back at 1. Rules:

1) No one is allowed to touch the pen until the first 6 is rolled. 2) If you are writing numbers and someone else rolls a 6 hand over the pen to the

other player. 3) The player that is writing numbers does not have to roll the die again and are

skipped by the other players. That player jumps back into the rotation if the pen is taken away from them. Have fun and don’t fight.

Fun Games

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Salute the Captain Salute the Captain is based off of Simon Says. So if you are facilitating the event, think of the old tricks that facilitators would pull during Simon Says. Target Group: Any Group Size: 40 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: A chair for the facilitator to stand on Procedure:

• Everyone is to stand facing the captain and saluting him or her. • No one is allowed to let down their salute unless the captain says: “At Ease”. If

the captain calls out a command and someone rushes to do the command but the captain never said: “At East”, then that person is out. Once the captain has said: “At East” then everyone can stand and wait for the captain to yell out a command.

• Based on the commands the captain yells, players must run and form teams with the correct number of people in it to complete the action.

• Anyone that is left out of a group has to walk the plank. At this point everyone begins chanting “Walk the plank, walk the plank, walk the plank”. And everyone that has just walked the plank has to go to a designated corner of the room and begin singing: “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me.”

• While the pirates are walking to their corner and begin singing all people that are still in the game should salute the captain and wait for their next orders.

• Play the game until there is only one group left. Orders/ Actions: Swab the Deck: This action requires two people to complete. The pair faces each other and grabs a hold of an imaginary mop stick with their hands alternating. Once they have their hands alternating the pair must move them together in a circular motion. Man Overboard: This action requires three people to complete. First, two people grab each others arms while the third person is in between them. The two holding arms have created a boat for the third person. Now they begin swaying their arms back and forth creating the effect that the boat is rocking side to side. Lastly the person in the middle alternates looking left and looking right. Each time the player looks left they must raise their left hand, shield their eyes from the sun and scan for the man that is overboard. The same is repeated when they look right except they use their right hand. (This is the classic, traveler looking into the sun pose) Row the boat: This action requires four people to complete. Four people line up in a row. Bend their knees and pretend that they are rowing oars (making small, quick, circular motions with their hands.) Grub Time: This action requires five people to complete. Five people circle up facing the middle. Bend their knees and begin eating like pigs out of imaginary bowls that are sitting in front of them.

Fun Games

57

Screaming Feet This is a very simple game but it’s a lot of fun and great as an ice breaker because it forces anyone that’s participating to get crazy and scream so it releases a lot of energy. Target Group: Any Group Size: 15 – 20 + Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Large enough to circle up your groups Props: None Procedure:

• If you have a larger group, split into smaller groups of about 15 people. • Have the members of each group stare at their feet • Now have them look at the feet of someone else in the circle. • Once everyone has done this, count to 3. • On 3 everyone is to look up at the person’s feet they are looking at and stare at

them in the eyes. • If two people are staring at one another then they are to scream as loud as they

can and then are considered out of the game. • They step out of the circle and the circle tightens up. Continue this until there are

2 or so people remaining in the circle.

Fun Games

58

WAR This game has little value to learn anything but it’s a lot of fun. People will have a great time with this and it’s a good rainy day back pocket program. Group Size: 10 to 20 people Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Any open space Props: Ropes/Tape/Paper – anything to create the path between the two bases Game Objective: The objective of this game is to get more points than the other team. You can either play to a set number of points or you can play for an allotted amount of time. You get points by entering the other team’s base. Procedure:

• Make sure there is a referee that will be judging the game • Create a path that will connect two areas that will be considered bases for each

team. The path should be crazy and fun. Long enough to make this game entertaining but not too long that no one will ever reach the other team’s base.

• Explain that the rules of the game. • Stop it while it’s fun…!

Fun Games

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WAR, pg. 2

Rules: 1) The objective of the game is to gather as many points as possible (whether the

game is being played to a set goal or whether the game is being played for a set amount of time)

2) Only 1 member of each team can be on the “War Path” at each time. 3) Anytime while a player is on the war path they are trying to speed walk to the

other team’s base as fast as possible. 4) When members of one team meet a member from the opposing team they stop

walking and Ro-Sham-Bo. (This can be only 1 time or best of 3) 5) The loser of Ro-Sham-Bo must die on the battle field and the winner can instantly

continue speed walking to the other team’s base. 6) As soon as a player from one team dies, another player may jump onto the “War

Path” and make their way to meet up with the other team and once again challenge that person to a bout of Ro-Sham-Bo

7) If a player makes it to the opposing team’s base, then their team is rewarded with 1 point.

8) Once that happens two new people can jump onto the “War Path” and start walking along the path to the other team’s base.

Variation: You don’t have to have the players compete with Ro-Sham-Bo. You could really use any guy, Thumb Wrestling, Laser… whatever else you can think of. Also you can have multiple games going on at one time or you can have more than 2 teams playing at once. It works best in multiples of 2 so that there is always another team to go up against. If you are going to have more than 2 teams try to have a section of the path where all four teams have to walk along. This will mix things up a lot because you can allow teams to try to make it into any of the teams bases which means sometimes a player might have a free dash to the other team’s base if that teams player is off battling a different team.

Fun Games

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Whoosh Ball Whoosh Ball is spectacular because by being silly and creative the participants/group members have the ability to start their day off on the right foot, and they are setting the ground work for open communication and creative ideas. Target Group: Any Group Size: 15 – 20 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Large enough to circle up your groups Props: None Procedure:

• Have your group circle up. • The leader pulls an invisible ‘woosh’ ball from their pocket. They explain that the

woosh ball is very light and it just sort of floats there in their hand. When passing the woosh ball it actually makes the noise “woosh.” So when passing, either to the right or left, it makes the “woosh” sound.

• The player receiving the “woosh” ball has many options of what to do with it.

Moves/ Actions: Whoosh – Pass the whoosh ball around the circle in one direction by saying “whoosh.” Be silly and try to move the whoosh as fast as you can. Whoa – In order to stop the whoosh ball or to change its direction the receiver can say “whoa” and place an open palm in front of the “whoosher” which will stop the whoosh ball and change its direction. If a “whoosher” has been “double-whoaed,” a “whoa” on either side of them (directly from the person on their right and then on their left) the whoosh ball is to be sent around the circle as fast as it can until it reaches the “whoosher.” Zaps, Boings, Freak Outs, etc can not be played during a “double-whoaed whoosh”. Zap – If a “whoosher” has been “whoaed” and believes that they might be “whoaed” a second time (and would like to avoid a “double-whoaed whoosh”) they can “zap” the ball across the circle. In order to “zap” the whoosh ball, one must have possession of the ball and should step forward extending both arms and clapping their hands once in the direction of a person. Boing – At any time during the game, except during a “double-whoaed whoosh” the person with the whoosh ball can say “boing.” Once this is said, the person with the whoosh ball bends their knees and says boing. The rest of the group must also do this. “Boing” can only happen 3 times in a row, and then the whoosh ball must be moved around the circle.

Freak-Out – When a person has a whoosh ball, they can call for a “Freak-Out” and all members of the circle must change places. The person who stated “Freak-Out” is still in possession of the whoosh ball and must then pass the whoosh ball around the circle.

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Wizards, Elves & Giants This game can be considered a warm-up game due to its high intensity but it’s so much fun that I thought of putting it in Fun Games because it fits so well. It is very similar to Lemonade in the warm-up section. Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 + Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Requires a large enough space to have your teams’ line up and have running room also. Props: None Procedure:

• Teach everyone the three poses listed below. • Split the larger group into two teams and have them get on opposite ends of the

playing field. • Each team must collectively decide which character they want to be. When the

team is ready they walk up to the middle of the playing area and waits for the other team. Allow for a couple of feet in between the groups.

• When both teams are present in the middle, they count to 3 and then show their pose.

• Immediately, the winning characters must chase the losing team and try to capture (tag) as many of them as possible.

• Losing characters must run as fast as they can and reach their home base or safe zone without being tagged. If they are tagged then they must join the other team.

• Teams reconvene and prepare for the next round. Play the game until there is only one team remaining.

Moves/ Actions:

Wizards – Stand sideways with one arm fully extended and the other arm above their head extended in the same direction. Spirit Fingers

Elves – Crouched, continuously stabbing a knife saying “Hey Hey Hey” Giants – Tip-toes, raise hands above head, curl fingers, growling sounds. Win Structure: Giants beat Elves by squishing them. Elves beat Wizards by outwitting them. Wizards beat Giants by zapping them with magic. Identical characters are a draw.

Teambuilding

Games

Objective: Building on the opening activities, these provide an opportunity for group members to work together as a team and learn to value all the different members of the group.

Features: • Once again, fun is the major component. Having fun helps to pull

people together as a team. • Since the activities involve problem-solving, the group begins to face

challenges. • Because of these challenges, the group needs to use all of its members

well. • Leadership tends to change hands during each activity. • As leadership role changes, group members can see the strengths that

different members have and that the usual leaders can’t do it alone.

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3 Tarp Games This is a collection of 3 different games to play with tarps. All are relatively easy and are good as one of the first teambuilding activities a group is ever given because accomplishing it can build group confidence. Target Group: Any Group Size: 12 to 15 people Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes (each) Space Needs: Indoors Props: A 6’ by 10’ tarp. If you have more people you will need a larger tarp.

Game 1 – Under Where: Procedure: Set the opened tarp on the ground and ask everyone to get under the tarp without using any part of their arms from the elbow to the fingers. Do not let them use their mouths either. Things to think about: People usually assume things during this activity. Who said you had to be entirely under the tarp? What is under anyway? Are toes enough? Its fun to watch when the go for completely under! Debrief Ideas: Were you successful? Did everyone have their idea heard? What assumptions were made during the activity?

Game 2 – Flipper: Procedure: Ask all the group members to stand on the tarp. (With more than 15 people you might want to get a larger tarp. You can squeeze a few more on but it will make the task a lot tougher.) The group needs to flip the tarp while everyone remains standing on the tarp. If someone touched the ground in the process then the group has to start over. Debrief Ideas: What was the initial reaction of the group members to the task given? Who took a leadership role? What are the “roles,” and why are they important? What are some roles the group members took?

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3 Tarp Games, Pg. 2

Game 3 – Half & Half: Procedure: Ask all the group members to stand on the tarp. (With more than 15 you will definitely need a larger tarp). Ask the group to now fold the tarp in half, while all of them remain standing on the tarp. Quality counts so they want to make the fold as neat as possible. If someone touches the ground then have everyone start over. If they successfully fold the tarp then challenge them to fold the tarp in half again. See how many times they can fold the tarp underneath them. Debrief Ideas: What have been some common issues with all the activities? Is quality important? Would it have been easier if quality wasn’t being taken into account? Were all the group member’s needs met? Were they heard? Did people speak up for their needs? Is it important to speak up? Why? What have you learned that will help you work together more effectively in the future? What are some things you learned about each others?

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Appendages This game can be very frustrating for teams. It is similar to Crossing the Great Divide but can be a lot more challenging for a group, especially if you choose to make it a challenge for the group.

Target Group: 12 and older Group Size: 10 to 30+ players Time Range: 15 to 30 minutes Space Needs: A long open area 30 to 50 feet wide Props: One long rope or masking tape to make a finish line

Procedure: • You’ll need a starting point and a finish line – rope is easy to make to finish line. • Ask the group to line up 10 to 20 feet from the finish line (the further away the

longer it takes). Players are to stand side by side with their feet touching. • The objective of the group will be to cross the expanse between the starting point

and the finish line. The team can only use the number of appendages that you designate. This can be 5 feet, 4 arms, 2 knees etc… just make sure that what you allow them to use is sufficient enough for the team to cross the expanse without injuring themselves.

Things to think About: There are a few things you'll have to decide upon while setting up the rules – do knees count as appendages? Can they crawl? Do they all have to be linked and cross at the same time? How many appendages do they really need to make it across? Can people walk back and forth carrying people? Etc… make sure you have the rules set up before you begin.

Variation: see Crossing the Great Divide

Debrief Ideas: What did you think the activity was going to be like before you started? Was it as easy as you thought? Was it as difficult as you thought? What sorts of problems did you encounter? How did you solve them? What was helpful to you during the crossing? What was not helpful? What do you want to take away from this activity that will help the group function better?

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Balloon Frantic Balloon Frantic is an excellent, colorful, fun and challenging problem-solving activity. It can be used with small, medium and large group and with people of all ages. Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or outdoor Props: Lots of blown up balloons. At least 1 per person with extras depending on the size of your group Procedure:

• Every person in the group needs to have a blown-up balloon (the larger, the better)

• When the leader says “Go,” players hit their balloons up in the air. From this point on the group is trying to keep all of the balloons up in the air by hitting them with their hands or heads (no feet). Because this is a group activity, the players do not need to hit their own balloon, they can help others also.

• All balloons must be hit and not held. • The leader starts the stopwatch when “Go” is said. • All the group needs to do is keep hitting the balloons in the air to keep them

from hitting the floor. • Every 15 seconds the leader throws a new balloon into the game (this can be

done quicker if it is a large group). These balloons must also be kept up in the air.

Rules: 1) If a balloon hits the floor, the leader screams at the top of their lungs:

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!” This will give the team 1 point. 2) If that same balloon stays on the floor for five seconds without being picked up

and put back into play, the leader screams again. This will give the team 1 additional point for every five seconds the balloon is on the floor. Make sure the leader screams every time a point is given.

3) The game is over after the team has accumulated 6 points, whether from the balloon hitting the ground or staying on the ground. The leader stops the watch and lets them know their time. Have them try again, this time setting a higher goal and adding balloons even quicker.

Things to think about: Give the group a minute or two to strategize for the next try and then gem them started on a 2nd attempt. This is where problem-solving comes in. The group may decide they need to arrange themselves in a certain way or give people certain jobs. Lots of neat ideas will emerge during the planning session. You can also make the game more challenging by limiting the use of one or both hands. Never allow feet as a swift kick to the chin can be very painful.

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Birthday Line-Up This game is great at challenging your group. I know it has the same name as another warm-up activity but this one is different. You could even do this one after you have already done the other one. The larger the group you have, the harder this is going to be. There is also a lot of physical activity so be wary of who is in your group before you decide to run this activity.

Target Group: 8 years and older Group Size: 10 to 40 players Time Range: 10 to 30 minutes Space Needs: Outside – a place with a long wall Props: You are going to need to elevate the group. A long short wall is ideal. If you are working with younger kids you may just want to use a long rope on the ground.

Procedure: • Tell your group to randomly line up. If you are using a wall then go ahead and

have them stand up on the wall. Make sure you have selected a wall where they can all stand comfortably.

• Have everyone remember where they are standing and who they are standing next to.

• Once everyone is situated on the wall go ahead and tell them to reorder themselves in birthday order (by month and day from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st).

• They are not allowed to leave the wall. If they do the group must go back to its original order and start again.

Variation: You can have the players try this activity without talking. Or if you are playing the non elevated version you might try blindfolding anyone who has a birthday on an even numbered day. You can also play this game in a circle and allow movement to happen in a circular motion (this would only work if you were playing the rope version or miraculously found a circular wall.) You also do not have to use a birthday line up, you can vary it however you want. Debrief Ideas: What sort of helping was going on? Did anyone lose contact with the rope (line) and not say anything? Why do you think we might not tell about breaking the rules?

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Circle the Circle This classic team building game is fun for all ages and can require a little bit of problem solving also. Good for medium size groups to larger groups. Target Group: Any Group Size: 20 to 25 (If you have a larger group have them work in smaller groups and end in one large group) Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or outdoor Props: Hula Hoops or Ropes tied to make a circle A Watch Procedure:

• Get the group into a circle and ask them to hold hands. • Place the hula hoop between two players so that their hands are through the

center of the hula hoop. • The object of this activity is to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle

and back to where it started by somehow getting the people through the hula hoop without breaking hands. Group members can help each other as long as they do not break hands with the people on either side of them.

• Let the group try it once without timing them. • After the practice run, ask the group to discuss what problems they had and how

they can solve them so the net try will go smoother. • Ask the group to establish a time goal for themselves. This is a good lesion in

group goal setting. If the group you are working with is large and/or young you may need to decide on a group goal using the input.

• Try the game again and time it. • If the goal is not met after this run, you may want to encourage them to try

again using the same goal or setting a new goal if it is apparent that their goal is unrealistic.

Variations: After the group has completed this task you may want to choose one starting person. Put a hula hoop on both of his/her arms and then state that the hula hoops must go around the circle in opposite directions and end up in the same location. Also if you do join up a larger group you may want to have a 2 – 4 hula hoops going around the circle so that everyone is involved with the action.

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Crossing the Great Divide This game is just one version of many possible games of this nature. The possibilities are endless

Target Group: 12 and older Group Size: 10 to 30 players Time Range: 15 to 30 minutes Space Needs: A long open area about 30 feet wide Props: One long rope or masking tape to make a finish line

Procedure: • You’ll need a starting point and a finish line – rope is easy to make to finish line. • Ask the group to line up 10 to 20 feet from the finish line (the further away the

longer it takes). Players are to stand side by side with their feet touching. • The objective of the group will be to cross the expanse between the starting point

and the finish line. At all times keeping the constant contact with the feet of the players next to them. So, the entire line has to make foot-to-foot contact with each other all the way across.

• If at any point there is a loss of foot-to-foot contact between two players, the group must start over.

Things to Think About: There are a few things you'll have to decide upon while setting up the rules – will you let them step on each others feet, will you let them tie shoe laces together, if you say, “shoe-to-shoe” (instead of foot-to-foot) contact, will you let them take off their shoes and walk across the space holding the shoes together. If you don't want any of these things to happen set up some restrictions during the introduction. Also, instead of starting over after a break of foot-to-foot contact, you could have the players that broke turn around and face backwards – will they break again on purpose to face back the other way?

Variation: Blow up some balloons and stick a balloon in between the hips of each player. Now the side-by-side line of players have to work their way across the divide without dropping any of the balloons (will you let players hold onto each other?).

Debrief Ideas: What did you think the activity was going to be like before you started? Was it as easy as you thought? Was it as difficult as you thought? What sorts of problems did you encounter? How did you solve them? What was helpful to you during the crossing? What was not helpful? Were there any breaks? How did you feel about the breaks? How did you feel about starting over? Is it fair to have to be penalized for other people's mistakes? Does this happen to you in other areas of your life? How do you deal with it? What do you want to take away from this activity that will help the group function better?

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Don’t Drop That Ball Don’t Drop That Ball is a fairly challenging activity because it involves catching and throwing. Since it may lead to frustration, it is sometimes best saved for use after a group has succeeded at some other activities. You may also want to reserve this one for older groups. This activity is best in smaller groups so if you have a larger group then split them up into a few groups. Target Group: Older Kids Group Size: 10 to 15 per group Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor or a gym Props: Lots of soft balls (Nerf, tennis or fleece) Procedure:

• Starting with one ball, a player throws it about ten feet up into the air. Another player needs to catch it.

• If this was done without the ball hitting the ground, another ball is added so that two players now throw their balls into the air and two other players catch them.

• Each time a throw is successful, another ball is given to the group. • All the balls must be thrown into the air at the same time and caught by

someone other than the thrower. A thrower can throw a ball and still catch another person’s in the same turn.

• If any ball is dropped, the group starts over again with one ball – see how many they can throw in one turn.

Things to Consider: Let the group figure out their own systems (the way they spread themselves out, how they count to throw all together, who they want to catch, etc.) You can also give the group some time between throws to develop new ideas and plans. This can be interesting because sometimes groups will just keep doing the same thing with twelve balls that they did with one ball. If you are daring and have a larger group, you can end this activity with everyone in one giant cluster and everyone with one ball. See if you can keep all balls from dropping. Just a reminder that this activity may be challenging for individuals or an entire group, so be aware that frustration might develop. Every group needs to experience frustration, so don’t avoid using this game – just be sure to think about where you place it within your activity sequence.

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Electric Fence This game seems to bring out the best and the worst in individuals. If the group does not work together as a team this activity can become very frustrating but in the end the fruits are usually worth all the work. Target Group: Older Group Size: 15 to 25 people Time Range: 20 to 30 minutes Space Needs: Outdoors Props: Rope or Sheet Procedure:

• Have two people hold rope or a sheet of cloth at a little below chest height. This will act as the electric fence. Have the group stand on one side of the fence.

• Explain to them that they must get their entire group on the other side of the fence. They can not go under or around the fence; the only way to get to the other side is by going over the fence. However, the fence is electric and no one is allowed to touch the fence. Anything that touches the fence can be penalized.

• Penalties can include: loss of arm and or leg, blindness, muted, starting the challenge over, etc.

• The team has to work together at all times in this game. Do not allow for someone to try to jump over the fence as that is a huge risk to that person and does not help build any team dynamic.

• This game tends to favor having strong people lift lighter people over so it is always a good idea to set a limitation on the number of touches someone can have on either side of the fence. I find three touches per person per side is a good amount that will allow stronger people to be involved but requires people that are not as strong to also help and not just stand in the back.

• Touching means helping to lift, spotting is always ok. Things to think about: Safety is the most important factor during this activity. Make sure that the group develops a very safe method of passing people over the fence. If they are just throwing people you should stop them and have them reevaluate their method. If people feel uncomfortable with being lifted over the fence, DO NOT force them to make that leap. Challenge by choice, you can try to talk them into it but in the end if they don’t want to, let them pass. As with all team building games, if someone is dominating the conversation either physically or with ideas, the facilitator has an option of making them injured, either blind, mute, or physically injured. This may help less vocal people to speak up and give them more confidence. Debrief Ideas: Did you group come up with the best method for getting over the fence? Would you have liked to change the method half way? Why didn’t you? Did the group work as a team? Was everyone’s ideas heard? Were there people that were considered more valuable? Why? How did the other people feel about that? Anyone undervalued?

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Everybody Up This activity can be done with just two people or with a group much larger than that. This is a good game to place early in the activity sequence. Target Group: Any Group Size: 2 to 64 + Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor Props: None Procedure:

• Players pair up, then sit down, facing each other with the soles of their shoes pressed against the other player’s shoes.

• Now have them reach out and grab their partner’s hand. • By pulling with equal strength as their partner, the players pull each other up to

a standing position. • Now do this with 4 players criss-crossing one another and even up to 6 or 8. As

long as the players can reach their partner across from them, you can make the group as large as possible.

Variations: Have players sit back to back and link arms. Their task here is also to stand up but this time they are pushing against one another instead of pulling on each other. If you use the back to back method you change the dynamic when you add people because everyone has to rely on everyone else to stand up, instead of just their partner. Back to back also allows you to make the group sit down as a team also. The group can be as big as you want to make it, just make sure everyone has their arms links and shoulders touching very snugly. Things to Consider: To begin have players pair up with someone their own size. It will make getting up a bit easier. After a few people have been able to do it, have them switch partners to make mix matched pairs.

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Group Jump Rope Target Group: Any Group Size: 15 to 30 people Time Range: 15 to 25 minutes Space Needs: Outdoors Props: A rope long enough to be used as a jump rope (the length will be determined by the amount of people in your group) Procedure:

• Have two people begin to turn the rope. • Have everyone run through and jump through the rope at least once. Try to

suggest to them that they can go more than one person at a time if they want to. This will just speed things up with a larger group.

• If a majority of the group went through alone then you may want to set the next round to be groups of 5 or more.

• After they have successfully accomplished larger groups you can have the larger group break in half and have each group observe one another and help each other jump the rope in one single jump.

• The ultimate challenge will be for the entire group to jump the rope, all together. Things to think about: As with all team building games, if someone is dominating the conversation either physically or with ideas, the facilitator has an option of making them injured, either blind, mute, or physically injured. This may help less vocal people to speak up and give them more confidence.

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Helium Stick This game can be very frustrating for teams. It is similar to Crossing the Great Divide but can be a lot more challenging for a group, especially if you choose to make it a challenge for the group.

Target Group: 12 and older Group Size: Groups of 4 to 6 people Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: A long open area 30 to 50 feet wide Props: One light weight hula hoop per group (PVC piping or a bunch of straws taped together may also work)

Procedure: • Form groups of 4 to 6 people and ask them to get in a circle facing in. • Have each person stick out their fingers with the pointer finger pointing out and

their thumb sticking straight up in the air. (Making a finger gun). After they are in this position ask them to take their right arm and put it over the left arm of the person standing next to them.

• Once all the groups are in this position, have them raise their arms chest high and place the hula hoop on top of their pointer fingers. Make sure that the hula hoop is resting on all of their pointer fingers.

• The objective of each group is to lower the hula hoop to the ground. The hula hoop must be resting on the pointer fingers at ALL times. If at anytime someone’s finger is not touching the hula hoop, the group must start over.

• It is important to announce that the hula hoop must be resting on the fingers at all times, resting does not mean held at an angle that offers resistance to easily lower the hula hoop.

• Walk around spot checking all groups to make sure everyone is playing by all the rules.

Things to think about: This exercise is possibly one of the least successful games to date. The reason is because the object is so light that someone in the group will not realize that the hula hoop is still resting on their finger and they will begin to raise it to maintain contact with it. In the process they raise the hula hoop and everyone else must follow the hula hoop. Carefully watch the teams to make sure they are not letting fingers slip here and there. Many groups will not be able to achieve the goals you assign to them but that does not mean you should shy away from the exercise. There is a lot to be learned in not achieving the goal, just watch the frustration levels of the participants. If any group does finish the goal, give them many accolades as this is a very difficult task. Debrief Ideas: What was the initial reaction to the activity? Was there any planning before it was attempted? Did anything unexpected happen? What adjustments were made to compensate for the problems? How did the group communicate with each other? Was there any frustration? Were you honest about the rules? What was the reaction of the players when someone un-touched? What skills did you need to acquire success? What was successful for you? How did you measure success?

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Human Knot This classic activity is usually known by people of all ages when you present it. But knowing it doesn’t make it any easier, because the knot turns out different every time. Human knot is great for indoors or outdoors and requires no props. Target Group: Any group – make sure they are okay with being in close proximity Group Size: 7 to 12 – larger groups make it more difficult, but if you are up for the challenge Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor or outdoor Props: None Procedure:

• First have the group get into a circle • Have the players put their left hands into the center • Then have everyone grad the left hand of someone else in the circle. • Now have players put their right hands into the circle and have them join right

hands with someone else. • When everyone is connected, select someone to start an Electric Pulse through

the group and wait to see if it gets back to that person without reaching everyone. If it has that means that there is a sub-circle that will not work. Release and rejoin hands. Repeat this step until there are no sub-circles.

• Now have the group untangle itself, without breaking hands. Things to Think About: Depending on how the group’s hands were joined at the beginning they may not always end up in a circle. If the group has been at it for a long time and it looks like they have knotted themselves up real good, you can give them one free hand break. What this means is that you can have two people break their hand grip. The group will now try to form a straight line when they untangle. Variation: If you feel that you are working with a group that may not be able to handle to intimate contact that Human Knot fosters. You might want to try this activity with a rope. Instead of having people reach in and grab another person’s hand, the players grab to the other side of the circle and grab another piece of rope.

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Knot Ties When possible, you should start this game out with pairs of players and then move into larger groups. It’s good to have a little practice. Target Group: 8 years and above Group Size: 2 to 10 players per rope - more rope, more players Time Range: 5 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Open area to wiggle around in Props: 6 to 30 feet of rope - 3 feet of rope per player Procedure:

• Start with pairs. Give two players a rope - jump ropes work great. Tie a loose overhand knot in the middle of the rope. There should be about three feet of rope on each side of the knot for players to work with.

• Ask each player to grab hold of an end of the rope (each player has a different end). Now, without letting go of the rope, untie the knot.

Variation: Now, if you want to bring in more challenge, you'll need more rope - longer too. You get the idea here, so I'm going to just throw in some guidelines: There should always be three feet of straight rope between any two knots. I have never done this one with more than 10 on a rope - even 10 might be too many?! A player between two knots can slide the hand he grabbed with but cannot let go of the rope with that one hand (no switching hands). Free hands can be used during the activity - the original hand must always stay on the rope. The more players on the rope, the longer it takes.

Debrief Ideas: What was hard about this activity? How did it change when more players were added to the rope? What did you do after "your" knot was untied? What are some things you could have done to help your group? What are some ways you could be more helpful to others - in general?

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Lap Sit Lap Sit is an oldie but goodie. Most groups have seen this done and have done it. Challenge groups to really put their weight on the laps behind them. To my experience most people try to hold themselves up and not put a lot of weight on the lap that they are sitting on.

Target Group: Any Group Size: 10 to 20 players Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Room large enough to circle up Props: None

Procedure: • Have your group form an intimate shoulder-to-shoulder circle with the group. • Have them turn their left shoulders into the center of the circle. • From this point out have everyone step into the center of the circle until

everyone’s heels are touching the person in front of them (or as close as possible). • Make sure the group is in a circle at this point. • Have everyone slowly sit down together until everyone is sitting on the lap behind

them. • After they have achieved this, have them all stand up. • Have the group sit a second time, this time after they are seated ask them to try to

walk. • See how far the group gets, if they are doing good try to get them to walk around

the whole circle. If they are really sitting on the laps of the people behind them then this will be easier than if they are trying to support themselves.

Debrief Ideas: What was the activity like? Who left completely supported? Did you ever feel like you were going to fall? What did you do to help compensate that? How many ways did you support yourself? What happened when one part of the circle had difficulty? How does this relate to the real world? Are there any ways that this activity could have been made easier?

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Lava Pit Lava Pit is a variant of Crossing the Great Divide. This game is more suitable for younger kids that you may not want to carry one another or have problems with being in constant contact with one another. Target Group: Any Group Size: 8 to 10 people per team Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Outdoors Props: Ropes to mark the land Plates or Bandanas to act as “safe zones” Procedure:

• Lay down the rope so that they are 20 to 30 feet apart. Each one represents the shoreline. In between them is a giant pit of lava. Unfortunately, the team’s goal is to get from one shore to the other shore. The only way to do that is with these magical “safe zones” – hand them the plates or bandanas.

• Those are the basics of this game; they want to get from one end to the other without touching the lava. If they touch the lava you can make them start the game over or give them one or two touches before they have to restart.

Variations: The level of difficulty of this game will be based on parameters that you set. # Of Plates – the more plates the easier the activity is. Fewer plates equal more of a challenge. Moving Plates? – Sometimes facilitators will give fewer plates but allow for the plates to be moved or thrown, others will require them to be placed and then stationary from that point on. Solo or Team? – Sometimes facilitators will demand that the team go one at a time or that the cross together (joined hands). Time Limit? – A time limit may force the action and make things a little more hectic than without a limit. Things to think about: This game is played in so many manners that there was no real right way to put it down on paper. The different variations have been listed. However you decide you want to facilitate the game just put some thought into it and make sure that the parameter you give the groups will allow them to cross the pit. As with all team building games, if someone is dominating the conversation either physically or with ideas, the facilitator has an option of making them injured, either blind, mute, or physically injured. This may help less vocal people to speak up and give them more confidence.

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Pass Pass is a fun game to use in competition amongst groups. This game comes naturally to some people while others may find it impossible. Have fun with this one and think of many variations. Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 to 12 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: Whatever you want the group to pass Procedure:

• Have your group circle up or if you decide to make it into a competition have each team stand in a straight line.

• The task is simple, if you are one group you want to pass the item (in this case we’ll say an orange) around the circle as fast as you can. If you are competing then the teams race to see who can get it done the fastest.

• The key to the whole activity is that teams are not allowed to use their hands or arms to pass the object in any manner. They can use any other part of their body.

• If the object drops or if someone uses their hands are arms to touch the object you have to start from the beginning.

Sample Objects:

• orange or any fruit • tennis balls or other small sized balls • playing card or note cards • stick or twig off the ground • rope

Things to think about: If your group is having trouble with this activity you may want to allow them to use arms but no hands. Playing cards and note cards should be reserved for a more mature crowd. This game played with a note card or playing card is commonly referred to as Suck and Blow.

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Reach This activity doesn’t seem like much at first but it really helps in creative thinking and is a great tool to talk about goal setting. Target Group: 10 and older Group Size: 8 to 12 (more is doable but lots of waiting around) Time Range: 15 to 30 minutes Space Needs: A long length of room: hallway, outside, etc Props: One small object to place on the ground and a starting point: tree, wall, masking tape line, etc. Procedure:

• Choose a starting point for the group. Mark this point with something (you could use a tree, or a wall for a starting point.)

• The challenge for the group will be to place the small object you have given them as far away from the starting point as possible. The object may not be thrown, so the group has to form a human chain out from the starting line.

• At least one player must have their foot on the line when the ball is placed on the ground.

• Players must stay in contact with each other in some way while making the chain. • The group may only use the resources available to them at the moment the

activity begins. They are not allowed to use any outside props. • Once the group has created a “baseline” distance, ask them if they can beat that

distance with another attempt. This second attempt is often just reaching further • Then, challenge them to beat this new distance. See if you can make the group

push outside of the box. It would be innovative if someone in the group used an article of clothing to extend the line. Remember you said they are only allowed to use what they have at the start of the activity. They should have been wearing clothes!

Variation: If you want to challenge your group, only allow for their feet to be touching the ground, no knees, arms, elbows etc...

Debrief Ideas: Was there any motivation to push you on the first attempt? What motivated you to do better? How might this activity be related to goal setting? What is important about goal setting? How many of you have goals you set for yourself? How many of you have goals that are set by other people in your life? Which goals are you more likely to go for? Why? When did the group "think out of the box"? How did the group get to that point? What do you want to take away from this activity that will help the group function better?

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Skin the Snake This game really gives your team a chance to get to know each other. Make sure that your team is okay with close physical contact with this game. Target Group: Older Group Size: 8 to 20 people per team Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Outdoors – on the beach or grass. Props: None. Procedure:

• Have your group stand in a straight line. • Have everyone stick their left hand underneath their legs like they are trying to

shake the hand of the person behind them. • At the same time reach your right arm forward and grab the hand of the person in

front of you. • After this, the object of the game is to “Skin the Snake”. • This is achieved by having the last person in the line sit down while still holding

hands. (The whole team must remain linked during the whole activity or they have to start over.)

• Once the first person has sat down, the rest of the team back peddles over that person and continue having the person in the back of the line sit down.

• Continue this pattern until everyone has seated themselves on the group. • If this did not take a long time then you can have the group un-skin the snake and

walk back to a standing position, also without letting go any hand. Debrief Ideas: This game does not offer much aside from the normal debriefing questions, how did you feel during this activity? Was it harder than you thought? Etc… this game is not too difficult but it always seems to bring the team closer because it looks harder than it actually is.

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The Clock This activity has been around for quite a while; however, the simplicity and process ability makes it a valuable tool for diversity awareness Target Group: 10 and older Group Size: 10 to 15 Players per clock Time Range: 15 to 20 Minutes Space Needs: A mid size open area for each clock Props: You really only need a few things to mark out the clock like poly spots, cones, or beanbags and a stopwatch for timing. Procedure:

• Ask your group (or groups) of 10 to 15 players to make a circle, facing in, and hold hands. (If the group is not able to hold hands I would suggest doing other activities and return to this one later.)

• When the circle (or circles) is formed place four markers inside the circle at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. Make this "clock" face a good size so the group is a little spread apart - hands and arms in a good open V.

• The player closest to the 12 o'clock position will be the "stopper". Here's the challenge, the group is to move around the clock together, holding hands, until the stopper returns to 12 o'clock, then reverse direction until the stopper returns to 12 o'clock once more

• The group is trying to get the fastest time possible. If there is a break in any of the hand holds, the group must stop the turning and start over from their original positions. If any player falls the group must start over as well.

• To add to the process you could also have the group start and end in the sitting position. Or blindfold every other player.

Things to think About: This activity has been known to cause injury - fallings and arm pulls. Your group should be ready to take care of each other before attempting this one.

Debrief Ideas: What was the initial reaction to this activity? Did it match with the reality of the activity? Why did the group have so much trouble retaining a connected grip? What could have been done to keep the group together as you attempted the double rotation? Is it important to have fast players in the group? Would it have been more efficient to exclude the slow runners? What made the activity challenging? What do you think about diversity within a group? Did anyone feel unsafe during the activity? What did you do about it? What is one of the most important concepts we want to remember when working together? What will "being safe" do to our group?

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The Web This is a classic game that is similar to the Electric Fence but also offers the smaller people to have more of a role because you aren’t just lifting people, more guiding them. Target Group: Any Group Size: 8 to 16 people Time Range: 20 to 30 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor Props: 2 poles Rope to make a spider web of sorts that is filled with different openings of different sizes. Procedure:

• Create a spider web that has different openings made up of different sizes. It’s ideal if you can make a web that has one opening per participant. If you can, than let the group know that they can only use each opening once. If you are unable to make a web with an opening per person then let them know they can use certain openings more than once. (Consider putting a limit on how many times each opening can be used so they don’t find a larger opening and continually pass people through it.)

• Make sure the group thinks about safety as they are passing people through the higher openings.

• If anyone touches the web than everyone has to start over. • Make sure that everyone spots everyone as they are going through.

Things to think about: There shouldn’t be any problem with anyone worrying about getting carried in this game. Even though some people will be lifted, if anyone is insecure about that then have them go through one of the lower openings where they can crawl through. This game can be great when used in a team relay race. Just make sure people are still safe.

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Traffic Jam This is a great activity for an outstanding, high-functioning group that needs a tough challenge. Traffic Jam is tough so you might want to consider using it later in your activity sequence. This activity can be done outdoors or inside. You will need to divide your group into smaller groups of even numbers. Target Group: Groups with a group dynamic – work well together Group Size: 8 to 16 people Time Range: 20 to 30 minutes Space Needs: Indoor space large enough to have your group line up Props: Paper to lie down on the ground Procedure:

• Lay out pieces of paper equal to 1 + the number of players you have. Each piece should be about two feet apart.

• Each of the people should stand on one of the pieces of paper. • The object of the activity is to get the groups to switch sides. The players need to

be in the same order when they get to the other side. Rules:

1) People must face the same way the whole time. 2) No one can pass someone facing the same way as them (someone whose back is

toward them). 3) A person can only go around one person at a time. 4) A person must have an empty spot to stand on when they go around a person. 5) No one can ever move backward. 6) Only one person can move at a time. (If you are running this activity with a larger

group, you may want to omit this rule) Things to Think About: You need to consider that not all groups will be able to solve this problem in the time you have given them. This may frustrate them but that’s okay. Just be sure to debrief about their frustrations. Encourage them to keep thinking about it or try to solve it on paper so that they can try again next time if they’d like.

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Zig-Zag This activity starts off seeming like it will be a breeze but as the activity progresses the players will begin to realize that it has a lot more depth to it than was originally conceived. Target Group: 10 and older Group Size: 10 to 16 players/2 beach balls Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Mid size open area Props: 2 well-inflated beach balls Procedure:

• Split the group that you have in half. Make two lines facing each other – an extra player can be at the end of either line. I like to place the lines about 6 to 8 feet apart as I give the directions.

• The group objective is to move one Beach Ball down the two lines and back. The ball is required to alternate lines, and the ball must be passed to the next player – as opposed to being handed off. Here's the idea. The 1st player in line “A” tosses the ball across to the 1st player in line “B”. The 1st player in line “B” tosses the ball to the 2nd player in line “A” who then tosses the ball to the 2nd player in line “B” and so on down the line. Once it gets to the end, the Beach Ball has to make its way back to the start.

• Each player in the group must touch the Beach Ball at least twice during the passing. Players have to figure out a way for that last player to touch the ball twice – Don’t let that player pass it to themselves.

• If the ball touched the group they must start over. • Once there is a time established, have the group set goals for a better time and go! • If you have the time, and the group is up for it, add the next level of challenge.

Present an additional Beach Ball to the other end of the lines. Now there will be two starting and ending points. All the same rules apply for each Beach Ball.

Things to Think About: This version proves to be very interesting to watch. Even though the group has some prior knowledge and practice of the skills needed, they will have to do some additional problem solving to make it work. Most groups I have observed with this one tend to jump right in and go for a run. They often don't realize the need for practicing the ball movement from the new end, and the need to work out the “cross” of the balls in the middle. Debrief Ideas: Did you feel successful with Part 1? Why? What did it take to reach the level of success that you did? Was there any sort of leadership? Did this help? What was Part 2 like for you? What happened and what did you have to do to achieve success during this part? Was there any planning before the group attempted Part 2? What were the consequences of planning or not planning? How did the group work out the “kinks?” What will be important to remember from this activity?

Unity Games

Objective: To make participants question what is more important, their personal growth and gain or that of the group.

Features: • Competition is used to incite the stereotypical ideal of victory • Usually involves something physical • The truest form of victory is working as a team so everyone achieves

the goal • They allow leadership to come from the group. • Most activities are done in pairs or small groups.

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4 of a Kind This is a very fast paced game that can get out of control if you aren’t careful. Make sure the group you are working with is capable of physical movement and doesn’t mind close physical contact. Target Group: Any Group Size: 8 to 24 players Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Large indoor space Props: Deck of cards Long rope for a large circle Shorter rope for “tables” Procedures:

• Create a large circle by placing the rope on the ground. Now place all the cards face down inside the big circle – spread them out so there is room to run in between the cards.

• Divide the group up into small teams of 3 to 4 players (if you only have 8 players, teams of 2) and give each team a shorter rope that they can make their “table”. Have them place it on the group somewhere on the outside of the larger circle.

• When the activity begins, 1 player per team can be in the larger circle and this player can only touch 1 card during his or her turn. The card chosen may not be looked at by anyone (including the player who chose it) on that team until it gets to the card table, where it is then turned over.

• The option at this point is to return the card back to the circle – face down – or keep the card.

• After this has been decided then another player from each team is then allowed to enter the circle – either bringing back the old card and putting it back face down and selecting another card, or just selecting a new card.

• The objective is for each tem to get 4 of a kind. • Also indicate to the group that the activity will be over when everyone has

4 of a kind. Things to think about: The dynamics here revolve around competition. When did you ever say they were competing? When is the game over? Will teams help each other? Doesn’t happen often, but I have seen it after a few rounds. If you time the activity, the group might be able to make the jump a bit faster to helping each other. Who said that players couldn’t call out the card they put back into the circle or even show other teams what the card is? And who said a player couldn’t look at a card being held up by another team?

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Agenda Wall

This exercise illustrates the importance of having a clear collective aim for any group, and how poorly a team or organization functions when individuals (or teams within the whole) have different aims within it.

Target Group: Any group that has to work together closely Group Size: 7 to 10 people Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: enough building blocks for everyone to have hidden agendas for each player

Procedure: • Hand out the hidden agendas to each player throughout your meeting before this

particular activity. Try to be discreet about it so that no one else knows that other people have an agenda also.

• Issue the group a box of toy building blocks, such as Lego, with various different bricks (color, length, features, etc).

• The group task is to build a wall of certain dimensions (you as the facilitator state height and width according to time and group numbers).

Hidden Agendas: The hidden agendas can be anything that conflicts with other hidden agendas, which will create conflict while the main task of building the wall is under way. Check that each hidden agenda is possible, albeit at the expense of other agendas. Here are some examples of hidden agendas to use:

• ensure there are three red bricks on each row • ensure no red brick touches a yellow one • ensure a blue brick touches a yellow brick on each row • ensure every row contains two yellow bricks • ensure there is a vertical line of touching white bricks, one block wide, from top

to bottom • ensure no row contains more than three different colored bricks • ensure one row contains only single blocks (no doubles or triples etc) • ensure every row contains at least one double-block brick

Things to think about: The parameters of this exercise can easily be changed according to group numbers. For large groups you can create pairs or triads to work together or you can just issue the same agenda to different people and see if they will find one another during the activity and work together.

Debrief Ideas: Try to let the group figure out itself that everyone had their own hidden agendas. Simply ask the question: “Why was it so hard for you guys to build this wall together?” or “Is everyone happy with the wall that you built?” – This is used incase people gave in and did not try to accomplish their hidden agenda.

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Exchanging Knots A game that tests the group’s ability to work together or work against one another. This game will allow you to see if the group understands the idea of team work or if finishing #1 is more important.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Groups of 6 to 8 people (this activity requires even numbers in each group and preferably the same number of players in each group) Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: 1 strand of rope per two people. (Each strand should be 5 feet long and 3/16 inch in diameter)

Procedure: • Break into groups with an even number of people in each group. Try to keep the

groups the same size. You can work around this if you must. • Give each group a section of rope for each pair of players. • Ask each group to create a small asterisk with the ropes on the ground – all ropes

must be straight. • Then have each player take hold of one end of one rope. • Have the group pick the asterisk off the ground. Players are required to keep hold

of the end of the rope they have a hold of. Make sure they do not let go until they have been instructed to do so.

• Each group will now create a nice tangled knot within the center of the asterisk by having players go up, around, over, through, between and so on. They will be given 90 seconds or so. If you give them more time they will create a harder knot to untie.

• Let them know that they do not need to pull the knot tight if they don’t want to. • After the time is over, have each group set down their knot and rotate to another

knot to untie. • After each group has untied their new knot. Have them make another knot for the

next round – notice the different energy in creating the 2nd knot? Debrief Ideas: Why was the energy different the second time? How did you feel when you were creating the second knot? Did anyone pull their knot tight? Why? Was this a competition? Was it ever implied? Would you have acted differently if it was a competition? What could you learn from the activity? How could that relate to everyday life?

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Frenzy Frenzy tests the group’s ability to see the greater picture. It will allow you to see if the group understands the idea of team work or if finishing #1 is more important.

Target Group: Any Group Size: 8 to 20 people Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoors Props: 5 Hula Hoops 60 to 70 tennis balls (or other balls)

Procedure: • Arrange 4 hula hoops on the ground, spread out from each other at the four

corners of an imaginary 25 foot square; place the fifth hula hoop in the middle of all the others. (imagine the 5 dots on the side of a dice)

• Place all tennis balls in the middle hoop • Divide into four even teams. Have each team gather by a hula hoop and stand by

it. • Explain that the objective of the game is that each team is trying to place all of the

tennis balls in its own hoop. Once you have all the balls you win. Rules:

1) There is no throwing or tossing of the balls 2) All the balls must be out of the middle before you can take them from other

hoops. 3) No defending the hoops 4) No fighting with anyone over a ball. Once they have a ball in their hand, they

have the ball in their hand.

Things to think about:

1. Play will last for 3-5 minutes, at which point the participants will be out of breath and no where near winning. Signal a pause and ask them to regroup with their teams and strategize for two minutes. One group or another may come up with the creative solution (see step 3 below); most groups, however, will try to position the people "strategically," plan for faster ball transfers, etc. After two minutes, signal time, have them return to their starting positions, the Ready, Set, Go.

2. After another fruitless 3-5 minutes, participants will still be no nearer winning and starting to become a little frustrated. Signal another pause, and ask them to circle up as a group and perhaps "learn from each other." This will usually produce better results; if they need prodding, restate the object of the game and the rules. Some person will think to suggest that the groups work together; another might ask if the hoops can be moved (YES).

3. With some planning and thinking about what you've told them, they should realize that the only way to win (other than all of the other groups agreeing to lose -- not likely) is for them all to win, i.e., place all of the balls in the middle hoop, then place their hoops around the balls.

4. This activity and processing can be enriched by creating team identities.

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Marble Movers This game is more of a problem solving activity that emphasizes the need for team work and compromise.

Target Group: Any Group Size: 12 to 30 people Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Any that allows for the group to circle up. Props: 1 Marble Mover per person (a plastic spoon taped to the end of a 3’ long ¼” dowel with tape marking the opposite end of the dowel to indicate where players must hold the Marble Mover) 1 Mid size plastic cup per person 1 Frisbee type marble container 5 Marbles per player

Procedure: • Place the container of marbles on the ground or floor. • Have the players sit cross legged in a circle around the container at a distance to

where they can just reach the vessel with their Marble Mover. They must stay in their spot throughout the activity.

• Have each player place their cup next to their hip closest to the arm that they are using to hold their marble mover.

• Tell the group that: “Their goal is for each person to get as many marbles as they can in their cup.)

• You can use only one hand to hold the Marble Mover, and that one hand must remain behind the tape mark at the opposite end from the spoon at all times.

• The task is complete when all marbles in the container are gone. Things to think about: The objective of the exercise is to have the group sharing the marbles evenly. It will be difficult for each player to drop marbles in their own cup. But they will try. It usually takes younger kids a longer time to figure out that they need to share. It may be easier if you announce that there are five marbles in the middle for each of them. This way they know that they could all “win” if they worked together. Debrief Ideas: Who won? Who realized the need to help each other? Was it hard to accept help from other people? Why? What were some problems you encountered as you tried to help? How did you work through the problems? Did everyone feel they received their fair share? Was there a plan for equality? Who had to speak up to receive their share? Is it important to be fair? Why? Was anyone hurt in any way during the activity?

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Sort the Cards Sort the Cards is a great activity to see who the leaders are in the group and who is able to think outside of the box. There is a lot required in order to set up this activity but there is also a lot to come out of this activity. There are an endless amount of possibilities to debrief this game. Target Group: Any Group Size: 8 to 10 people per team Time Range: 10 to 12 minutes Space Needs: Indoors Props: 2 Decks of cards with distinctive colored back for each team. Procedure:

• Prepare two decks of cards with different distinctive colored backs for each team. Remove the three of spades from one of the decks of each tem and store them in an envelope ahead of the exercise.

• Shuffle the two decks for each team in advance to the activity and scatter them face up on a different table for each team. (Ensure the teams do not see that the backs are different styles.)

• Split groups into teams of eight to ten people in each team. Do not allow teams to go near the tables at this point.

• Ask one member from each team to step out of the room. The facilitator then explains to these individuals that their responsibility is to pass on the instructions for the exercise to their teams. Do not mention leadership or that they are the leaders in any way.

• Allow the individuals to re-join their teams. Look at your watch, pause and say 'start now'. Wander between the groups and keep looking at the watch which should be in your hand rather than on the wrist.

Instructions: The purpose of the task is as follows. Your team has two separate decks of cards which I want you to sort into suits and display 'ace-high', i.e., aces facing up on the top of the piles followed by king, queen, etc., down to the two, which should be at the bottom of each pile. You should have eight piles at the end of the activity. You need to tell me that the task is correct and complete when you are finished. Are there any questions? Return to the room and inform groups not to talk until told.

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Sort the Cards, Pg. 2

Things to Think About & Debrief Ideas:

• Use of physical resources - Were the teams able to gather around the table and if not did they reposition it? (You may want to set up some of the tables so they are up against a wall and leave some in the open.)

• Human resources - How well were team members involved in the task? Did each have a role to play, and if not why not?

• Time - There was no time limit given. Did they feel there was one? Was this due to body language? Did anyone ask about time?

• Competition - Did the teams feel it was a competition between teams and if so why? What about collaboration? If the teams did not know that the exercise was a competition then why did the first team to finish not help the remaining teams to complete the activity? Was the missing card identified? Was the information shared with all members of the team? Did teams inform you at the end of the exercise?

• Cards - Were the decks separated first by turning them over so the backs were visible or were the decks mixed up? If so why?

• Passing on of information and seeking clarification - Did the initially selected representatives assume the role of leaders? Did an expert leader emerge because for example they play cards or did leadership rotate?

• Type of leadership - What type of leadership was exhibited? Facilitative, autocratic, democratic, etc., encourage the teams to discuss this.

You will see other aspects to review, depending on your situation and what happens during the activity. While this team exercise is quick to play, the discussion and review can take longer. There are very many aspects of team-working, collaboration, assumptions, communications, leadership, etc., to explore. You can also encourage the teams to discuss their experiences in their teams and relate what happened to what happens in the workplace when working in teams.

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The Prisoner’s Dilemma This fun game pits friends vs. friends. Who will turn on whom first? And what will the betrayed do after their trust has been discarded? Target Group: 10 and older Group Size: 10 to 20 are ideal but more works Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Indoors Props: A scoring sheet for yourself 2 “Co-Operate” Cards 2 “Defect” Cards Procedure:

• Split your group up into two even groups and explain the rules. • Give each team 30 seconds to decide whether or not they are going to “defect” or

“co-operate” in the upcoming round. • Get back together and on the count of three have each team reveal the card that

they selected. • Tally up the scores and get ready for the next round. • Repeat this process numerous times so the point gets across or if you set a

winning point total then play until you reach that amount. Rules:

1) When teams break off, they are to decide if they are going to “Co-operate” or “Defect”. Teams must make this decision amongst them and not reveal their selection until told to do so by the facilitator.

2) Scoring will be based on the selection of both teams. Scoring is as follows: 2 “Co-operations” – banker pays each $300, 1 “Co-operation” & 1 “Defect” – banker pays the “defect” $500 while taking $100 away from the “Co-operation” team, 2 “Defects” – banker takes away $50 from both teams.

Things to Think About: The game is better with two teams, but it will work with several teams. The only questions each round for each team is to decide whether to defect of cooperate. The point of course is that if all teams cooperate they will beat the banker, but it takes a while for them to realize this - so don't tell them before hand, just explain the scoring system and tell them the point is to accumulate as much 'money' as possible - teams then tend to defect and try to win at the other team's expense, which in turn causes retaliation, which produces unsustainable losses. You can set a high score before the game starts or you can just play the game until both teams start cooperating with one another.

Communication

Games

Objective: To provide an opportunity for group members to get better at communicating thoughts, ideas and feelings and to improve listening skills.

Features: • Require precise, descriptive words to solve the problem. • Involve physical activity, talking and listening, and discussion. • Require sharing ideas with others to help make group decisions. • Solving a problem is the goal of the group. • They allow leadership to come from the group. • Most activities are done in pairs or small groups.

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A What? This game is adapted from a theatre game. Ok, it’s a theatre game but its another great way to demonstrate the importance of clear communication and how crazy it is when you try to multi task too much. On top of that it’s also an amazing fun game. Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 to 15 minutes Space Needs: A space large enough to circle up and sit down Props: 1 object per person in the group Procedure:

• The leader of the game starts by passing the first object to the person on their right and saying, “This is a ____.”

• The person on their right then says; “A what?” • The Facilitator says: “A _____.” • The person on their right then says; “A what?” • The Facilitator says: “A _____.” • The person on their right then says: “Oh! A _____.” And then takes the object and

repeats this series of questions with the person on their right. • Have the item go all the way around the circle in this manner.

Variation: You can start two objects at once on opposite sides of the circle or you can have a second object going around the circle in an opposite direction. There might be chaos when the two objects meet, but once again just a good lesson in clear communication and not taking on too many commitments. My Favorite Variant (preferred over the method shown up top – you may want to try that as a warm up and then make this variant the real game. In this version you have a circle of players and the same number of monosyllabic items (max 2). Each person then must pass their objects and receive new objects at the same time. The goal is to get the item back to the original owner. This game can be confusing and frustrating but a lot of fun. Just make sure you aren’t in a place that needs quiet because this version tends to get real loud, real quick.

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Back 2 Back Art This is a favorite camp communication training game. It’s a lot of fun and can be done rather inexpensively. Target Group: Any Group Size: Any (pairs of two will be formed) Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: A room long enough for your pairs to sit back to back in a long line. Props: Paper for each person 1 Pen per pair Procedure:

• Have your pairs sit back to back. Each has a piece of paper. This exercise can be played with several pairs playing the game at the same time, or with one pair and the remainder of the group observing the two people. (This can get a little intimidating and boring – but can also be very constructive).

• At this point choose who will be drawing first and who will be the instructor first. The teams will switch for the 2nd round so everyone will get a chance to be both.

• All “drawers” must be facing one direction and all “instructors” must be facing the other direction.

• At this point reveal a piece of art to the “instructor”. That person must now give the “drawer” directions to reproduce the art.

• Here’s the catch: “instructors” are not allowed to say what the overall piece of art is. They are only allowed to speak in shapes and line segments.

• Set a time limit so everyone finishes at the same time and then switch repeat with a different piece of art.

Things to think about: It’s always interesting to make the first piece of art very simple and basic so the pair thinks that this is a really easy activity, and then flip the switch on them and make the second drawing something that is do-able but very complicated and intense. You also have to watch what you allow the “instructors” to say to the “drawers”. This activity can be very easy is the “instructors” are allowed to say the names of shapes even. Gage the desired level of difficulty on your group, but if you feel that they are a pretty advanced group, I would suggest not allowing the “instructors” to even say shapes and make them think of creative ways to give directions. Variations: A fun variation to this game is to substitute a drawing with paper doilies. Each person has one paper doily. Follow the same procedure as you did when you were using the art, but this time stand in front of the “instructors” and tear and fold the doily making it into a new form of art (or a snowflake). Have the “instructors” give directions based on the actions that you are making.

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Blind Polygon This is a great communication activity for a group of any age. This game is highly recommended for a group of people who have to make many group decisions together (student counsel, school boards, leadership teams, etc.) because it forces people to speak one at a time rather than having fifty leaders all at once. Group Size: Any Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor or a very large indoor space with little to trip over Props: One rope long enough for everyone in your group. Give about 2½ feet per player Procedure:

1) Blindfold all of the members of the group or have them close their eyes. 2) Place the rope on the ground near the feet of the group and instruct them to find it. 3) Explain to the group that the object of the activity will be to first find the rope and

then form it into different shapes. All group members must be holding the rope at all times and must all be a part of the solution. Members are allowed to talk with each other

4) Tell the group that the first shape they have to make is a square 5) After a while, ask the group whether they feel that a square has been formed.

When greeted with a “no,” let them continue, even if they are in a square. If the group thinks that they have the shape then have them open their eyes. After each shape talk about the difficulties and then give them a minute to strategize about the next shape, (do not tell them the shape before you allow them to talk.)

Things to think about: Other shapes you can use are: star, triangle, circle, rectangle or the game ending triangle trapezoid. This is called game ending because there is no such thing. If they try to form it give them a few minutes and then stop them. If you can not find a rope, then this activity can be done by having the people hold hands. One solution that some groups use is to move people around the rope. This is perfectly okay but don’t mention it to them. If they ask then you can tell them that it is legal but otherwise, let them get creative rather than giving them helpful hints. Debrief Ideas: Here are some examples of typical questions that can be asked. Do not limit yourself to these questions as your debrief really depends on the group performance and you should allow them to shape the debrief.

• When was communication a problem? Why [were too many people speaking all at once]?

• Were any people or ideas not listened to? Why? How might that have hurt the group in trying to solve the problem?

• When did it get better? What changed to make it better? • Who were some of the leaders during the activity? What did they do that might be

considered leadership? • Did what happened during this activity look anything like what happen in your

other groups?

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Blind Seek & Find This is a very intense, difficult, and frustrating game that will definitely show the importance of communication to your team. This activity will play out in several rounds. If there is time, each player should get to play each role. Target Group: 10 years and older Group Size: 12 to 24 players Time Range: 20 to 30 minutes Space Needs: You'll need an open space about 15 feet wide by 50 feet long. Props: 1 blindfold and 1 small object (balls work well), for every group of 6 players, and something for a starting line Procedure:

• Divide the group into teams of 3 to 5 players. For each round there will be a blindfolded retriever, a speaker and several directors.

• Here’s how it plays: have each team pick a retriever for the first round. Have the retrievers stand on the starting line, facing you. You will be standing in the playing area in between the group. Blindfold the retrievers.

• Now pick a speaker for each team. That speaker stands back to back with the retriever. The speaker is not allowed to look out into the playing field during the round.

• Last, the rest of the team members are directors. They stand in front of the speaker behind the start line. (You may let them walk with the retriever and speaker but if the team is too large then you may want to make them stay back at the starting line). They can see the playing field but they are not allowed to say anything so they must mostly communicate through hand gestures.

• When this is all set up, play can begin. The facilitator puts out a ball in the playing field for each team. The facilitator should be sure to place each ball the same distance away from where each retrieving player is standing.

• On the word “go”, the directors need to signal to the speaker, who tells the retriever where to go and get the ball for the team. Once the retriever picks up the ball, he or she must be directed back to the speaker and place the ball in one of the speaker's hands. The first ball back gets the point for that round.

• Let's review that. The retrievers can't see. The speakers can't see the playing field; they can only see the directors. The directors can't speak. They must give hand signals to the speaker that will give enough information to the speaker to guide the retriever to the ball and then back to the speaker. Got it?

• Switch roles after each round, so every player will get the chance to play all roles. Keep score if you need to. Make sure players are nice to each other!

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Blind Seek & Find, Pg. 2 Things to think about: This activity is also somewhat competitive, so make sure your group has developed a safe playing community free from put-downs and sarcasm. It’s fun to increase the distance of the ball with each round. The ball is pretty close for the first one, farthest for the last one. If I really want to add a challenge, I put the balls of each team so the blindfolded players may have to cross paths to get to their ball and back. You may also want to experiment with the number of directors that you have. Try ranging from 1 director to the whole team. See what chaos ensues when there are 10 people trying to tell 1 person what to do. Debrief Ideas: What was it like in each role? Which roll do you think was the hardest? Why? How was the communication for each role? Would it have helped if you only had one director or did it help to have numerous directors? What made the communication difficult? Who won? Is it important to win? Why? How did you treat each other during the game? How did you feel you were treated? What did you learn from this activity? What do you want to take away from this activity that will help the group function better?

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Communication Corridor Here is a great game for a warm up to the subject of communication. Sometimes it’s good to play a game that reflects the lesson of the meeting but not to debrief it and go back to it later. This is a perfect game for that. Target Group: Any Group Size: 15 to 21 people (Split into teams of 3) Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: Two rooms separated by a corridor. The further away the better. Props: A set of building blocks per group A set of directions per group Procedure:

• Separate your larger group into groups of three people. Have them select who will be the “architect”, the “builder” and the “runner”.

• Explain to the group that the “builders” will be given the building blocks, “architects” are given a picture of what is to be built and “runners” will be responsible for passing along the building instructions from the architect to the builder.

• “Runners” are not allowed to see the final product on the “architect’s” sheet; they are only allowed to pass along the information that they are give. As the “builders” build, the “runners” have to run back and forth to get information to pass on about the next building phase.

• The winning team is the first to correctly assemble whatever it is that they are supposed to assemble.

Variations: If you don’t have the money to spend on Lego’s or any other building block type of object, you can also do this like the Back 2 Back Art game and give the “architects” a drawing that the “builders” have to reproduce. Once again do not allow the “architects” to give specific instructions like, you’re building a house. Only allow them to give instructions on lines and symbols and where to draw it on the paper.

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Count Off This is a great quick little game that can get really frustrating if your group isn’t ready for it. Of course they’ll have fun while they get frustrated. Group Size: 15 to 20 people Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: a space large enough for everyone to circle up white sitting on the floor Props: none Procedure:

• Have the group spread out in a small area. You have the option of having them circle up or you can have them scatter themselves about the room in a random pattern. Have them face out in the circle or in random directions if they are scattered.

• The objective of the activity is for the group to count from 1 to 20 abiding by the following rules:

Rules:

1) The same player cannot say two consecutive numbers (three and four, for example). A player can say more than one number as long as they are not in the same order.

2) Every person in the circle has to make an attempt at saying a number 3) Any time two or more people say the same number at the same time, the group

must go back to number one. 4) The group members cannot speak other than to say a number. (They cannot make

a plan) Things to think about: Sounds simple huh? Just wait. Very few groups will get this on their first go around. Success or lack of success has little to do with how well the group is working with each other. This game can get very frustrating so keep encouraging them. Debrief Ideas: What was the game like for you? Was there a way to control the outcome without planning? Did anyone get frustrated? What did you do about it? Did you want to give up? What might be some benefits of perseverance? Did you succeed? How? Why was the activity so hard? What would have made this activity easier? Why? Was there ever anytime in which you found yourself getting frustrated with other people? What were you getting frustrated about? Would it have helped if you could have opened your eyes?

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Hog Call This activity is great with larger groups of teens and adults. If you have twenty people you should be able to run this activity but it works best with forty + people. This game will be very chaotic and you will need to have facilitators on the outside of the group to make sure no one gets hurt. Group Size: 20 to 60 + people Time Range: 10 to 15 minutes Space Needs: a very large outside space or a gym Props: none Procedure:

• Have the group get into two lines facing one another. Make sure that everyone has a partner, if not then a triad can work but it may be a lot harder for than group than others.

• Each pair needs to come up with two words (three for any triad) that are associated with each other (for example – Black & White, Top & Bottom, Coca & Cola, etc.) Each person in the pair takes one of the two words.

• Send one line of people to one end of the playing area or gym and the other to the other end. Pairs should now be split up on opposite sides of the room. If pairs are still facing one another have one line shuffle itself so that pairs are not facing one another.

• Have all players close their eyes and put their hands up in front of their chests to be used as “bumpers”. When you say “Go,” the lines begin walking towards one another as players yell their partner’s word, while listening at the same time. Once you find your partner you can open your eyes and watch the others.

Things to think about:

Safety is a huge concern here. Make sure you have enough facilitators to watch over the group. This activity seems like it will never work but when it does, it’s almost magical! Debrief Ideas:

• What were your thoughts about this activity when I first told you the rules? • How did you react when you first heard your partner?

Variations: A great variation of the game is to have everyone stand in a circle and link arms. This time they create a saying with the person on their right and a saying with the person on their left. Once everyone has created a saying go around the circle and have everyone say what their saying is. This helps eliminate any duplicate phrases. At this point have everyone close their eyes, put up their “bumpers” have them take four steps in a random direction and then another four steps in another direction. Once they have done this they can start calling out, trying to find the people on both sides of them. Once they have done this they need to link arms and keep their eyes closed until everyone is linked up in a circle again.

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Line-Up This activity is a great way to mix people up in order to create teams or groups for other activities. It’s also great on its one. This is a great game to show communication to younger kids. Group Size: Any Time Range: 10 to15 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: none Procedure:

• Tell the group that from this point on there is to be no talking. • Now tell them that they have to line themselves up in order by month and day of

their birthday (not year). Of course, they must do this without talking or mouthing their birthdates or taking out their Ids.

• Tell the players that you’d like them to shoot for no errors – everyone would be lined up in the right place. If you get a bunch of blank states when you give these directions, you could give them an example.

Things to think about:

Based on experience, here are a few things you might expect to happen and some of the ways that they have been dealt with:

• Which end is January and which end is December? – Let them figure it out • People that shy away from failure or get frustrated easily will start talking even

though you said not to. Try saying something like “We know that you can do this by talking, but that’s not much of a challenge. Look around to see how other players are communicating without talking.”

• Try to be sure that there are no pencils, pens or other writing instruments around the room. Although writing their birthdays on their hands is creative, it’s just an easy way out. Give the group as much time as it takes for everyone to get situated. When everyone seems to be happy with their position go from January down the line seeing if everyone is in the right spot.

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Positive & Negative This is an interesting game that plays with the psyche and tests the age old question of whether we are born what we are, or if we are molded by our society and those forces that are around us. Group Size: 20 to 30 people Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor or Gym Props: Building Supplies Procedure:

• Divide the larger group into two smaller groups. Within each group pick two people to be critics. These people will be giving feedback during the game and will be allowed to talk while everyone else in the group has to remain silent.

• Pull these people out of the room while the rest of the group swill be told what it is that they are supposed to build.

• While the critics are outside let them in on the secret to this game. Both groups are going to be given the same shape to build but the critics to one group are going to give positive feedback and encourage the group along while the other group’s critics are going to use negative feedback, negative words whole critiquing the object.

• The groups inside the room can be told to build either something with building blocks or they can create something out of themselves, similar to human machine.

• Give each group a time limit and then see how the objects come out in the end. Hopefully the group that had negative feedback comes out pretty bad or they just quit in general. If not then just talk about how they felt while being yelled at.

Things to think about: Make sure that the critics understand their place in this game. The negative critics need to be very negative, on the verge of mean. There needs to be a distinct different in the way the critics are talking to each group. Make sure the groups can hear how their critics are talking to one another. This will help in debriefing later. Debrief Ideas: If the objects turn out remarkably different and the positive object is much nicer then you can talk about who positive encouragement can make people succeed more, make them more confident and become better suited for success in life. Versus the negative tone which makes people doubt themselves and never really helps them ever. If the objects are similar than talk about how people felt when they were being talked to. If they could hear the other group, did they want to join the positive group? How did the group feel about the negative critic? Were they any help?

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Problem Pit This is a good two person, trust building activity. It is also an activity that gets people talking about their reactions and feelings. Group Size: 20 people Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Outdoor or Gym Props: Rope Lots of objects – squeaky toys, balls, rubber chickens, balloons – anything that won’t hurt or be hurt if stepped on, but the more unusual and funny, the better. Blindfolds Procedure:

• Before you start, use the rope to form a rectangular area for a group of 20 people – an area about 8 feet by 25 feet works well. Inside this area place your collection of objects, leaving enough space in between them to place a foot or two.

• Split the players into pairs. • One partner is blindfolded and led to one end of the Pit. • The un-blindfolded partners leave their partners and step to the sides. It is their

responsibility to guide the blindfolded partner through the Pit without stepping on any of the objects. They are not allowed to physically touch their partners.

• If they touch an object they should keep track of that. • Once through the pit, switch blindfolds and lead the newly blindfolded partner

through the Pit. • When everyone has gone through the pit compare team points.

Debrief Ideas: Who made it through the pit the fastest? How many objects did they touch? Were there slower teams better off? What was the hardest aspect of this challenge? How could we eliminate that problem? What would have made this challenge easy? Would it have helped if the person communicating with you was right behind you? In front of you?

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Telephone Charades Telephone charades is a very good activity to help show the importance of different forms of communication. Charades is very versatile and has many different variants that can be used to display different forms of communication and also how the grapevine can distort information. Most importantly, they’ll be having a lot of fun while learning. Group Size: You can have as many people as you would like but you should split a larger group into smaller groups of 10 to 15 Time Range: 5 to 15 minutes - Depends on the variation you are playing. Space Needs: Indoor Props: None Procedure:

• Divide your group into smaller teams of five to ten people. Try to have an even number of people on each team.

• Spread each group out so that they are equal distances from each other • Have everyone in each group line up in a straight line facing one direction • Go to the end of the line with the person facing away from you and have that

person turn around. Once they see their action or phrase they can tap the person in front of them on the shoulder and act out their action or phrase.

• This action continues down the line Rules:

1) There will be absolutely no talking during the telephone charade 2) Players must face forward until they are tapped on the shoulder 3) All players will try to the best of their ability to replicate what was passed on from

the previous player

Example Charade Topics: ■ Cartoon Characters Popeye Superman Mickey Mouse Naruto Transformers ■ Activities Football Cheerleading Marching Band Soccer Volleyball

■ Movies Sound of Music Jaws Star Wars War of the Worlds Troy ■ Psychological States Boredom Fear Joy Stress Paranoia

■ Television Shows Friends Lost Grey’s Anatomy Brady Bunch Desperate Housewives ■ Animals Bear Bird Giraffe Dog Snail

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Telephone Charades Pg. 2

Things to think about: The game can be played in two ways, how you depend to play the game depends on what point you are trying to make. If you want to emphasize the difference between verbal and non verbal communication then play this game like traditional charades and allow the lines to pass the clues at their leisure. If you want to focus on how information is easily lost through a series of messages then it would be wise to add a race element to the game and have each team compete against one another to guess the action. This way they will not take as much time recreating the exact clue that was passed along. You also must take your group into consideration when choosing which clues to give them. An older group will have more fun with a movie that has intricate scenes. Whereas a group of children would do much better with something simple like animals. Variations: You could switch it up and allow some groups to speak while other groups can not. If you are trying to focus on the different types of communication (verbal vs. physical) then playing traditional charades can also be a useful tool. Debrief Ideas:

• What made this game hard? • Would the game have been easier if you were able to speak? • Why was the final action so different from the first one?

Is there anything you can take away from this game and apply to training?

Consensus Building

Objective: To provide an opportunity for group members to communicate and cooperate with each other through activities that require the group to make create an object collectively.

Features: • The problems require the group to listen to one another before the

collectively make a decision • Often times the group will be building something together • People may get frustrated but 99% of participants must be ok with the

answer.

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Islands A wonderful hand on team activity that takes people outside of their normal work comfort zones. It’s always different and full of learning and development. . Target Group: Any Group Size: Groups of 6 to 8 people – best with at least 3 groups Time Range: 50 to 90 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: 1 Football size amount of clay per group 1 Tray per group to sculpt on Sculpting tools Pitchers of water to help mold clay Procedure:

• Issue each team with a football sized lump of clay and a suitable flat board or tray on which to work. Sculpting tools are optional.

• The task for each group is to create an island, which the group themselves are to imagine they inhabit, which they will model with the clay.

• Instruct the group that for the first two parts of the game the members within each group are not allowed to speak. Give 10 minutes for the first two “silent” parts of the exercise:

1. Ask the groups to split up creation of the island evenly amongst each person in the group. That individual will create geographical features of the island e.g. cliffs, rivers, inlets, harbors, mountains etc.

2. Ask them to create shelter for themselves individually e.g. a house, a cave, a mansion, a shack etc.

• After these two activities have been done in silence, allow the members of each group to speak within their own group while creating their own island “community”, which can be scheduled to go on for 15 – 30 minutes. – Suggest elements that need to be discussed and established as to how their island operates and what constitutes a community: (they can model some, others maybe not) such as health care, education, commerce, defense, food productions, transport, infrastructure, governing structure, decision-making process, etc – all to be discussed and developed by the group.

• The group is the “ruling council” for their own island, and they have the opportunity to define how they will work together, including issues of leadership and decision-making.

• After another 15 to 30 minutes tell them there are other islands in the area. Tell them that they are not obliged or required to do anything about the other islands – it’s up to each group on what they do.

• Typically the groups will want to take action of some sort, whether to trade, attack, make friends – whatever.

• This part of the game needs to be given a finish time or it could go on indefinitely. There is no winner and no stipulated objectives for individuals, groups, islands – its meant to be very open, which enables relationships, cultures, systems and styles, etc., to develop freely.

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Islands, Pg. 2

Things to think about: The portion of this game where you allow people to interact other groups. You may want to try a turn based system where everyone has 1 turn to announce what they are doing but this is all prewritten. Islands cannot respond to other islands actions until the next round. Play a couple of rounds like this. Using clay is messy, so make sure people have aprons or at least clothes that they don’t care about and a way to wash up afterwards. This exercise works particularly well in the evening.

Variation: Clay is a very messy object. If you don’t wish to use clay you can have people draw segments of their islands or use cardboard to build it. You can change what they are building to help relate it better to certain target populations. If you wanted to relate this back to the community you can have the groups build their ideal school and then bring it together.

Debrief Ideas: The review can be conducted in various ways - group presentations, individual presentations, group discussion, personal experiences 'felt' by people; focus on certain headings: leadership, decision-making, communications within and outside of the island groups, good planning, bad planning, issues of morality and integrity, island cultures; the list obviously is very long, and the extent to which groups are focused on these issues before and during the exercise is flexible and up to the facilitator. Did your vision of the island change from your initial idea of what it would be? Did you have to make sacrifices that you thought benefited the island? Hurt it? Were you happy with your island? What was hard about bringing in the different portions of islands and making it into one? Would you have done anything differently? What would have make it easier? What made it work? Did you want to interact with the other islands or would you have rather stayed isolated? What was your first thought when you thought about the other islands? Why did you choose to isolate yourself? Trade? What did you learn from all of this?

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Lost At Sea This is the classic consensus building game. Many of your players may have already played this game but it doesn’t matter, the point is trying to get everyone else to believe them. Target Group: Any Group Size: 12 to 15 people Time Range: 45 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Pre printed sheets of paper Procedure:

• Every player in the game gets sheet 1 and have 10 minutes to go through and number the options.

• Take a few minutes and share randomly what people selected as some of their choices.

• After some ideas have been thrown out there, have the group get together and come to consensus on what they think the answers should be.

• Remember the rules of what consensus really is. Things to think about: Remember that consensus can only happen after everyone’s ideas have been listened to. Everyone in the group doesn’t need to agree 100% with what is being ordered but they must all walk away with the idea that they could live with the choice. The facilitator will be given the role to make sure that consensus is happening and that stronger, more aggressive people are not just dominating the conversation and getting their way. Since this is a widely popular game, people may say: “Oh, I’ve don’t his before!” and then the group will just follow their every lead. Below there are a couple of variations so that even if people have done the Lost at Sea activity they will not be able to say that they know the “right” answers. Variations: Lost on the Moon (See below for hand-outs) Plane Crash Survivor (See below for hand-outs)

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Lost At Sea, Hand-Out 1 Scenario: You and your team chartered a yacht. None of you have previous sailing experience, and you have hired a professional crew. As you sail through the Southern Pacific Ocean, a fire breaks out and much of the yacht and its contents are destroyed. The yacht is slowly sinking. Your location is unclear because vital navigational and radio equipment has been damaged. The professional crew you hired is missing and your best guess is that you are approximately 1,000 miles South West of the nearest landfall. You and your friends have managed to save the following 15 items but don’t have enough room for all of them so you must throw some out. In addition to these you have salvaged a four man rubber life craft. The total contents of your combined pocket’s amount to a packet of cigarettes, three boxes of matches and three dollar bills. Rank the following items in order of importance: _______ a Sextant _______ a Shaving Mirror _______ Mosquito Netting _______ a 5 gallon can of water _______ a Case of army rations _______ Maps of the Pacific Ocean _______ a Floating seat cushion _______ a 2 gallon can of oil/ petrol mixture _______ a Small transistor radio _______ 20 sq. feet of opaque plastic sheeting _______ Shark repellent _______ One quart of 160 proof rum _______ 15ft. of nylon rope _______ 2 boxes of chocolate bars _______ a Fishing kit

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Lost At Sea, Answers

US Coastguard Ranks Reasoning 1. Shaving Mirror Critical for signaling

2. 2 gallon can of oil Critical for signaling. The mixture will float on water and

could be ignited with a dollar bill and match.

3. 5 gallon can of water Necessary to replenish fluids lost through perspiration

4. 1 case of army rations Basic Food

5. 20 square feet of opaque plastic Can be utilized to collect rain water and provide shelter from the elements.

6. 2 boxes of chocolate bars Reserve food supply

7. Fishing kit Ranked lower than chocolate because “a bird in the hands is worth more than two in the bush” There is no promise you will catch any fish.

8. 15ft. of Nylon Rope Could be used to lash people or equipment together to prevent it from being washed over.

9. Floating seat cushion A life preserver if someone fell overboard.

10. shark repellent Enough said.

11. One quart of 160 proof rum Contains 80% alcohol, which is enough to be used as an antiseptic for any injury – could cause dehydration if you drank it.

12. Small transistor radio Of no use without a transmitter. You would also be out of range of any radio station.

13. Maps of the Pacific Ocean Worthless without navigation equipment. It does not matter where you are but where the rescuers are.

14. Mosquito Netting There are no mosquitoes in the middle of the pacific ocean. As for fishing with it, stick to the fishing kit.

15. Sextant Useless without the relevant tables and a chronometer

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Lost on the Moon, Hand-Out 1 Scenario: You are a member of a space crew originally scheduled to rendezvous with a mother ship on the lighted surface of the moon. However, due to mechanical difficulties, your ship was forced to land at a spot some 200 miles from the rendezvous point. During reentry and landing, much of the equipment aboard was damaged and, since survival depends on reaching the mother ship, the most critical items available must be chosen for the 200-mile trip. Below are listed the 15 items left intact and undamaged after landing. Your task is to rank order them in terms of their importance for your crew in allowing them to reach the rendezvous point. Place the number 1 by the most important item, the number 2 by the second most important, and so on through number 15 for the least important. Rank the following items in order of importance: _______ Box of matches _______ Food concentrate _______ 50 feet of nylon rope _______ Parachute silk _______ Portable heating unit _______ Two .45 caliber pistols _______ One case of dehydrated milk _______ Two 100 lb. tanks of oxygen _______ Stellar map _______ Self-inflating life raft _______ Magnetic compass _______ 5 gallons of water _______ Signal flares _______ First aid kit, including injection needle _______ Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter

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Lost on the Moon, Answers

US Coastguard Ranks Reasoning 1. 2 100lbs. Of oxygen Most pressing survival need (weight isn’t a factor since

gravity is 1/6 of the Earths – each tank weighs about 17lbs. On the moon.)

2. 5 gallons of water Needed for replacement of liquid loss on the light side

3. Stellar Map Primary means of navigation – star patterns appear essentially identical on the moon as on the Earth

4. Food Concentrate Basic Food

5. Solar-powered FM receiver-transmitter

For communication with mother ship (but FM requires line-of-sight transmission and can only be used over short ranges)

6. 50 feet of nylon rope Useful in scaling cliffs and tying injured together

7. First aid kit, including injection needle

Needles connected to vials of vitamins, medicines, etc. will fit

8. Parachute silk Protection from the sun’s rays

9. Self-inflating life raft CO2 bottle in military raft may be used for propulsion

10. Signal Flares Use as distress signal when the mother ship is sighted

11. Two .45 caliber pistols Possible means of self-propulsion

12. One case of dehydrated milk Bulkier duplication of food concentrate

13. Portable heating unit Not needed unless on the dark side

14. Magnetic Compass The magnetic field on the moon is not polarized, so it's worthless for navigation

15. Box of matches Virtually worthless -- there's no oxygen on the moon to sustain combustion

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Plane Crash Survival, Hand-Out 1 Scenario: You and your companions have just survived the crash of a small plane. Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. It is mid-January, and you are in Northern Canada. The daily temperature is 25 below zero, and the night time temperature is 40 below zero. There is snow on the ground, and the countryside is wooded with several creeks criss-crossing the area. The nearest town is 20 miles away. You are all dressed in city clothes appropriate for a business meeting. Your group of survivors managed to salvage the following items: Rank the following items in order of importance: Your task is to list the above 12 items in order of importance for your survival. List the uses for each. You MUST come to agreement as a group. Rank the following items in order of importance: _______ a ball of steel wool _______ a small axe _______ a loaded .45-caliber pistol _______ can of Crisco shortening _______ Newspapers (one per person) _______ Cigarette lighter (without fluid) _______ Extra shirt and pants for each survivor _______ 20 x 20 ft. piece of heavy-duty canvas _______ a sectional air map made of plastic _______ One quart of 100-proof whiskey _______ a compass _______ Family-size chocolate bars (one per person)

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Plane Crash Survival, Answers

US Coastguard Ranks Reasoning 1. Cigarette lighter (without fluid)

The gravest danger facing the group is exposure to cold. The greatest need is for a source of warmth and the second greatest need is for signaling devices. This makes building a fire the first order of business. Without matches, something is needed to produce sparks, and even without fluid, a cigarette lighter can do that.

2. Ball of steel wool

To make a fire, the survivors need a means of catching he sparks made by the cigarette lighter. This is the best substance for catching a spark and supporting a flame, even if the steel wool is a little wet.

3. Extra shirt and pants for each survivor

Besides adding warmth to the body, clothes can also be used for shelter, signaling, bedding, bandages, string (when unraveled), and fuel for the fire.

4. Can of Crisco shortening

This has many uses. A mirror-like signaling device can be made from the lid. After shining the lid with steel wool, it will reflect sunlight and generate 5 to 7 million candlepower. This is bright enough to be seen beyond the horizon. While this could be limited somewhat by the trees, a member of the group could climb a tree and use the mirrored lid to signal search planes. If they had no other means of signaling than this, they would have a better than 80% chance of being rescued within the first day. There are other uses for this item. It can be rubbed on exposed skin for protection against the cold. When melted into oil, the shortening is helpful as fuel. When soaked into a piece of cloth, melted shortening will act like a candle. The empty can is useful in melting snow for drinking water. It is much safer to drink warmed water than to eat snow, since warm water will help retain body heat. Water is important because dehydration will affect decision-making. The can is also useful as a cup.

5. 20 x 20 foot piece of canvas

The cold makes shelter necessary, and canvas would protect against wind and snow (canvas is used in making tents). Spread on a frame made of trees, it could be used as a tent or a wind screen. It might also be used as a ground cover to keep the survivors dry. Its shape, when contrasted with the surrounding terrain, makes it a signaling device.

6. Small ax

Survivors need a constant supply of wood in order to maintain the fire. The ax could be used for this as well as for clearing a sheltered campsite, cutting tree branches for ground insulation, and constructing a frame for the canvas tent.

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7. Family size chocolate bars (one per person)

Chocolate will provide some food energy. Since it contains mostly carbohydrates, it supplies the energy without making digestive demands on the body.

8. Newspapers (one per person)

These are useful in starting a fire. They can also be used as insulation under clothing when rolled up and placed around a person’s arms and legs. A newspaper can also be used as a verbal signaling device when rolled up in a megaphone-shape. It could also provide reading material for recreation.

9. Loaded .45-caliber pistol

The pistol provides a sound-signaling device. (The international distress signal is 3 shots fired in rapid succession). There have been numerous cases of survivors going undetected because they were too weak to make a loud enough noise to attract attention. The butt of the pistol could be used as a hammer, and the powder from the shells will assist in fire building. By placing a small bit of cloth in a cartridge emptied of its bullet, one can start a fire by firing the gun at dry wood on the ground. The pistol also has some serious disadvantages. Anger, frustration, impatience, irritability, and lapses of rationality may increase as the group awaits rescue. The availability of a lethal weapon is a danger to the group under these conditions. Although a pistol could be used in hunting, it would take an expert marksman to kill an animal with it. Then the animal would have to be transported to the crash site, which could prove difficult to impossible depending on its size.

10. Quart of 100 proof whiskey

The only uses of whiskey are as an aid in fire building and as a fuel for a torch (made by soaking a piece of clothing in the whiskey and attaching it to a tree branch). The empty bottle could be used for storing water. The danger of whiskey is that someone might drink it, thinking it would bring warmth. Alcohol takes on the temperature it is exposed to, and a drink of minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit whiskey would freeze a person’s esophagus and stomach. Alcohol also dilates the blood vessels in the skin, resulting in chilled blood belong carried back to the heart, resulting in a rapid loss of body heat. Thus, a drunk person is more likely to get hypothermia than a sober person is.

11. Compass

Because a compass might encourage someone to try to walk to the nearest town, it is a dangerous item. It’s only redeeming feature is that it could be used as a reflector of sunlight (due to its glass top).

12. Sectional air map made of plastic

This is also among the least desirable of the items because it will encourage individuals to try to walk to the nearest town. It’s only useful feature is as a ground cover to keep someone dry.

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Newspaper Bridge Newspaper Bridge is a great way to introduce the idea of teamwork, communication and creative problem solving. Target Group: Any Group Size: Groups of 5 to 7 people Time Range: 1 hour Space Needs: A room with ample space for movement Props: Lots of newspapers, rolls (6 to 8) of masking tape, a gallon jug ¼ to ½ full of water, a plastic dishpan type container.

Activity Instructions: "You are going to build a bridge using only the newspaper and masking tape. The bridge must be strong enough to hold this bottle (show the bottle and let them check the feel of it for weight). Also, the bridge must be tall enough for the pan to pass underneath it. The bridge must be free-standing; not attached to the wall, a piece of furniture, a person or an article of clothing...FREE-STANDING."

Procedure: • Break the larger group into smaller groups of 5 to 7 people. They each have 7

minutes to plan, discuss, etc…, and be sure everyone in the group is heard. • After the 7 minute discussion period, pass out newspaper and tape. Inform the

group they will now have 8 minutes to construct their bridge and there is no talking during these 8 minutes.

• After the 8 minutes, give the group 30 seconds to talk to each other. At the end of the 30 seconds give them an additional 3 minutes to complete the bridge in silence.

• Now test to make sure that all bridges work. Things to think about: You can allocate as many sheets as you wish, although it really depends chiefly on the main purpose of the exercise, and then to an extent the duration and how many team members per team. As a general rule - the fewer the sheets the smaller the teams and the shorter the exercise. Lots of sheets and big teams require longer. Short timescales, big teams, lots of sheets = lots of chaos - which is ideal for demonstrating the need for leadership and management. Unless the purpose is leadership and managing the planning stage, avoid small numbers of sheets with large teams. Small teams don't need lots of sheets unless you make a rule to use all materials in order to put pressure on the planning and design stage. Examples of main purposes and numbers of sheets:

• Very strong emphasis on preparation and design - 1-5 sheets - in pairs or threes. • Design, planning, preparation, team-working - 5-10 sheets - in threes or fours. • Team building, time-management, warm up, ice-breaker, with some chaos-

management - 20 sheets - in fours, fives or sixes. • Managing a lot of chaos - 30 sheets and upwards - teams of six or more.

News paper construction exercises are terrifically flexible and useful. When you decide the activity purpose and rules, the important thing is to issue the same quantity of materials to each team.

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Newspaper Bridge, Pg. 2

Debrief Ideas: How did you work as a group? Which part was most difficult? Did everyone participate in some way? Did you feel like you contributed to the group? Did you feel like you were part of the group? Was there one particular person that kept the ball rolling? Was anyone particularly quiet? What was done about that? How did communication or lack of it affect the work of the group? What characteristics of teamwork became evident during this exercise?

Variations: There are many variations with this game. The idea is that you are giving groups a task to build whatever they build needs to meet a certain set of parameters. So you could use different supplies: Marshmallows & Spaghetti / Straws and Tape / Egg Drop / Rubber band car etc… Another idea it to build a paper parachute that carries a rock or some other item and the competition is to see whose rock lands last. (All rocks must be dropped from the same location) Yet another idea is to have groups build boats to be raced in the pool at a later date.

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Penny Pondering A problem solving game that can be used as a consensus building game. Make sure each group can only present 1 set of answers that have been achieved by consensus. Target Group: 12 and older Group Size: Groups of 3 to 4 Time Range: 10 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: Each group will need a pencil, a penny and a prepared “find” sheet. Procedure:

• Print out a “Finds Sheet” and have 1 per group. • Tell the group that the can “find” all the answers to the “finds” on a penny. • Give the group a reasonable amount of time to work on the task.

Debrief Ideas: Did everyone in your group help? Why? or Why not? Did groups help each other? What was the motivation - to figure the "finds" out or to just get it done? Were people willing to give help? When is it appropriate to give help? When is it not? How did your group members deal with frustration?

Finds: 1. a serving of corn. 2. a fruit. 3. a type of flower. 4. a type of cold or hot beverage. 5. a large body of salt water. 6. a rabbit. 7. a part of a needle. 8. a part of a stream, as it enters a river. 9. a sacred place. 10. a wooden part of a railroad track. 11. the side of the road. 12. one thing a group needs to be a productive community. Answers: 1. Ear 2. Apple (Adams) 3. Tulips 4. "T" tea 5. "C" Sea 6. Hair 7. Eye 8. Mouth 9. Temple 10. Tie 11. Shoulder 12. Trust or (to be) United.

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The Great Egg Drop This is an extremely fun, group consensus, problem solving game. There is no right or wrong during the construction phase so everyone has to listen to one another. Make sure the leaders of the groups know that the group has to make this carrier under consensus. Target Group: Any Group Size: Groups of 6 to 8 people Time Range: 50 minutes Space Needs: Indoor Props: 20 straws per group 30 inches of tape per group 1 egg per group Garbage bags Procedure:

• Split the group into teams of six to eight people. • Tell each group that there are to make a vehicle to drop the egg constructed out

of and only out of the objects given to them. The egg will be dropped from about 6ft. The groups are trying to build a vehicle that will allow the egg to drop and not break. – Give the groups 30 to 40 minutes to build.

• Also during the build time, have each group come up with a product name and commercial for their vehicle. Groups will present their vehicle right before the drop.

• After 30 to 40 minutes get everyone back together in the large group and its show time!

• Have groups come up one at a time and give their presentation and then drop the egg from the predetermined height.

• After the first round, all surviving eggs get dropped from a higher height until there is only one winner. If you want to have multiple winners you can say that you are going to have 3 rounds and anyone that survives all three round wins!

Variations: Variety for this game comes in the materials that are given to the groups to build their vehicle. Experiment with egg cartons, milk cartons, parachutes etc. The key to the material that you give is to try to not make it too easy. If you give them ten feet of bubble wrap, no one is going to break their egg. Debrief Ideas: This can be debriefed a multitude of ways based on what theme you are going for.

Who did what? – How did they divide themselves to do the construction and write the commercial? Did they decode who did what based on who wanted to do what or who

might be best at each? Were some people left out? Planning – Was there a common plan that everyone was committed to? Did you talk to each other first or just started building? Was everyone heard? Were all ideas taken into consideration? Leadership – Who took charge? Why? Did leadership chance as the group went from planning to building? Did

anyone help to keep the group together? Did the leader listen to other’s ideas?

Closing Games/

Activities

Objective: To end the day’s activities with fun group activities. Features:

• They build on the day’s activities • They can be talked about in relation to the theme of the day

(cooperation, communication, having fun together, etc…) • Participants leave the program with an up-beat attitude, feeling good

about themselves and the other members of the group.

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Cinnamon Roll Hug A cute activity that could be considered a work out if done on the beach!

Target Group: 12 and older. Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 to 8 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: None

Procedure: • Have everyone stand in a circle, holding hands, facing in. • The lead facilitator drops the hand of the player to their right. • That person on the right now has to begin running in the opposite direction around

the circle. • Quickly everyone will follow that person until the entire group has circled around

that original player and you have created one huge cinnamon roll hug. Variations:

• You could simply do a giant group hug! • This is a version of Vortex

A giant dog pile has not been unheard of

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Cup of Dreams/ Life This is a nice game to play towards the end of the day or an event to discuss goals and dreams. The only problem with this game is that it is for smaller groups and doesn’t incorporate the whole group.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Groups of 6 - 8 Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes. Space Needs: Any Props: 2 Styrofoam cups per group 1 Rubber band per group 3 – 4 strings (1 for every two people)

Procedure: • Take the rubber band and tie them onto the rubber band so that the strings are

equidistant from each other. . • Form groups of 6 to 8 people and ask them to decide who is going to be

blindfolded and who is going to be able to see. • The people that are able to see are going to pair up with someone who can’t see

and guide them and tell them what they have to do. • The objective is for the people that are blindfolded to move the water from one

cup to the other spilling as little water as possible. • The rubber band will have to be opened and placed around the cup and then used

to lift the cup and pour the cup. Things to think about: The water is supposed to signify the dreams of the individuals that are participating in the game. They should be the games of both the blindfolded and the people that can see. Talk about how sometimes in order to achieve your dreams you need to rely on other people to help get you there and how you can play a role but sometimes there are other factors. If everyone helps one another, maybe you can better achieve your goal.

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Highs & Lows The typical debrief, activity closing. There is not much to say about this activity but I thought it was beneficial to include so it isn’t forgotten about.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 2 to 3 minutes per person Space Needs: Any – quiet areas work best. Props: None

Procedure: • Have the group sit in a circle so that everyone can see each other. • Select a person to start and then continue around the circle. • Each person is to state their highpoint of the day and also their low point of they

day. Stories and anecdotes are always welcome. • Continue around the circle until everyone has had a chance to speak to the group. • After each person speaks give “Warm Fuzzies (wiggle all your fingers in the

direction of the speaker)” • There are to be no negative comments of what anyone else says during this

activity. Things to think about: Highs and lows can get very long and boring if people talk for an extended amount of time. Try to limit the amount of time that people talk or at least discuss it before the group begins. Respect everyone’s time and only speak for a few minutes. Stories are welcome; that in addition to an outpour of emotions may lead to longer sessions. Just be warned (the longest I’ve heard of one lasting is about 5 hours for forty people.) Variations: Instead of just doing High’s and Lows you can spice things up a bit by mixing around what guidelines you give them to talk about during the debrief. 1 Word – Have each member think of 1 word that they would use to describe their whole day. They can explain afterwards why they chose that, but it helps isolate an emotion versus just a long recap of the day. Popsicle Sticks – Before the day begins have each person write their fear of the day on the Popsicle stick. Collect the stick and place it into a brown paper bag. At the end of the day you can have them revisit the sticks and see if they have overcome those fears. If they have they can break the sticks, put them back into the bag and you can light it on fire or bury it. If you don’t want to revisit the sticks you can just bring out the bag and burn the bag telling them that you have released their fears. Describe a picture – Tell your group to think if they were going to make a postcard out of today. What image would they put on the postcard?

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Holy Cups A nice quick activity that shows how important everyone is to the group and what can be done if the team works together.

Target Group: Any Group Size: 10 to 15 people Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: 1 Styrofoam cup per person 1 Pitcher of H20 Variation: 4 Popsicle sticks per person 1 Hat

Procedure: • Take each Styrofoam cup and poke holes in the cup with a needle. You don’t

want anyone to be able to see the holes but you want the cup to be heavily leaking water when you pour water into the cup.

• Have the group stand in a circle facing in and distribute one cup to each player. • Then go around and pour water into each cup. (You can pretend that this is going

to be a toast and not let them know that this is a closing activity). • People will begin to complain has mostly dripped out; ask them if they can think

of a way to actually hold water in the cups. • Give them a few minutes to see if they can figure out that they need to combine

cups and if they combine cups then the water should not leak out. Things to think about: The idea of this activity is to have the cups be representations of the people holding them. They have a lot to offer but as a team they are made stronger. The idea is that each individual has a lot to offer but everyone still has some weakness and is incapable of doing everything by them self. As a group we can help each other and accomplish our tasks. Variation: If you do it with cups you are talking about everyone’s weaknesses. There is also an option of using Popsicle sticks and having each person write their four strongest qualities. Then have them put the sticks into the middle. Take a blank one and snap it in half. Talk to them about how their strengths can still leave them vulnerable to failure. After that take four sticks out of the hat and glue them together. This time pass it to someone and ask them to try to snap it. You will find that it is a lot harder to snap. This time you are talking not about their weaknesses and others covering for them, but that in groups, even the strong can become stronger.

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Leaners Leaners is a good closing for the end of an over-all experience. This could be a retreat, training or any other time right before your group is going to be going into a situation that is going to require them to lean on each other for help.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: A space large enough to make a loose circle, with people taking 1 step backwards in it Props: Hiking Cord – approximately ten inches per person

Procedure: • Have the group form large loose circle and face in. • Take out the cord and pass it around the circle until it gets back to you. Tell

everyone to hold on to the cord with both hands and then pass it on. • When the chord gets back to you tie both ends together and then ask everyone to

take a step back so that the cord is taught. • At this point you will go through a series of leaning exercises with the group that

will show the group how important each other is to the success of everyone else in the group.

• When you have completed the leaning exercises go around and cut segments of the cord for each person to keep with them. They can make it into jewelry or just hang it somewhere but ask them to always keep it with them as symbolism that at any time if they are in need, they can call upon the people in the circle to help the.

Leaning Exercises:

Rope Tug: When the cord is taught, tug on it to show the group that we are all connected. If

one person falls, everyone feels the effect. So whether or not they realize it, whatever they do or say will affect everyone.

Lean out: Have everyone get on the inside of the cord and lean with their full weight out.

Watch the group support itself. 1 In/ 1 Out: While on the outside of the cord, have everyone number off 1, 2. Now have all of

the 1’s lean in while all of the 2’s lean out. Once you’ve done it one way, switch and have 1’s lean out while 2’s lean in, etc.

Alternate: If you want to you can have 1’s just on the inside of the cord and lean out while

the 2’s are leaning in. It’s similar to the last exercise, just a little different. I would choose one or the other.

Group Sit: Have everyone lean back on the rope and sit together as a group. If you are daring enough you can have them stand also. This is a lot harder than sitting.

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Noodle Trust Run This is an interesting game to build trust for one another. I would reserve this game for older groups or groups that have a great dynamic. The younger kids might take advantage of this game and abuse it.

Target Group: 15 and older. Group Size: Any Time Range: 30 seconds per player Space Needs: Outside Props: 1 pool noodle per person

Procedure: • Have the group number off into two groups. Have each group form a shoulder to

shoulder line that faces the other group. Have them stand apart approximately the same distance as the noodle is.

• Select 1 volunteer from either line. (Everyone will get a chance to go so it doesn’t really matter who goes first)

• Hand each person a noodle and ask them to hold it at chest height. • Have the volunteer line up facing the gauntlet that has now been formed. The

volunteer is going to run through the gauntlet at top speed. • As the player gets closer to the noodles the first person will raise their noodle up

above the runners head. • The next noodles are not allowed to move until the noodle before them has been

raised. • Everyone has to be paying close attention to the runner and to the person in front

of them. • Let everyone that wants to run the gauntlet have a chance to run.

Variation: If you don’t have the money to buy pool noodles for everyone, you can just have people stick out their arms so that they are about ½ way past the other persons arms. This works just as well, it just makes the gauntlet a little narrower.

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Shoulder Touch This is a great activity for the end of a retreat or at the end of an amazing bonding experience. The tone for the game has to be set right and is ideally done in the evening in a very quiet place. Make sure everyone is comfortable as it is a long activity that requires a lot of sitting.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 30 to 45 minutes Space Needs: Indoor – large enough for everyone to sit in a circle comfortably Props: Stereo/ Boom box Pre-Burned CD

Procedure: • Before you start make sure everyone has gone to the rest room. They will not be

able to go for 30 to 45 minutes, so anyone holding should go now. • Have everyone stand in a circle facing in. It’s very important to set the tone for

this activity. Make sure everyone takes it very serious. • Now have them turn to face out and sit down in the circle. At this point you are

going to explain the procedure to everyone. • There are 2 phases per round. The first phase you will go around saying: “If I tap

you on the shoulder now, please stand up.” This is the only time anyone will stand when they get tapped on the shoulder.

• Tap 3 – 4 people to stand up and then continue by saying: “If you are standing right now; please tap someone on the shoulder that you…”

• Allow the people about 30 seconds to go around and touch whoever they want. When this time has passed ask them to sit down again. –This is where the key to this activity lies. There is an innate understanding that you just touch a few people, maybe even only 1 person. Make sure that you as the facilitator goes around and touches as many people as you can in as many different ways as you can. It may even come in handy to have a few facilitators planted in the audience that knows the trick. This way you can tap at least one of them for every round and have them help you in touching as many people as possible.

• Make sure you repeat the phrase a couple times while people are touching on the shoulder. “You are being touched right now if someone thinks you are…. “

• Repeat this process until you have either exhausted the music on your CD or the questions that you wanted to ask. Make sure that you are giving everyone a fair chance to get up, stretch their legs and touch people on the shoulder. This might get hard if people start switching seats and its dark, so just try your best.

Things to think about: You want to set the mood for this activity. So a dark room with candles and no outside sound is perfect. Make sure that it isn’t apparent that you are going around touching everyone. The participants need to feel special when they get touched. Try to speak in a soft, relaxing voice. Make sure everyone is comfortable the whole time and try to make your music have a connection with the people in the group. I generally try to use uplifting music that may also have a connection to their past and jumpstart memories of other events. The goal of the activity is to cry and feel good about it.

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Shoulder Touch, Pg. 2 Sample Music: These are a few songs that you might consider using

• Tears in Heaven – Eric Clapton • Thank You - Dido • Lean on Me – Al Green • That’s what Friends are for – Dione Warwick • Time of Your Life – Green Day • Wind Beneath my Wings – Bette Midler • Thank God I met You – Mariah Carey

Sample Questions: This is an extensive list. Create and cut as you please Touch someone on the shoulder that…

• You trust • Makes you laugh • You consider a friend • You are glad you met • Is an interesting person • You enjoy spending time with • Who has a good personality • Brings a smile to your face • Is a strong person • You always enjoy talking to • You have fun working with • Has a heart of gold • Impresses you everyday • Makes you feel like you’ve known forever • You think is talented • Has made today worth it • You could tell a secret to • You have fun with • Is special to you • Reminds you of your brother or sister • That you could call if you needed help • Makes you happy • Has taught you something about yourself • Inspires you • Is a beautiful person • You will never lose touch with • You miss when you don’t see them • You have shared a special memory with • You will never forget • You wish you could be more like • Could be the inspiration for a song/story/poem • You look forward to getting to know better • Will be a great counselor • You respect

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Vortex

This is an activity where players get to acknowledge one another.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 5 to 10 minutes Space Needs: Any Props: None

Procedure: • Have everyone stand in a circle, holding hands, facing in. • The lead facilitator drops the hand of the player to their right. • The facilitator then turns to face the person on their left and thanks them (or

acknowledges them in some way for something that they have done) for the time that they had together.

• The facilitator then keeps going down the circle of players, pulling the other players along – everyone acknowledging each other as they pass.

• This action goes all the way around until the facilitator ends up next to the player they dropped hands with in the beginning – they rejoin hands again.

• At this point everyone in the circle is facing out. The facilitator says. “We have had all take with us and share with others outside our circle.”

• Then ask everyone to, carefully, without letting go of any hands, turn in towards the center of the circle – this involves some twisting and ducking.

• Once everyone has managed to turn in, continue by saying: “Always remember that this day has brought us closer together.” (The circle has become closer and tighter then when the players had their backs to the circle.

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Web of Life This is a great activity to play at the end of a long team building session or a retreat that has really allowed for the group to bond. It’s a great game that sometimes has an unfortunate awkward ending.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes. Space Needs: Indoor/ Outdoor Props: One spool of yarn

Procedure: • One person starts with the yarn. • They select someone that they want to toss it to and then they say something

about that person. It can be why they tossed it to them, or something completely random about that person that they like.

• This person then selects someone else to throw the yarn to and says something nice about them.

• This continues around the group until everyone has been tossed the yarn. • Once everyone has been thrown the yarn then the original facilitator will debrief

and talk about how we are all connected. Things to think about: Like I mentioned above, if you are going to do this activity, try to find a way to make the last people not feel like they are the people in the group that don’t know anyone else. It can get pretty painful if this becomes the case. Debrief Ideas:

This activity gives a chance for people to say nice things about one another but it’s also a useful tool as showing that everyone is intertwined. Pull on the yarn and everyone else will feel it also. Drop the yarn and see what happens.

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Wind in the Willows This closing activity is a camp classic that is done mostly with older groups because there is lifting over the head. Even though there is potential safety risk with this activity, the outcome definitely outweighs the risk. A very serious tone should be taken with this activity. This activity also requires a quiet area. You will not achieve the same effect if you do this activity on a street corner in Los Angeles.

Target Group: 15 and older Group Size: Groups of 6 to 10 people Time Range: 15 to 20 minutes Space Needs: Enough room for your group to circle up. (Try to find a quiet room) Props: None

Procedure: • Form groups of 6 to 10 people and ask them to get in a tight circle facing in. • Ask someone to volunteer and step into the circle. Have the other group members

close in the circle behind them. • Have everyone in the outside of the circle put their arms out at chest height and

brace themselves as if they were about to push something or something was bout to slowly fall into them. Make sure they have one foot standing behind the other.

• Make sure the circle is very tight around the person in the middle. • The person in the middle is now going to make their body completely stiff. Don’t

let them bend themselves at the knees or anywhere else. They are to be stiff like a board.

• When they are ready have them close their eyes and fall in one direction. • The people in the group are going to catch the person and slowly pass that person

around the circle a couple of times. There needs to be silence during this whole process.

• When the group feels comfortable with the middleman’s weight then they will reposition themselves so that they can all help lift the person above their heads. (Have spotters during the stage)

• They lift the person high above their heads and gently rock that person back down to the ground very slowly, very quietly, almost like a leaf falling to the ground.

• Let them stand up on their own off of the ground and go around and see who is next. Go around until everyone has had a chance to be lifted.

Things to think about: You want to make sure that you have an equal balance of larger and smaller people in each group. A group without a few strong people will have a very hard time lifting someone 250 lbs. Make sure that everyone that wants to go gets a chance to go. Try to convince anyone to go because it is a pretty amazing experience. A term that is commonly used to let the people in the middle think of how they should be is: “Stiff as a board, light as a feather.”

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Yarn Bracelets This closing activity is quickly becoming a camp classic. Be warned that the prep work for this activity might take a lot longer than you anticipate so make sure that you do the prep for this activity in advance.

Target Group: Any Group Size: Any Time Range: Depends on the group – about 2 – 4 minutes for each participant. Space Needs: Enough room for your group to be able to stand in. Props: Yarn pieces long enough to wrap around your wrist. 1 bundle of strings per person (each bundle should have the same number of strings for each person participating in the activity minus 1) (e.g. if there are 20 people participating in the activity – each bundle needs to have 19 strings. 1 for each person minus the person getting the bundle)

Procedure: • As stated before, make sure that you purchase enough yard for this activity. • Before the activity starts, cut the yarn into pieces long enough that you can wrap it

around someone’s wrist to make a bracelet. You need enough so that each participant can go around and tie a bracelet around all the other participants. (X = Participants X*(X-1) if this were an equation it would look like this.)

• After cutting the yarn the best idea is to take 1 of the pieces and tie it around the other strings needed for the bundle. That way each person has a bundle and you don’t have to deal with the yarn getting tangled.

• After the prep the idea of this game is simple. Walk around to each person and tell them something that you appreciate about them. Or say thank you to them. Or tell them why you think they’re cool. After you’ve told them, tie the yarn around their arm like a bracelet.

• Make sure you get around to everyone. Things to think about: This activity can take a very long time if you have people that like to talk. You might want to limit the time to talk, say give them an hour to talk to 30 people. Otherwise you might have people that finish thirty minutes before the last person finishes. If you are short on time you can limit the number of yarn pieces you give out. If you have a group of 20 people you could always only give out 10 pieces of yarn in each bundle. Of course this always leaves open the chance the some of the more quiet or lesser known people will not be approached as much and might dislike the activity.