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1. Indoor Team Building Game #1 - Crossing the Line

Equipment: 25 foot length of rope, masking tape. Place rope on the floor in the shape of a
circle. Tape a line down the middle of the circle to create two halves.
Time: 5 - 15 minutes.
Outcomes: Introduces participants to cooperation verses competition. Many organizations
evidence a culture which rewards employee competition verses employee cooperation (i.e.
review your sales compensation strategies). This initiative is excellent to begin a discussion
around the strengths and weaknesses of a competitive culture.
Set-up: Select two "volunteers" from the group. (Try and pick the two most competitive
individuals - each should have high ego strength). Have them enter the circle and face each
other. Tell them this is an initiative around power and influence and the goal is to use all their
considerable powers of influence, including but not limited to, arguments, lecture, bribery and
trickery to get the other person to cross completely over the line.
Rules:
1. They may not touch each other physically.
2. Audience members may not contribute suggestions. However, they can lay bets on who
will win.
Facilitation: The group leader (facilitator) acts as the referee. You can have them shake hands
and shout "Begin!". The more you set the atmosphere up like a wrestling match the better. You
can throw in comments such as, "John, good point! Randy are you convinced?" and other
comments to reinforce the best way to get someone to do what you want is to persuade them.
Of course the fastest way to reach the goal in this exercise is to give the other person what they
want, not demand what you want. A very good debrief can follow as you explore who really
won. Was it the person who crossed the line first or was it the person who crossed the line first
in order to get the other person to cross the line?
Facilitator note: The power of these exercises rest not in the games themselves, but in the
debrief afterwards. The debrief must make the link back to issues the participants are facing at
work or the games are pretty much a waste of time. The real value of team building comes alive
when concrete business problems get solved.
 

2. Indoor Team Building Game #2 - Customer Connection

Overview:
Connections is an initiative which mirrors how business processes flow (or don't). Each
participant is an integral part of a business system which must perform their role and link with
other participants to deliver product or service to the customer.
Outcomes:
1. Roles and responsibilities
2. Customer service
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3. Business systems and performance

4. Continuous flow/lean thinking
5. Teamwork
6. Continuous improvement
Equipment:
1. A marble (which represents the customer, product or service).
2. Lengths of PVC pipe cut into various sizes with holes (represents each participant's role in
processing customer, product or service). One pipe for each participant.
3. 20 foot length of rope. Lay the rope on the ground in a curving line. At one end place the
bucket, the other end is the starting point.
4. A bucket (representing ultimate customer satisfaction/delivery of product or service).
Instructions:
1. Put the PVC pipe in the middle of the floor.
2. Instruct everyone to pick up a single piece of pipe.
3. Describe the objective and the rules.
Objective:
The marble represents your customer. You are seeking to deliver ultimate customer
satisfaction! Each of you has a role to play in processing this customer's order from inception
(beginning of rope) to final delivery (bucket). Your role is to create a processing sequence for
your customer. You must roll the marble from the starting point of its journey, through the
tubing, and into its final destination - the bucket, in the fastest time possible, without dropping it
(your customer).
Rules:
1. The tubing you chose is your part of the connection. You may not substitute your
     tubing with anyone else or exchange your tubing with the remaining unselected
     pieces of tubing.
2. You may put your tubing close to other tubing, but you may not attach your tubing
     in any way to any one else's tubing. You may not touch anyone else's tubing.
3. The marble must go through everyone's tubing at least once.
4. If the marble hits the ground or stops it must begin again at the starting point.
     Dire consequences may occur if you drop your customer.
5. Only the tubing may touch the marble (no hands).
6. The marble must follow the path laid out by the rope to its final destination.
7. The marble must travel in a continuous forward motion (no backwards motion).
    The marble may not stop.
8. You may not move your feet when the marble is traveling through your tube.
9. The rope and bucket may not be moved.
10.You have 5 minutes for planning and then you will be timed to see how quickly
     you can deliver customer satisfaction.
Any questions?
Notes to Facilitator:
This initiative works well indoors or out. It is helpful to ask the team to suggest a product or
service their company makes or delivers. Use this as the metaphor for the initiative. Watch
closely especially at the beginning for team members holding onto one another's PVC tubes.
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Also, be strict against any violations the first few times the marble roles through the tubes. You
can relax a bit after that as most groups will begin to police themselves. When the marble drops
or stops call time and make up some kind of customer complaint, "Oh, Bob the customer does
not like to be put on hold for that long….or, Bob, just told 17 of his friends about the poor service
he just received from your company. He says if he is treated in such a rude manner again, he
will take his business elsewhere." If the marble (customer) continues to be dropped over and
over again, you can begin to impose penalties like: you may now only hold your tubing with one
hand, or blindfold someone, or downsize someone to a smaller tube with the excuse that "upper
management has decided to cut costs because they are losing so many customers so your
position has just been downsized."
Debrief Questions:
EXPERIENCE
Q. What frustrated you with this experience?
Q. What did it take for your team to finally achieve success?
Q. How did you find yourself reacting to the customer being dropped?
TEAM DYNAMICS
Q. What process did you use to plan your strategy?
Q. How effective or ineffective was your planning time? What made it so?
Q. If you were to do this again, what would you change about your planning time?
Q. What stopped the customer from smoothly flowing through the process?
Q. How did you deal with the resource limitations you faced in delivering the customer?
Q. How did the team respond to the breakdowns?
APPLICATION
Q. In what ways is this experience similar to what goes on at work?
Q. Where do the breakdowns happen with your customers right now?
Q. Once you identify a problem on your team, or with customer service, what process do you
have in place to create a solution?
Q. Can you think of breakdowns which have occurred over and over again in your company?
Q. Why do these breakdowns keep re-occurring?
Q. What process do you need to bring around the problems to ensure the breakdowns stop?
Q. What kinds of new roles or responsibilities might you need to take on in order to solve the
problem?
 
3. Help your team create efficiencies even when unexpected and bad things happen to them

Tennis Balls: Divide the participants up into small groups of about eight to ten people and have them arrange
themselves in a circle. Give a tennis ball to one person and explain the rules of the game:
1. Each group is in competition with the other groups in the room. The group who can complete the
most "circuits" in a given time will be the winner.

2. A completed circuit occurs when every person in the group has touched the tennis ball.
3. Only one person in the group can touch the tennis ball at one time (therefore the ball must be
tossed rather than passed.)

4. If the ball ever touches the floor, then production must stop for one-minute.
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Have the teams complete a few circuits to get comfortable and begin creating patterns that make them more
efficient. The facilitator may want to stop the groups and get feedback as to how they are becoming more efficient
and help them understand that this is a natural progression in business as well. Have the groups continue to
complete circuits, but as time progresses, the facilitator will add additional rules to make the process more difficult.
 A Co-Worker calls in Sick--Remove one of the group participants and tell the group that the
participant called in sick. After they complete a few circuits, remind them that just because
someone calls in sick, doesn't mean that that person's work doesn't need to be completed. (They
will probably have just continued to complete the circuit just as they had before the person left.)
Remind them that each of their last few circuits have had one fewer touches than before, so they
do not count. Someone will have to pick up the slack for the absent person. After a new pattern is
established, have the person come back.

 Double Production--Throw a second ball into the mix and tell the group that our client wants us to
double production. Only one ball can be held by any one person at a time. You can add a third or
even fourth ball later.

 Diversity--New federal legislation states that we need to include more minorities and women in our
production line, so every other person who touches the ball must be either a woman or a minority.
Use your imagination to come up with other rules and be sure to have a prize for the winning team. At the end of
the game, ask the group how did the game relate to things they face in the business world.

4. Paper Plates: Get your team to stretch their way of thinking outside the box to identify
patterns that make processes easier.

Free Team Building Games

Paper Plates: Set up numbered paper plates in the following pattern on the floor.

9 41 33 29 1 10 42 34 30 2
49 17 13 21 53 50 18 14 22 54
5 25 37 45 57 6 26 38 46 58
12 44 36 32 4 11 43 35 31 3
52 20 16 24 56 51 19 15 23 55
8 28 40 48 60 7 27 39 47 59

The rules of this exercise are:

1. The exercise is completed when all plates are touched in numerical order.
2. If any plate is touched out of order, then the participants must begin again at one.
3. Only one plate can be touched at a time.
4. Coaching from the team is encouraged.
5. The exercise will be timed.
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The facilitator's main job is to encourage participants to think outside of the box and look for patterns, but
don't give the solution away. Ask questions such as "Is there any way to cut your time in half?" "Is there
any way to be more efficient?" Challenge the group by giving them a time to beat. Make every new time
limit quite a bit shorter than the last. The group will usually live up to the challenge. Eventually get them
to a point where they can complete the entire exercise in less than 60-seconds.

Solutions:

1. Pattern: After a few times through the exercise, this pattern will begin to develop.

9 41 33 29 1 10 42 34 30 2
49 17 13 21 53 50 18 14 22 54
5 25 37 45 57 6 26 38 46 58

12 44 36 32 4 11 43 35 31 3
52 20 16 24 56 51 19 15 23 55
8 28 40 48 60 7 27 39 47 59

2. Rearrange Plates: Creative teams may decide to rearrange the plate into an easier order. As the facilitator, you
must tell them to restart the exercise every time they touch a plate out of order. Teams really thinking outside the
box will ignore this distraction and continue putting plates in an easier order.

3. Other solutions your team may invent.

5. Relay Lock Race- Each person selects a partner. They stand back to back
and lock arms by the elbows while holding their own stomach with their
hands. The coach gives the instruction to get from one side of the gym to
the other. Don't give them specific instructions on how to get to the finish
line other than they can't let go of their stomachs. This causes creativity
and laughter.

6. Shoe Game – Have everyone take off their shoes and put them in a pile in
the middle of the room. Mix the shoes up. Divide the cheerleaders into 2
groups. See which group can find their shoes and put them on first. When
they have their shoes on the team done first must sit on the floor.

7. Truths and a Lie - Each team member writes 2 true facts and one lie on a
card. The coach collects the cards and reads them aloud. The rest of the
squad tries to guess who it is and which fact is the lie.

8. Sculpting - Give your squad different supplies such as newspaper,

scissors, construction paper, glitter, straws, tape, string, etc. and tell them
to create a sculpture that represents their school's spirit. Have them
explain the significance. If the school's spirit is low, use this opportunity to
discuss how they can improve their school's spirit.
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9. Trust Fall- Cheerleaders sit in a close circle with their legs straight and
arms out. One cheerleader stands in the center of the circle. She should
have everyone's feet around her ankles. The girl in the center squeezes all
her muscles and is very tight. She falls to the side and the other
cheerleaders catch her and push her back and forth in the circle. Let all
members be the one in the center.

10. To Be Or Knot To Be – You need an even number of students, ideally no

larger than twelve. Form a circle facing each other (the difficulty of the
activity increases, the greater the number of students in the group).
Students close their eyes and reach across the circle with their right hand
to grasp the right hand of another student. They should pretend that they
are shaking hands - but hold on! With eyes open, have each student reach
across the circle with their left hand and grasp the left hand of a different
student. No student should be holding both hands of the same person.
Now, without letting go, have the students untangle themselves. The result
should be a circle of intertwined circles, or one large circle.

11. Cheerleader Tic-Tac-Toe- You need nine chairs set up in three rows.
Divide the squad into X's and O's. Just like in regular tic-tac-toe, the X's
and O's alternate, except they sit in the chairs instead of drawing it out on
paper. Ask questions about the rules of football, basketball or any sport.
The cheerleaders must raise her hand to answer. If she is right, then she
sits in one of the chairs. The first team to get three in a row, diagonally,
vertically or horizontally, wins.

12. Ball of String - While standing in a circle; pass a ball of string from one
member to another. The rules are only the person with the string can talk.
After everyone has had their turn to speak and share their feelings, there
will be a web of string. This web illustrates the interconnected nature of
group process. Everything they do and say affects the team. Now toss a
balloon in the middle and have them try to keep it. They are not allowed to
touch it. This symbolizes “teamwork”.

13. Back to Back- Divide into partners with one person left over in the
middle. You need one person to be the “caller”. The call will yell directions
telling the partners to line up “back to back”, “foot to foot”, “elbow to
elbow”, “shoulder to shoulder” and so on. When the caller yells “people to
people”, everyone must find a new partner. The one left over is now in the
middle. This is a form of people musical chairs.

14 Line Up - Divide the group into 2. Each team will compete against each
other to see who can get the challenge done faster. Challenges could be”
line up according to birthdays, alphabetically by first name or last name,
age, etc. Try the same challenges without talking.
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Machinery - Divide the group into teams (3 or more teams). Assign each
group to build a certain machine with their own bodies such as a toaster,
washing machine, vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, television, etc. Give them
time to work it out. Then they build the machine and the other teams
guess what it is.

15. Self-Disclosure Introductions (this is great for new teams) - Ask each
team member to state her name and attach an adjective that not only
describes a dominant characteristic but also starts with the person’s first
name. Examples: Serious Susie, Nice Natalie, and Loving Lauren.

16. Amnesia Game - A participant is identified as suffering from amnesia.

That person needs to pretend not to know anything about the past. The
rest of the group tells some things that help the amnesia victim to
remember and to become the same person as before. The amnesia person
can ask questions to gain more insight. Some questions could be “ What
would I do in a certain case”, “What is my favorite saying”

17. P E E R –O - Make up bingo cards with nothing in the squares. Hand out
one to each cheerleader. Every person has a cheerleader sign in a square.
Each person can only sign a cheerleader’s card once unless you do not
have enough cheerleaders to fill all the squares of one bingo card. You
want to have a different name in each block. Put all the names in a
container. The coach draws out a name and that cheerleader must stand
up and tell something about himself or herself. The rest of the
cheerleaders block out the name. The first cheerleader to get “bingo” or
“peer-o” wins.

18. Name Crostics - Give a piece of paper to every cheerleader and ask them
to write their name in the middle of the paper about a half an inch high.
When given the signal, the cheerleaders should move around the room,
attaching their names to their name if the letters fit (like a crossword
puzzle). The person who is able to attach the most names is the winner.

19. Human Scavenger Hunt – Divide your cheerleaders into teams. Give each
team a list of questions to answer. The first team to finish, wins. Examples
of questions are
Name 2 people on the cheer squad who has the same first and last initial.
Name a group of people on the squad whose ages add up to 46.
Who is the person on the squad that lives closest to the high school?
Name group of three people who all have different colored eyes.
Name 2 people who have a birthday in the same month.
When is the coach’s birthday?
When is the AD’s birthday?
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20. All Aboard -Take a large sheet and spread it on the floor. Have all the
students stand on the sheet together. Once they have done this fold the
sheet to make it smaller. Again, have all the students get on the sheet.
Continue this process. Eventually, the sheet will be so small that the
students will need to use a great deal of cooperation, teamwork, and
ingenuity to get the whole class on the sheet without anyone falling
out/off the sheet.

21. Team Talk - Communication is another key to team unity. Part of

communicating is getting to know your teammates, their opinions,
concerns and aspirations for the team. Here is a great list of topics to use
for learning about each other. Sit in a circle and have a leader ask a
question. Allow each team member to answer the question until everyone
has participated. Then continue with the next question.
When did you first know that you wanted to try out for this team?
What do your parents say about you being on the team?
Veteran members: What past team member did you most respect and
why?
New team members: What do you think your most important job is as a
first year member?
What is one or two words that students in your school use to describe your
team? What words do you want them to use?
What do you think you’ll remember about your team 10 years from now?
Veteran members: What one piece of advice would you give to the new
members if they want to have the most positive team experience?
New members: What help or encouragement do you need from the
veterans to be a successful team member?
What one thing can you do consistently to show your dedication to the
team?

22. Minefield - Have group discuss things that are detrimental to functioning
as a group. For each characteristic/action, throw an object into the playing
space, the "minefield." Have group choose partners. One partner is
blindfolded at one end of field. The non-blindfolded partners stand at the
opposite end of the field and try to talk their partners through the
minefield without running into any of the obstacles.

23. Human Dragon - Divide your team into 4 teams of 6-8 individuals. You
can have odd numbers or vary the length of the "dragon" depending on the
skill, size and ability of your athletes. Each team designates the "head"
person and the "tail " section of the Human Dragon. All other team
members fill in behind the head of the dragon by holding on to the person
in front of them at the waist. The goal of the activity is to have the head of
each dragon attempt to tag the tail of any other dragon team. Only heads
of the dragon can do the tagging because all other team members must
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remain connected (with two hands) to their teammates. Players attempt to

avoid having their team's tail be tagged and skillfully attempt to shield
their tail from other dragons on the prowl.

24. Create A Monster- Make a monster that walks with both hands and feet
on the ground. The monster must have one less arm than the number on
the squad and one more foot. Once the monster is created, it has to move
five feet and make a sound.

25. Encouragement- Have a piece of paper for every team member on the
squad with one name on each page. The team sits in a circle. Everyone has
30 seconds to write one positive thing on each team member's sheet (30
seconds per sheet, then pass them). At the end, each girl goes home with a
sheet with many encouraging statements. A variation of this game is to
have each team member have her own paper taped to her back.

26. Toxic River- Everyone is on one side. You measure a space about 5 feet
and call it a toxic river. You want the whole squad to cross as fast as they
can. They aren't allowed to cross the toxic river without special pair of
boots and there is only one pair of boots. Each person can use the boots
only once. The boots cannot be tossed over the river. Each person has to
personally give the boots to he next person and if they touch the toxic
waste without the boots, the team must start over. Hint: Carrying people
over is the key.

27. Human Letters -Divide the squad into groups of 4 to 5 people. The coach
calls out a letter. Each group has to spell out the letter on the ground with
their bodies. The group to get the letter the fastest, or the most accurate,
wins. Keep score.

28. Rock-Paper-Scissors Tag – Form two groups. During each turn, a team
must decide whether they are “rock, paper, or scissors”. The teams face
each other, and on the count of three shows either rock, paper, scissors.
The one who wins chases the other team. If the chased team member gets
caught before they reach a designated home base, she becomes part of the
other team.

29. Pass the Body – Every lies on the floor in one straight line with heads
together with legs and body extending out to the side. They extend their
arms up and a person will lie on top of the hands. Group passes the body
down the line.

30. Bonding Quotes - Assign different cheerleaders to bring in bonding quote

or word for each week. At the end of each practice, have each cheerleader
explain how she applied that quote or word to practice.
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Samples:
All the talent in the world doesn't mean a thing without your teammates
The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary,
You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control
over what you do.
The best inspiration is not to outdo others, but to outdo ourselves.
Think big, believe big, act big, and the results will be big"

31. Lighthouse Game

Objective:
For each person to take on different roles in a single teamwork activity in order to support his/her team

Group Size:
4 or more

Materials:
 Various obstacles
 Blindfolds
 Pieces if wrapped candy

Description:
Blindfold one person and put him/her at one end of a room or outdoor area that has various obstacles in it
(i.e. rocks, cones, chairs, trees, etc.). Select at least three of the remaining group members to be
"lighthouses" and ask them to stand in various places along the obstacle course.
Give the blindfolded person a handful of candy (one piece for each lighthouse). The job of the lighthouse
is to guide the cargo ship (blindfolded person) through the rough waters (obstacle course) safely so that
the cargo (candy) can be delivered to each lighthouse.
The first lighthouse must verbally guide the cargo ship through the obstacles and directly to the
lighthouse, if this is done successfully the ship will deliver one piece of candy to that person.
The only lighthouse allowed to give directions at a given time is the one that the ship is headed for, but he
or she may give support and encouragement after the person has gone past him/her. Any lighthouse
whose area the ship has not come to yet must remain quiet until the ship reaches his/her area.
If the ship is put in danger by crashing into an obstacle the guiding lighthouse does not get any candy. Or,
if the lighthouse is unable to guide the person successfully to him/her and the ship passes on by, then this
person receives no candy and the next lighthouse takes over.
Allow the group members to take turns in the different positions. For large groups, you may have more
then one obstacle course going at once.
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Discussion Prompts:
 Did you feel safe when you were the "cargo ship"? Why or why not?
 Do you think people in this group would have kept you as safe if candy weren't involved? Why?
 Do you have people in your life whom you trust to guide you? Who and why?
 Do you have people in your life who give you support when you need it? If so, who and what do
they do? If not, why do you think this is and where can you go to find support when you need it?
 How do you feel about the group as a result of this activity?

Variation:
Put moving objects or people into the area the ship will be moving through to act as "floating logs". These
objects or people should move through the area quietly while the lighthouses try to steer the ship around
them.

32. Group Favorites Game

Objective:
To increase interaction among group members and to learn commonalties among group members

Group Size:
8 to 40 is ideal

Materials:
 Question Sheets
 Pens or pencils
 Large Chalkboard or white board with writing instruments and eraser

Description:
Note: This game is played like the television game "Family Feud". Prior to the activity, pass out a survey
(see suggestion) to the members of the group. (If you have a small group, you may want to survey people
outside of the group as well). Collect the surveys and tally up the answers. Make a list of the top three to
five answers for each question and rank them in order of popularity.
Break the group into an even number of teams with four to ten people on each team. Place chairs facing
each other in two rows and ask two of the teams to sit in the chairs for the first round. The first person in
the row of each team comes to the front. These two people face each other across the table that has a
tennis ball or other small soft object on it. The chalkboard should be where everyone can see it, with the
numbers one through three or six on it (this is the number of top answers you have on your list).
Now ask the first question (for example, "Name the top four favorite restaurants"). The first person to
grab the ball gets a chance to answer the question. (If someone grabs the ball early, stop reading the
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question and make him/her give you an answer before reading anymore.) If the person with the ball gives
an answer that is on your list, write it besides the corresponding number. If this person has not guessed
the number-one answer, the other player gets a turn to guess. The person who guesses the highest answer
on the list gets to choose whether his/her team will play or pass.
After this, each team gets three strikes (wrong answers). The team that is playing gets the chance to guess
the remaining answers on the board. Give each person a turn. Once the playing team gets three strikes, the
other team decides as a group what one answer they want to give to try to fill in one of the remaining
blanks. If the first team fills in all the blanks they win the round, but if the opposing team guesses one of
the remaining answers, they win the round.
Continue in this manner, playing many different rounds with different teams playing against each other.

Group Survey:
1. Favorite restaurant
2. Favorite type of music
3. Favorite Christmas song
4. Favorite Shampoo
5. Favorite activity
6. Favorite celebrity
7. Type of car you ride in the most
8. Favorite place to shop (specific store name)
9. Job you most want to have:
10. Colour of your toothbrush:

33. Big Team Score Basketball Game

Objective:
To include everyone in a team game in which players must work together

Group Size:
20 or more is ideal

Materials:
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 2 basketballs
 Basketball court
 White stickers with the number 1, 2, 3, or 4 written on them

Description:
This is a fun way for a large group to play basketball while using teamwork and making sure everyone is
included.
Divide the groups into four teams and give each team a batch of stickers with the numbers 1, 2, 3, or 4 on
them. Each person puts a sticker on his/her shirt (team number one should all be wearing 1, team two
should be wearing 2, etc.). Teams one and two will be shooting at one basket and teams three and four
will be shooting at the other basket. Play with two basketballs and everyone plays at the same time. (It is
best to play with no out-of-bounds if this is possible.) The object of the game is for everyone on your
team to score a basket.
Play regular basketball rules, only everyone is playing at once and trying to help his/her team members to
score. Every time a basket is made, the person who made the basket takes off his/her sticker and places it
on a score board that is on the wall (or have a person be the scorekeeper who wears all the stickers on
his/her shirt). The stickers keep track of who has scored. Once a person scores one basket, he or she
cannot make anymore points for his or her team. The first team to successfully have everyone score a
basket wins.

Discussion Prompts:
1. How was this game different from a regular basketball game for you?
2. Did you get the ball more or less then usual and why?
3. Do you like to play team sports? Why or why not?
4. Is it always fun to play competitive team games? Why or why not?
5. What is the advantage to being on a team versus playing a game by yourself?
6. How can you be a better team member when on a team?

Variations:
For a small group, play with only two teams and change the rules so each time everyone on a team scores
a basket, the team gets one point.
 
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34. Pass The Clay Game

Objective:
To work as a team to build a clay structure.

Group Size:
Four or more.

Materials:
 Whistle or noise maker.
 Clay, Playdough®, or another type of sculpting material.

Description:
Break the group up into teams of two to six members each and give each team a large lump of clay. Each
team must sit in a circle so that they can easily pass the clay around. Start with one team member holding
the clay.
The leader shouts out a object, scene or something else that can bemade out of clay (some ideas follow),
on the "go" signal the first person begins to build as fast as they can. After a few seconds the leader blows
the whistle and the clay must be passed to the next person who picks up where the first person left off.
Continue in this manner with the leader frequently blowing the whistle at irregular intervals. On the
"stop" signal, the person holding the clay must set it down. At the end of each round allow each group to
show their creation to the rest of the group, with any description or story they want to make up about it.
You may do several rounds of this fast-paced game with a different person stanrting with the clay each
time.

Sculpture Ideas:
 A bus stop
 A popcorn stand
 A clown
 A barn with animals
 A plate of spagetti with meatballs

Discussion Prompts:
1. Would this task have been easier or harder if you were by yourself?
2. Does being on a team make life easier or harder for you?
3. Did some of you get more time with the clay than others? How did this make you feel?
4. Do you ever feel like you put more effort or less effort into a project than other people do who are on
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your team? How does this make you feel?

5. What is the advantage of being part of a team? Are there any disadvantages?

Variation:
Give each person a different colour of clay that they must add to the sculpture as they get it.
Have the first person start making something of his or her choice without talking. The next person has to
continue the original sculpture when the whistle is blown. The group can't talk but tries to create
something by the time everyone has had a turn with the clay.
 

35. Rope Knots Game

Objective:
For each person to contribute to the overall success of the group by doing his/her individual part and by
helpling others when they need it.

Group Size:
8 to 20 is ideal

Materials:
One long climbing rope

Description:
This is a fun variation to the popular game Knots, where people grab each other's hands and try to get
untangled. In this game there is less human contact, so it is less threatening but still a challenge.
Tie one overhand knot in the rope for each person that is in the group. Space the knots about two feet
apart. Instruct group members to select a knot on the rope and stand by it on either side of the rope. Then
tell them to grab the rope on either side of the knot with one hand. Some people will grab further out from
their knot than others, but that is OK. Now challenge the group to untie all of the knots without anyone
letting go of the rope or without moving the hand that is on the rope. Participants may use only their free
hand to untie knots.
You may set this activity up by having the group think of things that are "knots" for the group that need to
be "untied," or have the knots represent problems for the group that need to be straightened out.

Discussion Prompts:
1. How many different groups were working on this challenge at once?
2. When your side of the rope was untied, did you help the others on your team in any way, or did
you just hang out? Why?
3. Are you ever on a team where two or more different groups are working separate of each other?
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4. Is this a positive thing for the team?

5. Are there any "knots" on your team that need to be untangled?

36. Sneek a Peek Game

Objective:
For each person to do his/her part when solving a problem as a group.

Group Size:
4 or more.

Materials:
Building blocks or something similar (i.e. Lego's®, Popsicle® sticks, etc.)

Description:
Build a small sculpture or design with some of the building material and hide it from the group. Divide
the group into small teams of two to eight members each. Give each team enough building material so
that they could duplicate what you have already created.
Place the original sculpture in a place that is hidden but at an equal distance from all the groups. Ask one
member form each team to come at the same time to look at the sculpture for five seconds in order to try
to memorize it as much as possible before returning to his/her team.
After they run back to their teams, they have twenty-five seconds to instruct their teams how to build the
structure so that it looks like the one that has been hidden. After the twenty-five seconds, ask each team to
send up another member of their group who gets a chance to "sneak a peek" before returning to their
team. Continue in this pattern until one of the teams successfully duplicates the original sculpture.
Build different sculptures for any additional rounds of this game.

Discussion Prompts:
1. What part of this activity involved teamwork?
2. What did each person in your group do to help?
3. Why is teamwork important when working with a group?
4. What are some important elements of teamwork?
5. How can being good at teamwork help you in your daily life?

Variation:
Give each team a pad of paper and a pen or pencil to take notes on for their five-second observation.
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Have one person form each team look at the structure and then tell another team member what he or she
saw. The second person may take notes and then go back to the team to relay what he or she was told.
The person taking notes may return often for further instructions, but each person remains in the same
role throughout the activity.

37. Turning Letters into Words Game

Objective:
For group members to work together to accomplish a goal.

Group Size:
8 or more

Materials:
 3x5 index cards
 Marking pens

Description:
Divide the group into teams of four to ten and give each team the same number of 3x5 index cards. Ask
them to divide the cards evenly among their group members. Give each person a marking pen and instruct
them to write down any five letters of the alphabet on the cards (one per card) and to not show these
letters to the other members of their team. After everyone has done this, have each team put all their cards
into a pile.
Set a time limit (five to ten minutes) and challenge the teams to use their cards to make as many words as
possible, using each card only once. You may give points according to how many words they come up
with, extra points for longer words, etc. The team with the most points at the end wins.

Discussion Prompts:
1. Did the letters you chose hurt or help the group? How did this make you feel?
2. Did the helpfulness of the letters you chose depend on the letters that others chose?
3. Do you sometimes do a lot of work for a group and then find out later it wasn't needed? How do
you feel when this happens?

Variations:
 After each team has made as many words as they can with their letters, have them write the words
down on a list. Send the list and cards to another group, who can get bonus points for any
additional words they make.
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 Tell the participants why they are writing down letters before starting and then surprise them by
telling them they have to give their pile to a different group.
 Let people collectively choose which letters to use and then either allow them to keep the cards or
make them trade with another group.
 Simply challange the entire group to make as many words as they can, with the letters they've
chosen. Once they have done this, challenge them to make more words than before, still using the
same letters

38. Mountain Top Game

Objective:
For group members to work together for the good of the group

Group Size:
8 to 15 is ideal

Materials:
 A rope hanging from the ceiling (i.e., gym climbing rope)
 Rope or other boundary marker
 2 coffee cans or similar height blocks or cans
 1 pole, stick, or piece of pipe about 1" in diameter

Description:
Set up the two coffee cans with a pole set horizontally across them about three or four feet to one side of
the rope. On the other side of the rope, use a different piece of rope to make a circle that the whole group
can stand in. For added challenge make the circle small so the group must work together to stand in it
without falling out of the boundary. This circle should be about three to four feet from the rope as well.
Set this activity up by telling a story that requires the group to get from a cliff to a mountaintop some
distance away. Starting behind the "cliff" (pole) they must get hold of the climbing rope without stepping
off the "cliff". Once they have the rope, they must swing across to the other side and land on the
"mountain" (the rope circle). Only one person may go across at once at a time. If anyone steps out of the
boundary, knocks the pole off of the cans, or touches the ground, the group must start over. For saftey
reasons, the leader should stand near the climbing rope to catch anyone who falls.

Discussion Prompts:
1. How did the group come up with a plan?
2. How did the order that you were in factor in to the plan?
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3. How did you ensure that your teammates were safe during this activity?
4. How would this activity have been different if there was a real cliff and a real mountaintop?
5. Would you trust your teammates if it were real? Why or why not?
6. How can you build trust as a team?

Variations:
 Give group members things to carry with them to the mountain for an added challenge.
 Set up a low platform for the group to stand on in place of the circle.

39Road Map Game

Objective:
For group members to work together to plan an event

Group Size:
4 or more

Materials:
 One map for each team
 Paper
 Pens or pencils

Description:
Divide the group into teams of two to eight and give each group a map. The map can be of the state you
live in, of the whole country, or of a specific area, but give each group a copy of the same map. Instruct
the teams to plan a vacation, working within the parameters you set for them. Give each group a list of
what they have for their trip, how much money, what kind of car, size of gas tank, m.p.g., price of gas,
start or end destination, size of town they can find gas in, amount of time they have, and anything else
you can think of. Also, give each group paper and a pen or pencil for writing down their travel plans. Any
group that runs out of money or gas will be disqualified. You may give "awards" to the team that saw and
did the most with what they had, or for the most exhausting trip, the most relaxing, etc.

Discussion Promps:
1. Was this a fun task for your group? Why or why not?
2. Did everyone give the same amount of input?
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3. Were any of your ideas rejected? If so, how did you feel? Did you stop giving ideas?
4. What is the hardest part about group decision making?
5. Would you want to go on the trip you planned?
6. Would you want to go on a trip that another group planned?
7. Are vacations usually fun or stressful for you? Why?

40. Tag Team Game

Objective:
For each person to share with the group their individual strengths and positive traits that contribute to the
overall success of the group.

Group Size:
4 to 8 people per group

Materials:
 Large sheet of paper
 Writing paper
 Pens or pencils
 Marking pens

Description:
Break the group into smaller groups of four to eight. Give each team one large sheet of paper, some
writing paper, marking pens and a pen or pencil. Instruct the groups to make the "ultimate team member"
by combining all of their best traits into one imaginary person. They need to give this "person" a name
and draw a picture of him/her on the large sheet of paper with different attributes labeled. Then the group
needs to write a story about this person. The story should highlight all of the amazing things their
imaginary person can do with all of the awesome charactersitics he/she has been given. Allow time at the
end of the group time for each team to share their person and to read their story.

Discussion Prompts:
1. If one person had all of your best traits would he/she be much better than any one person in your
group?
2. How can you as a group member contribute to the team?
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3. How does working as a team make things easier for each person?
4. What can you do as a team than you can't do by yourself?
5. What other attributes do you think you have to contribute to the team that were not mentioned in
your story?
6. What other attributes do others in your group have that were not mentioned in your story?