Category: Repurposed

BUILDZI - Two for One Team Building Activity

12/18/2020

If you are a gift-giver around this time of year, or any time of year really! (even giving gifts to yourself), here's a fun one you can give to your family and and then 'borrow' it to use for your team building programs. (Or, maybe it's the other way around?)

BUILDZI, comes from the creators of Tenti. (Tenzi is one of my favorite dice games - you can play with any number of people - well, maybe up to 12 around a table - as long as everyone has 10 dice. If you have or pick up Tenzi, don't forget the Cards Deck, 77 Ways to Play Tenzi, with Tenzi challenges).

(UN-SHAMELESS MARKETING: I love repurposing - especially toy aisle games like BUILDZI!! My amazingly creative friends, Michelle Cummings, Trevor Dunlap & Matthew Broda are going to help us out. They are releasing their book, Team Building from the Toy Aisle, in early 2021. I can't wait to see what they've come up with. You can pre-order your copy today at the Training Wheels website - link above.)

Most likely, if you've been team building for a while, you've done a communication activity that involves partnering up players, then each has his/her own set of matching supplies (e.g., playing cards or Dominos). Partners sit back-to-back, one builds something with his/her supplies and then communicates this build to his/her partner - hoping the outcome of the communication to be a 'match' (as close to identical as possible). This has always been a go-to for me when I want to discuss communication behaviors with my groups - everyone is doing something.

BUILDZI can be used for this kind of team building activity. The 'game' includes four sets of building blocks and a deck of long cards (see above). (So, up to 8 players per game is what I would say - four pairs.) In this way, when partnered up, one player has a card, the other has the blocks. And, you can play where partners can be face-to-face or back-to-back depending on the conversations you want to have. (I've found that we can bring up more about 'helping' when face-to-face because we can get visual feedback from our partner if we can see what he/she is doing.) And, what about starting back-to-back and then going to face-to-face? How does the experience change?

Other options of BUILDZI that I love: There is a 'silhouette' of the structure to build. Each card has a colorful block side and the silhouette of the same structure on the other side (see picture above. FYI: two different cards are show). And, you can have players build the structure flat on the ground/floor or vertically. Perfect for changing up the challenge.

Have fun out there! (It IS possible, even during these interesting times....)

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Onimod Challenges (from Sam Sikes)

11/20/2020

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NOTE 1: This is an updated post. After some clarification, the directions for all puzzles included in this post are clear. There was some mis-information in the original post.

NOTE 2: This activity can be done face-to-face (i.e., mask-to-mask), just keep an eye on spacing. It can also be played virtually. See below for details.

Onimod (Domino spelled backwards) is an interactive problem solver from Sam Sikes, found in his, Executive Marbles and Other Team Building Activities book. (And, there are lots of other fun things to do with dominos. For example, I pick a domino out of the 'hat' - it's a 2|5 combination. Everyone else picks too. Then, we pair up. I share things about myself equal to a number on my domino - I can say, 2, 5 or 7 (2+5=) things about myself. [What number did you choose and why? Good processing question.] My partner shares with me. After, we exchange dominos, then go off to find another partner to talk with...)

For the Onimod Challenges, you'll need a Double-Six set - 28 dominos. (If you don't have a set, I've included a downloadable one for you you below - just print, cut out and play.)

Here are the Challenges:
14 to 28 Players (Using 28 Dominos)
Give out 1 or 2 domino tiles to each player. Moving the dominoes end-to-end, while players are holding their domino(s), all 28 dominos can link in one long line. The dominos will also connect into a circle (the long line may end up working as a circle, or another solution is possible). Try solving the puzzle both ways.

10 to 21 Players (Using 21 Dominos)
First: Remove all the doubles - this includes the double zero. Give out one or two domino tiles to each player. The 21 dominos will all link into a circle.

7 to 15 Players (Using 15 Dominos)
First: Remove all the doubles, including the double zero, and all the dominos with a six. Thirteen dominos will always link in a line and leave two dominos (players) unlinked.

Extra Challenge: After finding the first solution, find another solution that includes the first two unlinked players (dominos) - in the second solution, two different players will be unlinked.

5 to 10 Players (Using 10 Dominos)
First: Remove the doubles, including the double zero, and the dominos with sixes and fives. The 10 dominos will always link into a circle.

Here's a set of Double-Sixes if you don't have one handy:

domino_double-six_set.pdf
File Size:	38 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Virtual Application
I think a small group can work on the Onimod challenges in a platform like Mural.co or Google Jamboard (if you need help finding these, let me know).

First, you'll need to 'image capture' each of the 28 dominos (from the PDF download above) and then create (import each domino image) onto a Canvas (Mural) or Slide (Jamboard) with the number and kind of dominos required for the particular challenge. (I'd say hold off on the 15-domino challenge until we have an answer!? Or, not.....)

Then, get each group to the place where they can move around their own set of domino tiles.

If you go for it, let me know how it works out!!

Be well my friend! And please, be kind - we sure need it....

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Pangram Project (another Beta Test) with Video

2/5/2020

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Okay. First off, the video (below) is a weird one, but it's filled with good stuff - I promise!! So, I'm going to ask you to pretend you're listening to a Podcast - BTW - The OnTeamBuilding Podcast is launching soon....stay tuned - so this will be practice. I got to work with Kim's Crew recently for about 20 minutes (Kim's old Crew helped with some FUNdoing videos last year), but I did not have all the permission to film releases for this new group, so the focus of the video is only on hands and the box-top we worked with (seriously, if you are prone to seizures, don't watch the video - just listen).

Background: I'm collaborating (with a virtual friend - we have never met in person!) on an online course called, Team Building with Letter Tiles, that will include old favorites and new challenges (using large letter tiles). This Pangram Project is a new one I've been working on. In this version we used small (Bananagram) letter tiles and plan to go Jumbo (Bananagrams) when we work out the process.

Below is a partial transcript of my interaction with Kim's Middle School Crew. When you see the part that says, Video Starts Here - that's where the video starts (obvious, I know). The transcript before the start of the video was my discussion with the Crew before the activity. (I wanted to spare you some, pointing at the ground footage - I was basically recording myself through the wireless microphone that goes through my smartphone camera, then pointed my camera at the action.)

Nuff said. This is a long one, but I think there are good take-aways. Let me know your ideas about the activity.

Chris

Pangram Project Pre-Conversation Transcript (with Kim's middle school Crew)

Chris (C)
What is team building to you? What does team building mean to you? Obviously, team building is, team building, but what does that mean? You've done team building right? Maybe on your wilderness trips you did some team building things...

Student (S)
Working as a group...

S
Doing things together...

S
Figuring out problems together...

C
Doing things together. That's a key word. You could do things by yourself, but when you work as a team you figure out things together.

Let's play a little, then afterwards I'll ask how we were team building.

As with all activities I'll share with you, you are not required to take an active part. If you want to stand back and keep an eye on the team to see what we're doing you can share your observations about how we did as a team after the activity is over. And, if you want to take an active part at any time let us know and we'll get you involved.

This is how it works. There are 26 letters on top of this box, A through Z. If you want to play come up and step around closer to the box. If you want to just watch you can stay where you are. If you want to move closer up behind the group and watch, feel free to do that.

This is going to be a team project. It has three parts [and we actually added a fourth part - shown in the video]. Part 1 - everyone that chooses to be a part of this project has to have some letters. Your role and responsibility is to keep track of your letters.

For Part 1, you will need to figure out who has what letters. As a group, you're going to touch the letters in order, however you want to do that. Everyone that's in play should have at least one letter if not more than one. Whatever you think you can handle. Decide together who is taking and touching what letters.

(Video Starts Here)
Part 1 is touching the letters A through Z in order with everyone, in play, touching at least one of those letters. Whenever you are ready, you can begin Part 1.....

(Students choose and touch their letters and then put in one more round for practice)

[Introducing Part 2]
At any point in the project you can always practice. If someone says, "Can I practice a bit more," you can stop the group and set this up and practice.

So, here's Part 2 if you're ready, unless you need to practice?

This next Round (Part), you're going to flip your letter over - you touch it, then flip it over in order. In Part 2, here's what's going to happen. You're going to flip the tiles back over, in order, A to Z. So, if you need to practice before you flip the tiles over, get some more practice. When you're ready for Part 2 we're going to do the flip-over thing.

Does anyone need to practice one more time?

Kim (of Kim's Crew)
Do you feel confident with where your letters are by just looking at it - once you can't see the letters. What do you think?

(An orah of student consensus for moving on.)

Okay, going on to Part 2? Alright. Is it going to be okay to say fail? Because, if we make a mistake, some people call it failing.

Kim
First attempt in learning.

C
Is it going to be okay to make mistakes?

Students (Ss)
Yah...

C
What are we doing with mistake?

Ss
We're learning from them.

C
We're learning from them. Then we're moving on. Trying it over. Getting better.

Alright. So, this time, we're into Part 2 of the project. Part 3 is the final exam. We'll get to that in just a moment.

So, when you touch your letter (this time), touch it and then turn it over - in order.

(students turn over letters in order...all letters tiles are face down)

C
Okay. Are you ready? (I'm a little nervous) Are you ready to try?

Ss
Yes....

C
Okay, here we go...

(students turn over letters in order...without any mistakes)

C
Nicely done! Anyone a little nervous about turning over their letter?

Ss
Yes.....

C
Talking about team building. How...would you define what we're doing as team building?

S
We're remembering where we put it [our letters]...we're working together so we all can figure out where it is.

C
So, you are remembering your part.

S
Yah

C
Your role and responsibility, as part of a team. Right?

Anything else about team on this one?

Kim
Success as a whole?

C
Were you successful?

Ss
Yah

C
Even if you missed a couple, would you still be successful? That's still an 'A' probably.

Ss
Yah

C
Yah. You've got to define your success.

Kim (in the background)
We're helping each other out.

C
Anything else about being a team in this situation?

S (maybe picking up what Kim said?)
We're helping each other out if we forget where a letter is.

C
Yah. I think someone wasn't sure, and someone said, "no, maybe..." So we can help each other out. That's good too, right?

Are you ready for the Final Exam, or do you want to try this Round (Part) one more time?

Kim
I noticed a lot of focus in our group during that round. Do you think we're ready?

Ss
Yes...

C
Okay. Let's get ready for Round (Part) 3, you are going to turn your letters over in order, A to Z. We're going to get ready for the final exam. (students turn letters over, face down again)

C
Do you work on group projects in school?

Ss
Yah

C
What are important things for you about a group project? When you're in a group, what do you like to see happen in a group?

S
Everybody working together.

C
Everybody working together. And, what is one behavior, that when everybody's working together they're doing? What are the things you can see and hear?

S
Focused

C
Focused...on the project. Versus being sidetracked...

S
Yah

C
Anything else you would like to see and hear while working with a group?

S
Communication

C
Talking to each other?

S
Yes.

C
Is it, nicely talking to each other? Or yelling at each other, or...

S
Nicely

C
Nicely. So, calmly, nicely. Intonation is important to you.

Anything else about a project that you like to see when you're working together?

S
Everybody doing their part.

C
Everybody doing their part. Do you all have a part?

Ss
Yah

C
What is your part in this project?

S
"E, P, S"

C
E, P, S [this person's letters]. Oh, I like that. You all have your letters, right? And you feel confident about your part of the project?

Ss
Yes....

C
Is it going to be okay to make mistakes?

Ss
Yup, Yes, Yah...

C
Here's Part 3. Anybody know what a Pangram is? [A sentence that includes all the letters of the alphabet. The pangram challenge is to create the shortest, proper, sentence using all 26 letters.

(See Video. Setting up Part 3 - spell the words in a pangram.)

Part 3: Participants are required to spell the words of the Pangram - flipping letters over in the order of spelling the word in play.

Pangram we used: (31 Letters) The five boxing wizards jump quickly.

(Lots of good stuff in here...)

C (after successfully spelling all words in the first pangram presented)
Help me out with this. What do you think about this as a team building activity? What are some things [this activity] does to build a team? What does it help us practice?

S
We're communicating together.

C
Talking to each other. And, talking nicely to each other. You weren't yelling or making fun of anybody. That's a good quality.

S
We were focused.

C
Seemed to be very focused, especially on our part.

S
Right.

C
And then there are others able to focus on other people's part. It depends on the kind of learner [you are]. Anything else this helps to build a group of people?

Kim
I noticed there was no judgement. We were able to do our part. Sometimes when I'm working with High Schoolers, and they're working in a group, they are quick to judge on how somebody's doing something. But, I know that I was focused on other stuff, and I missed my letter, but nobody was, "come on Kim" giving me a hard time about that at all. Everybody was...

Teacher in the Crew
...supportive...

Kim
Kind and patient. Yah, supportive.

C
[There was a time when] you got stuck...what did a 'teacher' (Kim) do, as a role of a teacher, what did the teacher do to help you?

S
She said, "let's practice"...

C
Sometimes people have advice that can help you move forward. Sometimes you've just got to restart and go from the beginning. But that was a great way...to practice without even looking at the letters.

New: Part 4 (Spontaneous experiment with this.)
Players 'train' the person to their left what letters they have - so, everyone will then have a new letter or letters to remember.

Training occurred, then, with the limited time we had left, players flipped over the letters from A to Z without any mistakes - each person flipping over his/her new letter or letters.

[This was about 70% of the conversations that took place during the activity. Lots more in the video.]

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What's Missing? Revisited (New Prop)

9/23/2019

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It's so fun for me to find easy-to-use props for team building activities. Back in 2015 I shared the activity What's Missing using Qwirkle pieces - small wooded squares. You can get three sets of wooden pieces from a Qwirkle game, but it is a slight investment to buy the game. Well, those clever MindWare folks have a spin off - Qwirkle Rummy cards!! For us, it's a super-portable inexpensive prop for What's Missing.

I found my deck at Barnes & Noble for $6 (plus tax)! If you don't have a B&N near you, pick them up from their website for the same price - plus a little shipping HERE. And, same deal. There are three 'sets' of colorshape cards in a Qwirkle Rummy deck. So, you have a couple sets to give away. (FYI: At the time of this post, Amazon was selling the cards for about $12!?)

Here are the updated directions for What's Missing using the cards:

Needs & Numbers: You will need one set of color shapes cards from the Qwirkle Rummy game - 36 cards: six different colors and six different shapes of each color (again, there are three of these 36-card sets in a Qwirkle Rummy deck). Plays well with 12-34 people.

Set Up: Place all 36 cards colorshape-side down on top of a table (or on the floor). You (the facilitator) pick up two cards off the table - be sure the group sees you pick up the cards, but make sure they don't see the colorshapes you have. NOTE: I like to make sure I have two cards of different shapes and colors, and, more often than not, I like to be holding one of the 8-pointed stars and a card that is purple or blue - I've found these cards often have the most ambiguity.

Once I have my two cards I ask each person in the group to pick up one card without letting anyone else see what colorshape they have. If there are cards still left on the table, I ask for volunteers to pick up another card. If there are still extra cards I ask for volunteers again to pick up another card. If all group members have the number of cards they want and there are still cards left on the table I will provide the 'Leftover' Rule (see below).

The Challenge: Once everyone has the card(s) they want to manage (this is a choice they can make) and they all understand they are not allowed to show their colorshape(s) to anyone in the group, the challenge is to find out the colorshape cards I am holding - the shape on each card and the color of the shape on each card.

When I facilitate this one, more often than not, I allow my group three attempts at the answer. And, when making an answer attempt, they must tell me the shape on both cards and the color of each shape. If the answer is incorrect, I simple say, "Incorrect." I don't tell them which one is incorrect. This adds a little more 'adventure' to the process. If their answer is correct, with a little flare, I reveal each card and we celebrate the effort before debriefing the learnings.

The One-Shot Challenge: I have used this process as well. I leave all 36 cards on the table and ask them to pick up cards (like explained above) until only two remain. (If there are more than two after everyone has the card(s) s/he wants, I ask someone to slide two cards off to one side of the table - these are the two they will need to discover. The group will use the Leftover Rule with the other cards left on the table.) When the group believes they have the answer we flip over one card at a time to see if they 'succeeded' or 'failed.' This process can be stressful but very appropriate for some groups.

Rules:

Players are allowed to say anything they want about the colorshape on their card, but they can't show anyone what they have.
Players are allowed to move around.
Players may not give away any cards they are holding.
Players are allowed to put a card they are holding back on the table.
Players may not pick up a card from the table once the activity begins - when players start sharing information about their cards.

Leftover Rule:

Every player can take one turn to pick up one card from the table, look at it - no more than 10 seconds - then place the card back on the table, colorshape down.

Variations:

If you are playing with smaller groups (e.g., 12 participants) you can take out six cards - six of the same color or six of the same shape to keep the 'set' intact. If you need to take out more, the next removal would be five of the same shape or five of the same color. (The "set" will not remain intact taking out random pieces.)
Don't allow the players to move around during the activity - they must remain in the place they are standing once the game begins.

Have FUN out there my friends!! Keep me posted.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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ReuseYourGear Games

2/27/2019

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Have You Ever...
worn two helmets on your head at the same time? On the way out the door, literally, from the ACCT Conference in Denver, I ran into Jeremy Sterndale and friends re-using retired climbing gear for some FUN in the hallway. Of course I had to find out what was going on - and play a little bit.

Last year Jeremy started the blog: reuseyourgear.blogspot.com

His site, "is an effort to repurpose, recreate, reimagine, and rediscover. I want to help out "re" in the forefront of things, thoughts and processes in the challenge course and outdoor facilitation worlds."

He's also posting ideas on Instagram at ReuseYourGear

During our super-fast game session, I learned about making rope discs, rope darts, monkey fist knot tossables and fashioning two helmets together for a target. Use hot glue to fasten the coils and helmets together. (I'm guessing a gorilla glue will work too.) In the short video above you'll see some different views of the gear so it makes more sense. For rope "darts" (rope version of Lawn Darts), simply tie a stopper knot (i.e., half barrel) at the end of a length of rope - start with at least 20 inches of rope. (I didn't get specifics - so you can experiment.)

You can use this gear, among other things, to play a static version of corn hole and a dynamic version (shown in the video). And, this is just the beginning I'm sure. So, what would you do with this gear? Leave your idea in the Comments below and/or head over to the ReuseYourGear blog to contact Jeremy about your idea. I know he's looking for more!

A BIG thanks to Jeremy for sharing and starting something fun and beneficial! Everyone has those "things" around that can find new life. Share what you've done and what's possible.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Take Two (Face Up) w/Jumbo Bananagrams (Video)

7/19/2018

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A couple of weeks ago I posted about Take Two (Face Down) using Jumbo Bananagrams. Please head over and read through this post to get all the directions of play for this engaging game.

In Take Two (Face Up), I basically turned the game upside down - just to see what would happen. Here's how I set this one up before playing. (Again, all the additional rules you need are over at the Face Down post.)

Set Up Place all the Jumbo Bananagram letters face down in the center of the playing area - all the small groups you formed are sitting around the letters. Have one player from each small group go out into the letter pool to retrieve seven letter tiles and bring them back to his/her group - no one looks at their letters until the game begins.

Now, ask all the other players, the ones that did not choose the group's seven letter tiles, to go out into the letter pool and turn all the tiles face up - so all the letters are revealed. When this is done, all the players return to their group area.

Play The game, Take Two, as described in the Face Down post, is played the same. The difference being (obviously), players can see what's available.

What I Discovered In this first-time-ever (by me anyway) try, the Crew I filmed (below) did have the opportunity to avoid certain letters, like the Qs and Zs and I did notice some specific letter requests from team members, but not all the time. It was still pretty much a frantic dash into the letter pool. So far, the Face Up variation of the game played about the same as Face Down.

Potential The next time I try this one, I'm going to be the only one that calls, "Take Two". Each group will still have a runner and builders, but no caller (roles are described in the Face Down post). Instead of the caller, I'll introduce the role of "looker" - this player has an eye on the letter pool to inform the group about what is available.

I'll call, "Take Two" when at least one group, maybe two, has used all its letters. But I won't call right away. I want to give the group(s) time to determine what they could use from the pool. So, the idea (in my head), is to slow down the pace a bit and let the groups be a little more intentional about their process.

I'll let you know how it goes. (And, hopefully get some film.)

BIG THANKS AGAIN to Kim and her Crew for helping me capture this game on film!!

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Take Two (Face Down) w/Jumbo Bananagrams (Video)

7/5/2018

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I'm a BIG fan of JUMBO Bananagrams. I've posted about Word Building, 3 Down, and most recently the Mini Reflective Puzzle I learned from my friends Trevor and Matthew. After talking about how much fun I have playing the most traditional game using Bananagrams (small or jumbo version), I finally had the opportunity to get it on film. I know this game as, Take Two (there are a few different names for this one). I was playing take two with a set of Scrabble tiles before, the now familiar, bananagrams hit the shelves.

DETAIL NOTE: Jumbo Bananagrams are 3.5 inch vinyl squares (tiles) with letters on them - about 140 tiles. Keep an eye onAmazon, they often have them on sale. (If it's not in your budget to get the Bananagrams, make a set of 140 index card letters - be creative with colors and the numbers of each letter. Think, more vowels)

PROGRAMMING NOTE: I don't often include competitive games in my team building programs (so many other things to do), but I like the design of this one (e.g., lots of teams) and the learnings I can speak to (e.g., roles and responsibilities - this comes up in the video). And, once the basic (competitive) version of the game is understood, I can move into a couple other versions to spark some other learnings - stay tuned for more posts on these!!

Take Two

Set-Up Place all the letter tiles, face down, on the floor. Then, divide your larger group into smaller teams of 2 to 4 players. Using one set of Jumbo Bananagrams, you don't want more than eight teams and, I would say, no less than four - just to keep things interesting.

Play Send one player from each team to pick up seven letter tiles from the pool of letters - teams keep all these letters face down at their "home" spot until the game begins.

When you (the facilitator) says "GO" all teams can flip over their first seven letters. The challenge for each team is to make words out of these letters and arrange them into a Scrabble-like puzzle formation - words are spelled top-to-bottom or left-to-right. After forming the first word, the second word must be connected to the first, sharing one letter. Any other words created must be connected to at least one other letter of a word in the puzzle.

The first team to find a way to use all their letters (in one or more words, following the Scrabble-like puzzle format), shouts out, "Take Two!" (this is shouted by the "caller" - more on this below). When this is called, someone (the "runner" - more on this below) from each team must go to the letter pool and pick up two more tiles (without looking at them), and then bring them back to his/her team. Once back to the team, they can look at the letters on the tiles.

NOTE: There have been games I've facilitated where three or four minutes have gone by in the first or second rounds (teams are working with only seven or nine letters) and no one can use all their letters. When this has happens, I call, "Take Two!" so teams can get more resources to work with. So, if a round is going on too long, go ahead and call it.

Now, each team must incorporate these two new letters into their Scrabble-like puzzle. Maybe they can be added to the words already in their puzzle (e.g., adding an "S" to the end of a word). Maybe they will have to rearrange their full collection of letters to form all new words. In the end, the objective is the same. Each team must use all their letters to form words into a Scrabble-like puzzle formation.

As the game goes on, any team that uses all their letters calls out, "Take Two!" until all the tiles in the letter pool are gone. At this point, when a team uses all the letters in their possession, they call, "Done!" Done means that all word building must stop - it does not mean "game over!" Players may not touch any letter tiles when done is called, but they can still focus on their puzzle. The team that called "done" must have their words checked by the facilitator. If all words are acceptable (in most cases I play by Scrabble rules, in some cases I'm more flexible), then the call is, "Game Over - the winner is...." If there is a mistake in the puzzle, the facilitator calls, "Game On" and word building can continue until someone calls, "Done!" again. When a team can present their puzzle with acceptable words, they are declared the winners of said game. Of course, when there is time, a new game can be set up to play.

So, those are the basics!

Take Two Team Building

In the video (below) you'll be able to pick up a team building (learning) aspect of the game that I've recently incorporated. I learned this from my CrowdWords friends (see post HERE) Matthew and Trevor (noted above). When they are playing their version of Take Two (using CrowdWords cards), they assign roles and responsibilities to players. There are "builders" - players that focus on building the words in the puzzle. There are "callers" - a player who is responsible for calling out "Take Two!" with gusto. And, there is a "runner" - a player who is responsible for going to the letter pool and picking up two letter tiles and bringing them back to his/her team after "take two" is called.

As in any team task, roles and responsibilities can be shared or they can be exclusive - if you are assigned a role, that is your only responsibility. Depending on the number of players on a team, there might be enough people for each role and there might be players who take on more than one role (e.g., anyone can be a builder).

Processing When you use roles and responsibilities, you can talk about how this played out and where else this plays out for team members. What role did you take in the game and how did it influence your level of participation? Did you chose your role or did someone else choose it for you? Did players stay within the boundaries of their roles? Why? Why not? Was your role clear to you? If it wasn't clear, what did you do about it?

I also like to talk about the concepts of winning and losing - What do we learn from each concept? How do we treat our opponents? Can we have a game if we don't have competitors? What is the role of competition in our lives? Is it useful? Is it damaging? What if all competition went away, what would our lives be like? Who likes this type of (spelling) game? Why? Who does not like this kind of game? Why? What choices do we have when we're playing in a "game" we don't want to be in?

Stay Tuned for More!

In my next Blog post, I'll share a little wrinkle I tried out with Take Two right after the Crew in the video learned the basics.

Big Thanks Again to Kim the Crew for letting me film this adventure!! You're the BEST!

Keep me posted my friends.

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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The Manhole Ladder Climb (with Video)

5/2/2017

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Here's an exciting belayed "high course" climbing activity done by my friends at Group Dynamix (www.GroupDynamix.com). Check out the video below for the action.

I've done something like this in the past, but what I really like about this version is the "Manhole Ladder" (sorry, it's not quite PC, but it's what they're called. (You can find yours at Granger.) The ladder we use at GDX is 14 feet high and about 12 inches wide. It's a super solid one-piece design with sturdy rounded feet and nice smooth rounded "hand holds" at the top (see pictures below).

The ladder is geared up with four (white) multiline ropes safely attached to some webbing around the side of the ladder and top step. Above the climb is a belay-rated anchor with a static belay rope.

FEET TOP for HANDS

Set Up: We clip the climber in the front of a seat harness. A full body harness can also be used with a dorsal clip in. We like the team belay - four or five belayers with both hands on the belay rope. The end person of the team is clipped into the rope as well. There are 1 or 2 participants at the end of the (white) support ropes depending on the weight of the climber - if the climber is heavier than one support person, another person is added.

In the video the climber was challenged to walk up the slanted ladder - no hands. She then climbed (was lowered) down with the ladder straight up (her choice). I've seen the ladder held straight up the entire time, and with the ladder leaning towards the climber to start. He did hand-over-hand pull ups and then climbed his way over the top of the "overhang" (the support ropes were a bit tricky to get around). With this overhang method we had three support participants on each of the two ropes on the back side (away from the climber) and two on the front side ropes. He then walked down the ladder, still slanted, with no hands.

Overall, I really like the amount of participation you can get from the team. Eight to 12 (or more) people can be in support roles while one person climbs. Pretty cool.

(I know you will also follow all of your protocols (LOPs) when it comes to facilitating a high course element!)

Let me know how it goes if you try it out!!

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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ZOOM (the Basics and a Variation)

12/15/2016

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I've been reconnected to the ZOOM activity since I've been working for an outings company here in Texas (Group Dynamix - Carrollton Texas). ZOOM is a "straight up" verbal communication challenge - the only way to succeed is to share information through talking. (A while back I posted What's Missing? using the Qwirkle Game pieces - same behaviors needed for this one.) I want to share the basics here at my blog for easy access to those who want to get started. There are at least a half-dozen ways I know of to lead ZOOM. (Michelle Cummings and I co-wrote the ZOOM activity for my most recent book, Portable Teambuilding Activities - there are several presentation variations included.)

Zoom is a picture book written by Istvan Banyai. As a teambuilding activity you first need to cut the spine off of the book. (Well, the first thing is actually buying the book - find your copy on Amazon. I've also picked up several copies over the years from the brick-and-mortar Half Priced book stores as well.) Once the spine is cut off you will have about 30 usable pages. So, you could lead ZOOM with up to 30 participant. (I tend to go with 10 to 24 - it can get really long with more players.) The picture incuded above shows the first seven pages of the book. (Advice: Laminate the pages.)

(The ZOOM Book cover)

The Basic ZOOM Lead Once you know how many participants you will have for the activity - let's say 18. Choose 18 sequential pages from the set (choosing 18 random pages from the set can make it a bit more challenging). Hand out a page to every person in your group and ask them not to show their picture to anyone else. In other words, when I get my picture/page I am the only one that can see it. Then, I say something like this:

The pictures you are all holding connect together in a linear order - there is a beginning and an end to the sequence. Your challenge is to arrange the pictures into the correct order by only verbally describing the picture you have in your hand. You must keep your picture in hand and you are not allowed to trade your picture with anyone. In the end, you all need to position yourselfs in a circle formation. One person will ultimately be holding the first picture of the set and someone will be holding the last picture in the set. The rest of you will be in sequential order in between the two. When you all believe you are in the correct sequential order we will reveal (turn around) all the pictures to see how you did.

There you have it. The basics. Players can move around and they can use any words to describe the picure they have. I don't let my groups use outside resources (e.g., smart phones "I didn't show them MY picture"). When you play with up to 24 (or more people) it can take a good 45 minutes - so, be ready. This one's very challenging.

Note: There is also a second helping - Re-Zoom. This (book) sequence of pictures is MUCH tougher to solve with only verbal communication. When I want to give a group some "help" before presenting ZOOM in the traditional way, I start with Re-Zoom. However, the players are able to show their pictures to each other and then get into sequential order. This "practice" gives the group an idea of how pictues fit together and the complexity involved. This step takes about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the number of pictures. But, what I've found is that it cuts the solution time to ZOOM in half.

A ZOOM Variation My Friend Scott Goldsmith recently shared a presentation to ZOOM (that he told me he learned from Steve Ockerbloom) that I have yet to try - but looking forward to.

Each person can look at his/her picture/page then put it face down somewhere in the area. Then, players go out and discuss what they remember about their picture with other people in the group for a predetermined period of time (say 5 minutes - could be more if you think it's needed). After the 5 minutes, everyone can go look at his/her picture/page again for 1 minutes. Then, they all go back out to talk again (for another 5 minutes).

Finally, everyone can look at their picture a 3rd time (for 1 mimute). After this third look players keep hold of their page but cannot look at it again. Participants come back together to openly discuss one more time then put the pictures/pages face down in the order they believe is correct - there will be a first and last picture/page and all the rest in between. The reveal is one card (starting with the first card) at at a time. "It's awesome!!! Best variation I have seen," says Scott.

I'm sure more versions of ZOOM will find there way to FUNdoing. So, go get your ZOOM, give it a try, and be ready for more. Let us know how it goes. Leave a comment below.

All the best,

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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Spot It Cards (Revisited)

12/1/2016

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Way back in June of 2012 I posted a teambuilding icebreaker activity using Spot It Cards. Since then Spot It Cards and Ubuntu Cards (they work like Spot It Cards, but the activities are more related to teambuilding) have been showing up more and more in teambuilding programs. Lately I pulled out some Spot It cards and revisited some old activities and created a new one (Spot It Team Challenge) for some recent groups. (If you are new to Spot It or Ubuntu Cards, the unique feature is in the fact that any two cards from a deck will have one matching image - Can you see the one in the picture below?

With the holidays upon us I thought those of you who like gift giving (especially for that certain teambuilder - or builders - in your life) might like a little PDF handout of activities to go along with some Spot It Cards as this years gift (Spot It Cards have a number of different themes to fit just about anyone's personality - you can find them on Amazon.)

What's On the PDF?

Spot It Stories - An icebreaker (for up to 48) as described in my June 2012 post.
Spot It Challenge - A competitive game (for up to 48) with one winner in the end and LOTS of cheering!
Spot It Racing - A teambuilding acitvity (for groups of 8 to 10 - multiple groups can play at the same time) finding the matches as fast as possible.
Spot It Team Challenge - A competitive and teambuilding challenge with a winning outcome and interesting talking points. Rematches for sure!

spotitcards_teambuilding.pdf
File Size:	139 kb
File Type:	pdf

Download File

Do you have a Spot It Cards activity you love? Please share it with us in the comments below.

Have FUN out there!

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.

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<<Previous

BUILDZI - Two for One Team Building Activity

Onimod Challenges (from Sam Sikes)

Pangram Project (another Beta Test) with Video

What's Missing? Revisited (New Prop)

ReuseYourGear Games

Take Two (Face Up) w/Jumbo Bananagrams (Video)

Take Two (Face Down) w/Jumbo Bananagrams (Video)

The Manhole Ladder Climb (with Video)

FEET TOP for HANDS

ZOOM (the Basics and a Variation)

Spot It Cards (Revisited)

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