Order Puzzles (with Playing Cards)

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Recently I was rewriting the instructions to 'Order Puzzle' – a small group activity I included in the Activity Manual for the POSSIBLESbag Teambuilding Kit, when I had this idea. Before I share the new idea, let me give you a recap. Order Puzzle is one of those "low risk people practice" activities I talked about in the House Puzzle of String post. Participants ease into problem-solving with a less people, so they get the feel for the process. 

Order Puzzle

Needs & Numbers: 1 standard deck of (52) playing cards for up to 12 participants. More than 12? Use more decks. From a group management perspective, I use this activity with up to 24 participants if I'm on my own. 

Time: 15-20 minutes

Set Up: First you need to create three 'puzzle sets' (of 16 cards) from a standard deck of playing cards. Take out the four 10s (not needed), then create your sets:

• Puzzle Set 1: 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s;
• Puzzle Set 2: 6s, 7s, 8s, 9s;
• Puzzle Set 3: Aces, Js, Qs, Ks.

Then divide your group into smaller groups of 2 to 4 participants. (Again, If you have more then 12 people in your group you just need more playing cards to make more sets.)

Process: Give each small group a Puzzle Set (16 cards), a place to lay out their puzzle, and the following challenge:

Using all 16 cards in your set, create a 4 by 4 grid of cards, showing face up, where no row or column of the grid has the same suit in it or the same rank in it (face value).

For your reference, the picture shows one solution using Puzzle Set 3. 

Clarify any questions about the directions. (You can, or may need to, lay out a 4 by 4 grid for a visual – you can use the visual to clarify what's expected in the rows and columns as well.) Then let the groups start. Mingle around to answer questions (without solving problems) and check answers. When one group solves the puzzle, give the remaining groups (if there are any) 60 seconds to solve the puzzle or get as far as they can.

Here are the questions I included in the recent update of the activity:

• What was difficult about this activity for you?
• What strategies did you and your team come up with to be successful?
• Describe the behaviors you saw and heard within your group during the challenge? Which behaviors did you like? Which behaviors would you have changed?
• On a scale of 1 to 5, how did your group do at listening to each other? A 1 is not very well and 5 is really well. If you didn’t give your group a 5, what would they need to do to raise their score one point?
• How many of you had an idea to share about solving the puzzle? How did you communicate your ideas to others? Were all your ideas listened to during the challenge? What could have been better about your idea sharing process?
• What feelings surfaced for you during the challenge? How did these feelings influence the way you participated?

(Thanks to Michelle Cummings and Training Wheels for letting me share.)

Again, this short, small group, low-risk activity is about people practice – fewer people working on a task is less complex than a larger group task. There's more opportunity to share verbally and participate physically and 'problem solving' usually takes less time. There's 'more' direct experience for each person. 

Order Puzzles

Okay. Here's my new idea. There will still be a level of autonomy for each group with the possible opportunity to collaborate between groups (but we don't tell them about the collaboration part – we hope it becomes obvious [or necessary?]). 

Needs & Numbers: You will be grouping three smaller groups together (2 to 4 people in a smaller group) – let's call this grouping a 'pod'. Each pod needs a deck of cards with the four 10s removed. I think I could manage three pods at once. (?) So, up to 36 participants. 

Set Up: Find a nice area for each pod to play (the diagram to the right is a pod) – each small group in a pod needs a flat(ish) surface to build their puzzle. Position each small group in a pod as points of a triangle – small groups are at least 5 feet from the card pool and each other. Then give each pod their (shuffled) deck of cards (with 10s removed). Each group is asked to spread out their cards in the middle area of their triangle – this will be the 'card pool'.

I've been thinking about three options for the card pool set up. Here's my favorite at this time. Ask each group to divide their deck of cards in half – this can be their best guesstimate or they can count out the top 24 cards. Then, one pile will be spread out in the pool face up and the other pile will be spread out face down. The two piles can be mixed around together or stay separated. (My thinking: The face cards will be the first to get picked up, then the 'blind' pile will be picked up – or maybe not. More below.) The other two options: All cards spread out face up or all cards spread out face down. Each set up will have its own dynamics – you choose. 

Process: When all the pods are set up, explain that the goal for each pod is to have each small group build an Order Puzzle (as described above - a 4 by 4 grid with nothing identical in the rows and columns). To be successful, a pod will have three completed Order Puzzles. (Maybe we have an extra Puzzle Set of cards to demonstrate what the grid looks like and note the expectations of the rows and columns?) 

When the challenge begins, in turn, someone from each small group can go to the pod's card pool, pick up one card, and bring it back to their group. The small group then decides where to place the card within the grid. Then, a different person is sent to the card pool for another card to bring back. Each person within a small group must take a first turn before taking a second turn. Then take a second turn before anyone takes a third turn and so on.  

Share these rules without any more details:

• A card taken from the card pool may not be returned to the card pool.
  
• A small group within a pod may not pick up another card from the pool until the one they have is placed in a puzzle – cards are either in the pool or in a puzzle. 

(This is where, I'm imagining, there will need to be some collaboration between groups, as they build their puzzles. But we don't tell them this. When they ask if they can work with other groups, answer: "It's not against the rules.")

I'm guessing right now that this 'new idea' won't take too much longer than the original process (15-20 minutes), that is, if the pods figure out they can collaborate. The dynamic of sharing resources is what interests me. The inverse is also possible. It might take longer than I imagine. The final pieces (cards) of all the puzzles in a pod might take a lot of verbal communication to sort out what everyone needs. Depending on my programming windows, I might set a time limit on the work and the discuss what it took to get as far as they did. 

Explore this question along with the others above:

• What did it take from you to reach your pod's goal? (There is a lot to dissect with this question. Stick with it for deeper take aways.)

Consideration: Since all three small groups have access to all of the cards (and are not restricted to four ranks), the need for collaboration might not exist. Let's find out.

Please let us know what you discover (I will too). Leave us a Comment below. 

Here's to the wonder of it all!! 

Chris Cavert, Ed.D.