About Now
A simple sixty second guessing game.
At A Glance
Individuals standing as a part of their group will sit down when they estimate sixty seconds has elapsed since the starting command of “now.”
What You Need
- A comfortable, open space for people to sit on the ground
- A time piece with a second hand
- 5 – 10 minutes
What To Do
Bunch your group together in front of you with sufficient room for each person to sit on the ground, but don’t sit down yet! With a time piece at the ready, instruct your group to sit down when they believe exactly 60 seconds has elapsed. Note, there is no talking permitted during the exercise, so that individuals assume full responsibility for when they believe the sixty seconds as expired.
Obviously, it will be necessary for people to not look at their watches as they perform this task, ie if the temptation is too great, ask that all watches be removed. Also, you are well advised to check that the area you are playing in does not have a clock on the wall (but that’s another story).
The time starts ticking when you call out “NOW”, and off they go. It’s extraordinary how quick some people believe one minute will pass, or how long. Purely out of interest, note the person(s) who sits at or closest to the sixty-second mark.
Observe how group pressure plays a part in people’s decision-making processes. It will look like corn popping in reverse – a few early sits, then a few more, then a flurry of them for an extended period, and then some late ones. And then of course, there’s always a few tough, residual corns that just refuse to pop (and get burned)!
Variations
- Same deal, but this time the group can communicate with each other all they like, before and during the exercise, with the objective of having everyone sit at the same time. Emphasis is on seeking consensus, as well as achieving a group-sit as close to one minute as possible.
- Stand your group in a line at the edge of a wide space, and ask them to walk to the other side at a pace which will have them cross a designated line at exactly sixty-seconds.
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
2011 PD Workshops Posted
Hey folks, I’ve been meaning to remind you all that I have posted a stack of one-day professional development workshop dates for VIC, TAS, NSW and QLD….
>>> CLICK HERE TO VIEW WORKSHOP DATES <<<
And of course, most of my time is spent delivering custom workshops of this nature all over the place. If you’re interested in having me come to you (your group), let me know.
Have a great day! Mark
TP Shuffle On A Rope
Indoor (and outdoor) variation of a classic initiative.
At A Glance
A group standing on a straight line of rope attempts to re-order their positions, ensuring that all movements are made with at least one foot on the rope at all times.
What You Need
- Long piece of rope (say 10m for 25 people)
What To Do
The original TP Shuffle is a wonderful group initiative, but as it required a long 5 to 8 metre pole (TP = telephone pole) laying on its side, it was not always readily accessible. Until now…
Lay a long rope in a straight line on the floor (or relatively even ground) and ask your group to stand directly onto it with both feet.
Next, explain that you would like them to now re-arrange their current positions according to a particular sequence, for example, the month and date of their birth. So, at one end of the rope it is possible that someone may be standing with a birth date of 1 January, and next to them, 2nd of January, and so on, through the days and months to 31 December at the opposite end of the rope.
However, here’s the kicker – all movements must be made with at least one foot always touching the rope. If at any time, one or more people involved in a move should discover that both of their feet are not touching the rope, they will incur a penalty. Penalties can also be incurred if any other part of the body (such as a hand or butt) should touch the ground – often because they were used to break a fall.
Typically, penalties vary from simply counting the number of infractions, to requiring the offender to move to the end of the rope opposite to the direction they were travelling. For example, if a person with a birth date of September should come off the rope, they must start over from the January end of the rope. Yeah, tough, I know!
While clearly the task is not performed while balancing on a telephone pole, this variation does offer many of the benefits of the original, including the development of creativity, support and communication skills.
Variations
- Vary the sequence criteria, such as last two digits of their mobile phone number, street number, height, shoe size, length of hair, etc.
- Complete the task with several members of the group blindfolded.
If you know of a cool variation to this exercise, please add a comment…
Acronyms
Hey folks, just received a note from a long-time client describing his joy at using a wonderful variation of one of my all-time favourite arrival activities – ACRONYMS!
He recently encountered your typical group of disengaged young people, and soon after he rolled out this exercise, he’d broken the ice and had them in fits of laughter.
First, here’s the activity…
At A Glance
A group attempts to decipher a variety of acronyms as they are presented one after another.
What You Need
- List of ‘acronyms’ printed on index cards or sheets of paper
- Paper and pens (optional)
- 10 – 20 mins
What To Do
You know how it feels when the clock says it’s time to start, but it’s obvious that not everyone is here. I hate waiting, so I have developed a bunch of really simple, non-threatening activities that can occupy (think reward) those folks who are on time, yet not disrupt the group’s fun when the late-comers finally appear.
Well in advance, grab a magazine, newspaper or both and start flicking through the pages spotting as many acronyms (you know, a word that is formed from the initials of other words) as you can. I’m sure you know many off the top of your head. Write these ‘words’ onto a set of index cards or sheets of paper. You’ll need at least 40 or more.
Can’t think of any? Check out pages 57 & 232 on Count Me In for dozens of them, such as:
PIN DOA QANTAS LASER NATO AD
ANZAC FAQ BBC BMW LED HMS
RAM FUBAR NIMBY ATM SCUBA pH
MGM WHO FUNN UFO DINK RSVP
MASH GSOH CEO UNESCO ISBN IVF
The basic idea is to present this series of cards, turning one card over at a time, asking your group to decipher as many of the acronyms as they can, in as little time as possible. Get it right (bing!) and you show the next card. Can’t work it out, either tell them the answer, or put the card aside to work on later as you move onto the next one.
As an opening (arrival) activity, let me describe my all-time favourite version…
I make an ‘unofficial’ start by asking people to bunch on in, sit them down (often on the floor), introduce myself briefly and pull out the cards. Within a few minutes and a dozen or so cards, I have not only fostered engagement and some laughter (I often encourage silly answers). I’ve found this to be an awesome, creative way to kick off many programs.
And, hey, did you know that A C R O N Y M is really an acronym? A Contrived Reduction Of Nomenclature Yielding Mnemonics, or Abbreviated Codes Rarely Or Never Yielding Meaning. Or, how about Annoyingly Cryptic References Of Names You Make-up?
Variations
- Separate into smaller groups, and hand each a number of acronym cards. Their object is to correctly guess as many as possible, perhaps within a time limit.
- As above, but this time add a number of blank index cards and supply a magazine or newspaper. Each small group is now challenged to find a variety of acronyms within the pages, write them on the blank cards, and invite another group to translate as many as possible.
- Use a series of common and humourous text / SMS abbreviations as your acronyms. Terms such as IMHO (in my humble opinion), LOL (laugh out loud, or lots of love), ISO (in search of), and tons of others*. Click HERE for a list of 50 of the most common SMS / Text phrases to get you started.
* Thanks to Andrew Davis, Wodonga VIC for this last variation 
Taken from ‘Count Me In: Large Group Activities That Work.’
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Who am I?
Hi, I'm Mark Collard.
This blog shares some of the most successful group games, team-building activities & programming tips I know.
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