1. Gamebook
Index
Index_______________________________________1
1 Learn the Names___________________________2
Name Association___________________________2
Gotcha___________________________________2
Ball Passing_______________________________2
2 Get to know_______________________________2
Surprise Introduction________________________2
3 Sensitivity Games___________________________3
Examine the Room__________________________3
Ring Chair________________________________3
Grandbowski_______________________________3
Big Knots_________________________________3
Sorting (versions)___________________________4
Stroop Test________________________________4
Juggling People____________________________4
4 Fun Games________________________________4
Safari____________________________________4
Killercars_________________________________5
Winks of Murder____________________________5
Widows___________________________________5
Riddles___________________________________5
Which direction?___________________________6
Laughing__________________________________6
Group Sex_________________________________6
Bong Deggy_______________________________6
Das ist ein Tic_____________________________6
5 Drama____________________________________7
Machines_________________________________7
Recognize Yourself__________________________7
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2. 1 Learn the Names
Name Association
Use: Learn the names, icebreaker
Time: depends on number
Number: 6 to 20
Requires: nothing
Each person introduces himself by
standing up, stating his name and
associating the name with a personal
characteristic. Examples: "I'm Dearest
Dan", "I'm Easy Ed", "I'm Social Sue".
Gotcha
Use: Learn the names, icebreaker
Time: 15- 60 min.
Number: 8 to 25. Possible with
subgroups.
Requires: One newspaper for each group.
One chair for each participant.
One person (P) is armed with the
newspaper and is placed in the middle of a
circle of people sitting on chairs. One from
the circle names another one from the
circle. The goal for P is now to hit that
person before he gets to name another
one. When P succeeds, the person hit
changes positions with P and receives the
newspaper.
Ball Passing
Use: Learn the names, icebreaker
Time: 10 min. dependent on number
Number: 8 to 30
Requires: Ball
All sit or stand in a circle. First part:
Someone throws something (e.g. a ball) to
another one, who catches the ball, says
the name of the person who threw the ball,
then throws the ball to another person in
the circle, etc. Variation for a small group:
In a first round, pass the ball around and
tell your own name when you throw the
ball. In the second round, each has to list
all the names consecutively up to the
beginning (like "I´m Peter, I got the ball
from Susan, who got the ball from Frank,
who...).
2 Get to know
Getting to know each other by interesting
games (Probably you know quite a lot af
them). Never the less here are some
suggestions:
• Trust- walk: Your partner is led, with
closed eyes, through the landscape.
The confidence carried towards you
shouldn't be misused.
• Introduce your partner: The couples get
ten minutes to get to know each other
as good as possible. After that they
should introduce each other in the
plenary.
• Woolball- Game: The ball is given,
connected with a question, to another
groupm e m b er. The goal is to build up a
network between all members.
• Energy pie: Fill in the time you spend
during the day with various activities
into a pie chart and present it to the
other group members.
• Souvenir- game: Each participant brings
a souvenir of his favourite country and
tells a story about it. Please announce
this game before.
• Lifetree: You draw a tree and describe
what the roots are, what the trunk is
made of and where the branches show.
• Warrant- Game: Each one brings a
picture and draws a warrant. After that
the other group mem bers have to guess
which picture belongs to which warrant.
• Risk: Each one tells three stories about
his partner in front of the group. One
story is wrong, the others have to guess
which one.
Surprise Introduction
Use: Intercultural trainings - to
highlight cultural differences at the outset
of the workshop
Time: 10 min. dependent on number
Number: variable, works best with small
groups
Requires: pen and paper
Developed by K. T.C. Clifford
• Explain that, as the facilitator, you will
be departing from tradition and
introducing yourself last
• Ask participants to write down the most
important things about themselves in
twenty- five words or less; specifically
write what they would want people to
remember about them after they are
dead.
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3. • Heve the participants read their
introductions aloud one by one. If the
group is large, select only a few to
read.
• Next, introduce yourself using the
following model of a relationship-
oriented introduction: „My name is
John Doe. My father is Jeremiah Doe
and is a native of Massachusetts. He
is a country lawyer who specializes in
family law. My mother is Judith
Alexander Doe. Her parents were the
well-known Mr. And Mrs. Edsel Doe of
the car business. My mother is a
housewife in Peoria, Massachusetts. I
have a brother, Eldereth Doe, who is
acorporate lawyer in upstate New
York. I also have a sister, Elaindra
Doe, who is a housewife and mother
of four. My wife, Carol Smithe Doe, is
the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Arthur
Smithe, who reside in Michigan. I
have three children, two sons and
one daughter.“
• Note: Use your own example and base
it entirely on real relationships, if
possible. When people begin to
squirm during the introduction, keep
going a little longer and then stop.
• Have participants compare your
introduction with theirs, which were
probably more job- or role- oriented. The
discussion should focus on how
introductions reflect cultural values
(being vs. Doing, Individualism vs.
Collectivism)
3 Sensitivity Games
Examine the Room
Use: Icebreaker, to demonstrate
quickly how culture affects all we do (for
cultural awareness trainings)
Time: 10 min. dependent on number
Number: variable. Make sure that there
are a few more chairs than there are
participants
Requires: people sitting in plenary
Ask the group to observe where people are
sitting. What spaces are left? How closely
are they seated? What are the
characteristics of the groupings of people
who are sitting near each other? What
materials or possessions did people
bring/not bring? What assumptions do
people have about the kind of interaction
that is going to occur today? Where did
those assumptions originate?
Relate this to the workshop´s general goal
of cultural awareness. Explain that one of
the objectioves for the workshop (cultural
awareness) is to make us aware of
assumptions that we make that arise from
our cultural background as Germans, for
example, how our concept of physical
space affects the distance we seat
ourselves from others.
Ring Chair
Use: Cooperation, icebreaker,
pausega m e
Time: 10 min. dependent on number
Number: 10 to unlimited
Requires: nothing
Make people stand in a circle, sides to the
middle, with their hands on the next's
sholders. Slowly and carefully bend the
knee, so that you sit on the legs of the
person behind you. If you are very careful,
you can take steps forward.
Grandbowski
Use: Dinnergam e, fun
Time: 10 min.
Number: 4 to 10
Requires: One match without sulphur
Is best around the dinnertable
The gameleader starts by telling a story:
"Once upon a time a Polish pilot who
during the Great Polish 3-weeks war
showed great courage etc. etc. etc. May
the lord be with him." Let the match go
around the table from one mouth to the
next. "Well, one day Grandbowski was so
unlucky and fell down from the sky and
lost a leg." Break a small piece from the
match. Repeat the passing of the match.
Now let Grandbowski loose more parts of
the body until he dies from his wounds -
and pass around.
Big Knots
Use: Icebreaker, touch, partygam e,
pausega m e
Time: 10- 15 min. depending on the
knot
Number: 6 to 12
Requires: nothing
Stand in a circle shoulder to shoulder to
form the knot. Place your hands in the
center. Now everybody grab a couple of
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4. hands. If you ever want to get out of this,
make sure that no one holds both hands
with the same person. You can switch
around to get the knot tied right. Now the
task is to untangle the knot again - there
are two ways to do this. The activist way:
dive under, over and through the
team m at es - hoping they'll come up with
the solution. And the analysist who will try
to survey the situation before instructing
each play precisely where to move and in
what order. Now resolve it!
Sorting (versions)
Use: Icebreaker, touch
Time: 10 min.
Number: up to 10
Requires: Blindfolds
Everybody will be blindfolded and is not
allowed to speak. Then, they will have to
line up in a row, sorted by height.
Alternative version for bigger groups from
20 participants up, without blinfolding, no
requirements: Everybody is told not to
communicate by verbal communication.
Then the participants have to line up in a
row, sorted by birthdays (day and month)
in the year.
Stroop Test
Use: Problem- solving
Time: 5 min.
Number: unlimited
Requires: A sheet of paper (or overhead)
with 5 names of colors written with 5
different colors (i.e. you write the word
"BLUE" with a red pen, the word "GREEN"
with a yellow pen etc.)
Before you show the paper to anyone,
instruct the group not to read the words
but to say out loud the colors that the
different words have been written with.
That is: If the word "ELEPHANT" is written
with a blue pen, you don't say "Elephant",
but say "blue". Tell them that they should
so it as fast as they can. People will
experience difficulties in not reading the
words. This is due to our skills - we are so
used to reading letters - we do not actually
see the colors. Discuss implications.
Juggling People
Use: Trust building, sensitivity, self-
awareness
Time: depends on number
Number: 15 to endless
Requires: nothing
In a circle, one person points out another
and says „Help me!“ The other person
answers „Come here!“.First person runs to
the other, but before he reaches his goal,
the caller points out someone else saying
„Help me!“ and so on. All the time,
someone should be running (“being
juggled“). After managing this, the group
begins juggling two and maybe three
people at a time (Two/three people
starting with „Help me!“...)
4 Fun Games
Safari
Use: Pure fun
Time: 10 min.
Number: unlimited
Requires: nothing
One person leads the game, tells the story
and demonstrates the hand movem ents.
Begin with: "You are in Africa to hunt lions.
One morning, ..."
• you wake up in your tent (typical
movem ents of getting started in the
morning)
• you open the tent (operate the
imaginary zipper)
• you go outside ("leave the tent")
• you take your rifle (shoulder the rifle)
• you start walking through the field (clap
your hands on your knees)
• you smell the flowers to your left (sniff
to your left)
• you smell the flowers to your right (sniff
to your right)
• you enter a meadow (rub your hands)
• you leave the meadow (clap the hands
on the knees again)
• you are climbing a hill (clap more
slowly)
• you are running down the hill (clap
faster)
• you are back on the field (clap with
normal speed)
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5. • you enter a wooden bridge (knock with
your fists on your chest)
• you recognize a hole in the bridge (go
back, run and jump over the hole)
• you enter the jungle (cut free the way
with a knife)
• you see a lion in front of you (scream,
turn around and run for your life)
Now rewind the whole story backwards, in
at least double speed!
Killercars
Use: Communication and
cooperation
Time: 20- 60 min.
Number: 6-10 teams á 2 persons
Requires: One scarf for each team
In a circle the drives are ready to
telecontrol their cars (partners). The cars
are parked beside the drives at start -
blindfolded. They decide on what signs to
give to which movements (forward,
reverse, turn and so forth). The
gameleader appoints one team to be the
"killercar". The driver and the car is to
catch the other "cars". The gameleader
spins the killercar around and the game
can start. All the drivers have to steer their
cars away from the killercar by instructing
their car how to move. At the beginning
the cars are to move slowly as collisions
can hurt. A car is caught when the killercar
grabs the car firmly.
Winks of Murder
Use: Eyecontact, presentations skills
Time: 30 min.
Number: 8 to 20
Requires: A deck of cards (one card for
each)
Sit in a circle so that everyone can see the
others in the eyes. Everyone gets a card -
the one who gets the Jack of Clubs is the
murderer. Only the murderer himself
knows it. The murderer kills by winking
with one eye by eyecontact. When
someone is killed, he waits a few seconds
and then puts his card down, saying "I'm
dead". If somebody finds out who the
murderer is, he accuses him, and the
game starts over with a new murderer.
Widows
Use: Eyecontact, presentation skills
Time: 30- 60 min.
Number: 9 to 37
Requires: One chair per 2 participants
The chairs are put in a circle, facing the
center. Behind each chair, one person
stands with his hands on his back, one sits
on the chair - except one. The one who is
standing behind an empty chair is
widowed and VERY interested in catching
someone to keep him company (the sex
doesn't matter). The widow is very popular
and catches someone by winking at one of
the seated persons. If a seated person
discovers the wink, he gets up quickly and
runs to the widow. If, however, the person
who stands behind the chair gets to place
his hands on the shoulders of the winked-
at, he must stay and cannot leave until
next time he is winked at. After some time,
the standing sit down and you play
another round.
Riddles
Use: Fun, analyzing, creativity
Time: 10- 15 min.
Number: 8-unlimited
Requires: nothing
A gameleader tells the outcome of a story.
The participants must guess what has
happened before. The gameleader is only
allowed to answer with yes or no.
Everyone can ask questions in order to
find out what has happened. Pick out one
or two - all will be too many at the same
time.
Outcome: A lady enters a grocery and
drops dead. Story: She jumped with a
parachute. It didn't open.
Outcome: A lady lives on the 7th floor.
Each time she goes shopping, she takes
the elevator down to the floor. When she
returns she takes the elevator to the 5th
floor and walks the rest of the way. Story:
She isn't very tall and can only reach the
button fo the 5th floor.
Question: The one who makes it, cannot
use it. the one, who buys it, cannot either.
The one, who gets ist, doesn't care.
Answer: A coffin.
Outcome: A man walks into a restaurant
and orders albatross. When he's taken one
bite, he walks out again to drown himself.
Story: The man is blind and has just been
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6. saved from a deserted island after a
shipwreck with a couple of others. When
they starved they ate human meat, but of
kindness they told the blind man it was
albatross. When he tastes albatross, he
recognizes the trick.
Outcome: A man enters his car, turns on
the radio and shoots himself. Story: The
man is DJ in a radio show that was
recorded and should be broadcasted at
that time. He just committed murder and
the radio show should have been his alibi.
But the show was cancelled.
Which direction?
Use: Concentration
Time: 10- 20 min.
Number: 8 to 16
Requires: Table
Put your left hand on the table, so that it's
left of your left neighbor's right hand. Do
the same accordingly with the right hand.
Someone starts clapping with a hand on
the table. Clockwise, hands must go on
clapping on the table. Clapping twice
means change direction. If you make a
mistake, take your hand off the table.
Laughing
Use: Fun
Time: 5-10 min.
Number: 8 to 20
Requires: nothing
People lay down on floor forming a row in
which everyone but the first has its head
on the stomach of his ancestor in the row.
For this, you need to lay down in 90
degree angles. The first start laughing
once: "Ha!" Continue down the row: "Ha,
Ha!" and "Ha, Ha Ha!" etc. When finished
with the row, start over again, always
incrementing the number of "Ha".
Group Sex
Use: Fun
Time: 5 min.
Number: at least 20
Requires: nothing
Split people into four groups, each group
simulates one of the following: Man (ohh-
ohh), woman (ah- ah), mattress (squeak-
squeak), clanging of flesh (clap your
cheek). Dirigate and increase tempo.
Bong Deggy
Use: Fun
Time: 10 - min.
Number: 4 to 20
Requires: nothing
Participanbts are sitting in a circle. One
starts saying Bong, the next one Deggy,
and so on, until someone makes a fault.
Then it starts again. The „text“ is as
following:
Bong Deggy Bong Deggy („Chorus“)
Bong Bong Deggy Deggy (= 2x each)
Bong Deggy Bong Deggy („Chorus“)
Bong Bong Bong Deggy Deggy Deggy (=
3x each)
Bong Deggy Bong Deggy („Chorus“)
Bong Bong Bong Bong Deggy Deggy
Deggy Deggy etc... (each time, there is
one Bong and one Deggy more).
Das ist ein Tic
Use: Fun
Time: 10 - min.
Number: 5 to 15
Requires: nothing
Der Trainer gibt irgendeinen Gegenstand
an seinen Nachbarn weiter und sagt dazu:
„Das ist ein Tic.“. Der Nachbar fragt
zurück: „Was ist das?“. Der Trainer
antwortet: „Das ist ein Tic.“. Dann gibt der
Nachbar den Gegenstand mit den selben
Worten („Das ist ein Tic.“) an den
nächsten weiter. Dieser fragt wiederum:
„Was ist das?“ Die Frage wird so lange
zurückgegebe n (jeder fragt: „Was ist
das?“), bis sie wieder den Ausgangspunkt
erreicht. Der Trainer antwortet („Das ist
ein Tic.“) und die Antwort wird
weitergegebe n, bis sie am Gegenstand
angekom m e n ist. Daraufhin gibt derjenige,
der jetzt den Gegenstand hat, diesen
wieder eins weiter und sagt dazu „Das ist
ein Tic.“, die Fragen und Antworten
werden damit zu immer längeren Ketten.
Ist das Prinzip verstanden worden, kann
der Trainer einen anderen Gegenstand in
anderer Richtung losschicken und dazu
sagen: „Das ist ein Tac.“. Bei Bedarf kann
noch ein dritter Gegenstand (Toc) in die
Runde gegeben werden.
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7. 5 Drama
Machines
Use: Concentration, team building,
creativity, pausega m e
Time: 15- 30 min.
Number: 6 to 20
Requires: Taperecorder
One member of the group moves into a
space and begins a machine- like
movement. Each other member of the
group joins the activity and "develops" the
machine. This can be done by linking in
some way to the action of any of the
people already in the machine. Music can
be particular helpful in this activity or each
person could make a different sound for
his action.
Recognize Yourself
Use: Trust building, sensitivity, self-
awareness
Time: depends on number
Number: 8 to 16
Requires: nothing
While 4-8 persons go outside, the
remaining 4-8 persons each chose a
person to imitate. The first group comes
back in and starts walking around the
room making their ordinary gestures and
movements. The imitating group watches
closely the movem ents. The walking sit
down and the others who were watching
now repeat the gestures and movem ents.
The task is to find yourself.
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