I first learned this great activity from Ryan McCormick at Project Adventure in Boston. It is now one of my “go-to” activities with groups of all sizes. My friend from Australia, Mark Collard, demonstrates this classically fun icebreaker that helps groups break down physical barriers and creates a huge sense of FUNN (Functional Understanding Not Necessary).

For more activities just like this one, check out Mark’s great work on playmeo, the largest online database of group games & activities in the world. You can also buy his two awesome books, No Props and Count Me In, two books that should be in every facilitator’s game bag.

Below you will find my explanation on how to lead this activity with your group:

Thumb Wrestling in Stereo

Number of Participants: 2-200
Time:  5-10 minutes
Activity Level:  Moderate
Props:  None

Objective: To become the Thumb Wrestling Champion of the world.

Description:
I love this old school activity with a new twist. Use a creative way to form partners and ask them to place their left hand behind their back. Instruct them to extend their right arms, curl their fingers into each other’s fingers, and stick their thumbs into the air. Their goal is to now pin their partner’s thumb down. That’s right, old school Thumb Wrestling. Play three rounds and declare a winner very loudly.

After round one, invite the participants to challenge each other with a two-person, two-handed thumb wrestle. Do this by clasping right hands together, just as in round one, and clasp left hands together underneath or above the right hands. Play both hands simultaneously.

For round three, group the participants into groups of three and ask them to place their left hands behind their back. All three members of the group will then extend their right hands, curl their fingers inside the palms of the other participants, creating a three-handed thumb-wrestling match.

In round four, invite the participants to play three-person, two-handed thumb wrestling by combining their right hands like before, and mimicking the action with their left hands.

If you would like help implementing this activity or any other activities into your curriculum, don’t hesitate to contact us at Paradigm Shift.

Objective: For every member of the team to place a throwable into the bucket.

Set Up: Create a large circle barrier with the tape or a rope. Place a bucket in the middle of the circle. Toss the throwables randomly inside the barrier.

Description:

*****It is very important to ensure and instill a sense of trust within the group before attempting this activity. Please do not try Snakes before building trust on a smaller/safer level. Sequence several build-up trust activities prior to Snakes.

Depending on the amount of people in the group, ask the participants to get into teams of 5-7 people. Ask the participants to stand in a single file line and place their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them. All participants will be blindfolded except for the person standing in the very back of the line. This is a no-talking activity, but allow the group to take 1-2 minutes to pre-plan.

The person in the back of the line will guide the participants around the circle barrier by simply tapping the shoulders of the person in front of them, who will tap the shoulders of the person in front of them, and so on, until the person in the front of the line will move towards a throwable. When a throwable is approached, the person in the front will grab the throwable and then be guided to the bucket where they will drop the throwable.

When a participant drops the throwable into the bucket, they will then remove their blindfold and move to the back of the line and become the sighted team member. The person who was in the back of the line then puts on a blindfold.

Continue this process until all team members have placed a throwable into the bucket. If there is more than one team, the first team to finish is the winner and then should encourage the other teams until they are finished. If the teams are uneven, the team with the least amount of members will continue to rotate until they have dropped as many throwables into the bucket as the largest team would have to drop into the bucket.

Check out the video below to see the activity in action:

Have you attempted this activity? What are your thoughts on using trust activities as a team-building exercise?

Fill The Bucket

Number of Participants: 7-25
Time: 15-25 minutes
Activity Level: Moderate
Props: 3 Buckets, 30-40 throwables (yarn balls, Beanie Babies, etc.), and tape/rope/webbing to mark the boundary

Objective:  To hit the team’s goal by scoring as many points as possible during each round.

Set Up:
Place the tape/rope/webbing in a straight line about 20’ – 25’ long. Place one bucket 5 feet from the line, another bucket 10 feet from the line, and the third bucket 15 feet from the line. The buckets need to be 5 feet apart, thus creating a staggered line of buckets. Lay all of the throwables along the line on the opposite side of the buckets.

Scoring:

• 5 points for throwables tossed into the closest bucket
• 10 points for throwables tossed into the middle bucket
• 15 points for throwables tossed into the furthest bucket

Description:
This game is comprised of four (4) one-minute rounds. Each round has different rules, but before each round the group declares a group goal score. Also, before each round suggest (or require, depending upon the group) a two-minute planning period.

Round 1:
Instruct the participants that their goal is to score as many points as possible by tossing the throwables into the buckets.

Rules:

1. The participants cannot cross the line.
2. Once time is up, the participants cannot toss any more throwables
3. The participants cannot retrieve any throwables from across the line.
4. If the group throws all items before a minute, the round is over.

At the end of the round, encourage the group to help you add up the score. See if their score matches or exceeds their goal score.

Round 2:
Follow the rules for Round 1, but challenge the group to reevaluate their approach to the activity and see if they need to make any changes. Ask them to give you a new goal score for Round 2.

When the minute is over, ask them if they set an appropriate goal.

Round 3:
Follow the rules for Round 1, but this time give the team a new resource. Invite three participants to become “runners,” teammates who can cross the line and retrieve throwables that have not landed in the bucket.

Runners can only retrieve one throwable at a time, and must hand the throwable across the line, not toss it. Encourage the team to pre-plan and then ask for a new group goal score.

After the round, ask the group to evaluate their progress and determine the validity of their group goal score.

Round 4
Follow the rules for Round 3 (including the runners), but this time give the group another resource, “Backboards.” Three participants will serve as backboards that will straddle the buckets, sitting on their knees with their back to the bucket.

Ask for a goal score, and complete the activity. After they are finished, process the activity with a creative and insightful debrief.

Questions for Discussion:

1. What was one word to describe Round 1? What about Round 4?
2. Did the group allocate adequate time for pre-planning the activity? What pre-planning steps did the group take?
3. What ideas did the group find to be the most successful to complete the activity? Which participants developed the ideas?
4. How did the new resources change your plan? What action steps did you take to implement the new resources?
5. How did the group communication during the activity?
6. Did any members of the group take charge? Who? How?

Facilitator Notes:

1. It helps to record the group’s scores after each round on a white board or flip chart. This allows the team to see the progress over the rounds.
2. Some groups need instruction on how to communicate during the planning period. Either provide that instruction or build up to that point throughout the day’s activities.

Have you used this activity? Do you have any fun variations for Fill The Bucket? Where did you learn Fill The Bucket?

This group of students was one of the most well-behaved and respectful groups I have ever worked with! Thanks for allowing me to learn with you!

Thanks for learning with me! I had a blast and can’t wait to hear about your success from the summer!

For every professional, there are milestones along your career that mark off huge accomplishments. The workshop that the Paradigm Shift team facilitated in Kentucky was one of those milestones. It was in a new state (Paradigm Shift has now facilitated in 12 states), and we expanded the team a little with the addition of Rusty Reid.

Thanks to the fine folks at Lindsey Wilson College and Eastern Kentucky University for participating and providing an awesome environment for growth and development. Enjoy the pictures below. You can see all of the pictures of the event by clicking here.

I am excited to team up with Mark Collard, author of the best-selling activity books No Props & Count Me In, to provide facilitators with the world’s premiere online database of adventure-based activities…playmeo!

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Every activity comes with downloadable ‘Print-n-Play’ instructions, a short video tutorial, leadership tips and lesson plan ideas. Use the powerful search function to find the perfect activity for your class, and access the entire database ‘on the go’ with your mobile device, eg smart phone or tablet.

Most activities require few, if any props, young people love them, and they are ideally suited to developing an increased level of agility, physical co-ordination and collaborative learning skills.

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Number of Participants: 4-25
Time: 10-25 minutes
Activity Level: Low
Props: None

Objective: To get to know another participant better.

Description: Group the participants in twos, threes, or sevens (depends on the size of your group, obviously). Ask the groups to find their own space, get comfortable, and ask their partner(s) five questions:

• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?

Leave the instructions open-ended and vague, encouraging the participants to answers those questions anyway they see fit.

After a moderate amount of time has passed, ask the participants to come back to the group, circle or square up, and introduce their partner to the group by telling everyone their partner’s answers to the questions. Allow the participant who is being introduced to clarify any statements made by the participant.

Variations:

1. Ask the participants to create a secret handshake to share with the group.
2. Have participants switch their position in the circle or their seat after each introduction. This keeps participants engaged.

Have you facilitated this activity? What suggestions do you have to encourage conversation amongst participants?