Free Team Building Game

INDOOR or OUTDOOR

Time:            

• Approximately 30 to 50 minutes, consisting of:

  5 minute introduction
  5 minutes team planning time before starting the activity
  15-30 minutes of active problem-solving
  10 minutes discussion/debrief

Participants:

• 7 to 9 is ideal; can be done with as few as 4 or up to 12

Materials: 

• One Frisbee®-type object per person

• (optional to increase difficulty) provide an assortment of other objects (foil pie pans, Styrofoam plates, etc.) with a rule that each team must use a certain number of each type of object

Purpose: 

• Communication

• Problem Solving

• Creativity

• Leadership

Preparation and Notes for Facilitator:

• Mark off an area that the group must get across and give each person a Frisbee®/object. They must use their Frisbees® or other objects to make a bridge across the area while staying within the following rules:

• The best preparation is to try this game with friends/colleagues to identify any potential problems.

• As you work with the basic concepts, you will discover additional creative options.

• Divide the group into equal sized teams.

• Provide the teams with the Frisbees®/objects that you are using.

• Tell the group only the basic rules below and let them develop a strategy. Some groups may be able to throw the Frisbees® perfectly and make a bridge (this is easier done on grass than on a surface that allows the Frisbees® to skid). Or, they may throw them one at a time, walk to the end of the bridge and have the next person pass their Frisbee® down the line until it can be placed on the ground.

Facilitate the activity:

• No one can touch the ground inside the area with any part of their body.

• Each person gets one chance to throw their Frisbee® into the area from the same starting line. Once it lands on the ground and stops it cannot be moved (although it may be turned upside down so it doesn’t break when people walk on it).

• You may not enter the area until after you throw your Frisbee®.

• You may only cross to the other side by stepping on the Frisbees®

• Once all of the Frisbees®/objects have been thrown, if your group cannot make it across, your team must start over.

Debrief questions:

1. How did you identify individuals with Frisbee® skills in your group?
2. How did you work as a group?
3. Which part was the most difficult? 
4. How did you find the answers to things that weren’t obvious?
5. How did team members deal with frustration?
6. What influenced the decisions made by your group?
7. What characteristics of teamwork became evident during this exercise?

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