Step-by-Step Instructions
This quick team-building activity transforms a simple card-sorting challenge into an exciting race against time. Change Up encourages groups to strategize, communicate, and work together to improve their performance with each round. Corporate trainers and teachers value how this quick team-building activity naturally develops leadership, planning skills, and non-verbal communication while engaging every participant. The combination of competition, strategy, and measured improvement makes it perfect for workshops, classrooms, or conference energisers.
- Randomly distribute one card (from a deck of cards) face down to every person in your group.
- Do not look at, or show your card to anyone else.
- When you say “GO,” instruct your group to flip their cards over and, as quickly as possible, form one straight line according to the numerical order of the cards, aces high, regardless of suit.
- Using a stopwatch, time this first attempt.
- Before a new round starts, the group is entitled to plan their next attempt.
- When ready, the group must turn their cards face down again, and mingle with others swapping cards one for one until you say “STOP.”
- Announce “GO” to start the next round, and record the time.
- Repeat the process for up to five rounds, and record the fastest time.
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Hey Mark, I love the sound of this activity. I’m wondering what your thoughts might be if I were to use a full deck and brun four teams of 8 to 10 at a time. I’m thinking you could follow the same general flow, except the switching of cards could either be within the mini team or within the whole team.
What do you think?
Jen, yes, I think you could set up the activity this way. My only concern would be that thru the lens of ‘continuous improvement’ it would be best for each group to manage the same set of cards each time because they would then have a consistent benchmark. Have fun, and let us know how it goes 🙂