Blind Animals

This works extremely well with groups of 10 or more. Divide the group into smaller sub-teams and give
each team an animal type. Now ask every one to find their own space. Get them to put their blindfolds on.
Give some simple commands such as: 5 steps backwards, 4 to your left, 6 to your right etc to mix them
up more. On your signal, participants then have to make the sound of their animal and find other people
of the same type. Eventually everyone should end up with their own sub-team.

Instead of using sub-teams, you can also do this in pairs or smaller groups of 3.

This can also be used at the start of a workshop when organising participants into teams. Give everyone
a piece of paper with an animal written on it and begin the exercise.

Suggested animal types: Elephants, monkeys, cows, chicken, lions, dogs, cats etc

Useful Tips
Make sure you have more than enough space for these challenges and stay away from areas where
there are potential hazards. Think about your positioning when leading these activities, ensuring you have
all participants in full view.

Before beginning any blindfold challenge, ask the group if anyone is uncomfortable wearing a blindfold
and adapt the activity around them, ensuring they have an enjoyable experience.

Questions to ask in the review:

How did you feel being blindfolded?

How critical was listening during the challenge? How did you feel not being able to verbally
communicate?
Did you come up with a strategy before starting the game? If yes, how did you come up with the idea?
How important was the support of others?
Birthday Line Up
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BY DAVID PRIESTLEY ON 1ST NOVEMBER 2014TEAM BUILDING

A quick and simple team building challenge to deliver. Participants line up in a straight line side-by-side.
Ask them now to get in order of their birthdays (month and day, year isn’t necessary). The challenge is
the group cannot talk at all. You’ll find they resort to sign language, nudges, someone might try to start
leading. Love this activity, especially when used with a bench.

Equipment Required: None

Space Required: Minimal. Indoors or outdoors.
Group Size: 8 to 12 ideally.

Total Time: 10 minutes

 1 minute to brief and set up

 7 minutes to achieve outcome
 2 minutes to review
Brief/Challenge Instructions
1. Get the group to stand in a straight line (side-by-side).
2. Brief them that they will need to get in order by Birthday (by month and day).
3. The rule is that they can no longer talk. If they do start to talk then they need to start again.
4. To make the challenge difficult, try blindfolding a couple of the participants.
Suggested Learning Outcomes
 Communication
 Cooperation
 Problem Solving
 Leadership
Useful Tips
If possible, use a platform (bench) for the group to stand on whilst they complete the challenge. If anyone slips off
then they must start again. Alternatively, get participants to hold a rope to organise the group more effectively.

You can also adapt this so they a couple of group members are blindfolded to make it more difficult. Variations to
this game include: names, shoe sizes, height etc. This exercise is great for improving communication and leadership
skills.
Blindfold Communication Game

There are many ways to create games that involve blindfolding participants and
forcing them to rely on their teammates’ verbal communication to complete tasks. One
way to structure this type of game is to create an obstacle course and have team
members guide blindfolded participants through them with verbal directions. Another
fun blindfold game is to essentially play Marco Polo but in reverse: have team
members guide their blindfolded colleagues to them using verbal instructions.

Another blindfold game is known as “get it together.” In this game, the team is divided
into individual pairs. Within each pair, one partner is blindfolded. Items are placed in
the middle of the room. The blindfolded partner must retrieve specific items from the
middle of the room using the nonblindfolded partner’s instructions to determine which
item to grab.

Because multiple teams are shouting instructions and retrieving items, each
blindfolded partner must focus on tuning out distractions and listening only to his
partner's communication.