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Cooperative Games

Title and
Concepts Objective and Equipment Procedure and Rules        Questions

BLIND SQUARE
Handicap Awareness
Teamwork
Cooperation
Communication

To form a geometric shape with a 50 foot loop of rope.

Length of rope.
Blindfolds for everyone. (Use neckerchiefs.)
Gather the group into a large circle, Place the loop of rope on the ground inside of the circle at the feet of all of the participants. Tell the group to blindfold themselves, then pick up the rope. When the group is ready tell them to form a perfect square with the rope. When they think they have succeeded, have them remove their blindfolds.
Rules:
1.Each participant must hold onto the rope with at least one hand at all times.
2.Blindfolds are to remain in place until they feel they have completed the figure.
    1.What did the group think the purpose of this activity was?
    2.How did being blind make you feel?
    3.Ask them to describe what happened, how well did the person perform? Why?
    4.How could they improve?

WEIGHT PULL
Teamwork
Cooperation
Leadership

To raise and lower a weight using a rope and pulley as often as possible in a given time.

Heavy weight (about 200 pounds).
Pulley
Strong, large diameter rope.
Timer.
A weight is attached to a rope running through a pulley or tackle. Each person in the group must hold the rope behind a set point and then raise and lower the weight as many times as possible in two minutes.
Rules:
1.The weight may not be dropped from the top of the pulley.
2.A safety area is drawn on the ground six feet around the weight and no one is allowed to enter it.
     1.What was the purpose of this activity?
     2.Were you doing more or less work than you thought you should?
     3.Did the group arrange itself in any particular order?
     4.How were they arranged?
     5.What was physically hard about this activity?
     6.What was mentally hard about this activity?
     7.How well did your group do?
     8.What could you do to improve?

MINUTE MEASURE
Problem Solving
Self-esteem.
To develop an awareness of the duration of a minute and to practice estimating time spans.

A watch with a second hand or a stopwatch.
Ask the group to find a comfortable spot and sit down. Explain that they are going to estimate three minutes. Have them close their eyes and keep them closed. They begin timing on a signal from the instructor. At the end of one minute, each one should raise their hand with one finger up. At the end of two minutes, they should raise another finger. At the end of three minutes, they should open their eyes and put down their hand. Everyone should remain silent until everyone is finished.
Rules:
1.Everyone keeps their eyes closed until they are finished timing.
2.Everyone remains silent until the end of the activity.
     1.How did you estimate the time?
     2.For those who finished first, how did you feel?
     3.What did you learn about yourself?
     4.Are there other ways we tell time?
     5.What are ways people use to estimate time?
     6.If you did it again, what would you do differently?
     7.Did you care if you were close or not?
     8.Would you like to do this again to see if you could improve?
     9.Did the time you spent waiting seem to take longer?

DIMINISHING LOAD
Problem Solving
Teamwork
Cooperation
Trust
To move a group across an open field as quickly as possible.
No equipment
Instruct the group that they are to get across an open field as quickly as possible. To get across a person must be carried.
Rules:
1.The first person must return to be carried across.
2.If someone being carried across touches the ground, both must return to be carried across.
      1.How did the group decide to solve the problem?
      2.Did anyone becmome the leader?
      3.How did the leader emerge?
      4.What things did you have to think about before you started?
      5.How did you feel when things didn't go as well as you wanted?
      6.How did you deal with the feelings?

HEIGHT ALIGNMENT
Communication
Problem Solving
Handicap Awareness

For the group to align themselves according to height.

Try with blindfolds.
Instruct the group to blindfold themselves. When everyone is blindfolded, tell the group to arrange themselves in a line according to height without speaking.
Rules:
1.No one may talk during the activity.
2.Blindfolds must remain in place throughout the activity.
1.Let the discussion go where the group takes it.
    2.What bothered you about not being able to speak?
    3.How did you communicate?
    4.Who became a leader?
    5.How did you decide to lead or follow?
    6.How did you know where to fit into the line?
    7.What did you learn from this activity?

ORDER OUT OF CHAOS
Communication
Problem solving
Leadership Teamwork
Develop nonverbal communication in carrying out a task.
Try with blindfolds.
The group is blindfolded. Each member is assigned a number. Once the numbers are given out, the members must line up in proper numerical order without talking.
Rules:
1.No talking is allowed.
2.Blindfolds should remain in place until the task is completed.
   1.What do you think is the purpose of this activity?
   2.What ways did you see to solve the problem?
   3.How did you try to communicate this solution?
   4.What examples can you give of not understanding what someone was trying to say?
   5.How did you deal with any frustration?
   6.What kind of leadership came out of the group?

REACH FOR THE SKY
Teamwork
Cooperation Communication

To place a marker as high on an object (tree or wall) as possible.
Two inch masking tape or other marking material.
Break the group into groups of five. The group is then to place a mark as high as possible on an object using resources of the group.
Rules:
1.The group may not use the object for climbing, only for placement.

   1.What do you think was the purpose of the activity? What was the best part?
   2.What was the hardest part?
   3.How did the group decide to proceed?
   4.How well did you communicate with one another to solve the problem?
   5.Did anything hamper communication?
   6.Can you think of specific examples of when the group cooperated in completing the activity?
   7.How did cooperation lead to success in the activity?
   8.What did you like about how the group made decisions?

TRAFFIC JAM
Leadership
Decision Making
Communication
To have two groups, of at least three people each, exchange places on a line of spaces.
Space markers
Have the two groups line up facing each other on the spaces. There should be one more space than the number of participants and that space should be in the middle, separating the two groups. The spaces should be one step apart. The groups are now to switch positions on the line. A's should move to the right of the center space and the B's should end up on the left of the center space. They must do this by following these procedures:
     1.Stepping off to an adjacent empty square, or
     2.Stepping around a person facing the opposite way to an empty space.
Rules:
1.Persons cannot move backwards.
2.Persons may not step around someone facing in the same direction.
3.Two people may not move at once.
1.What was the purpose of this activity?
     2.Did a leader emerge and how did he lead?
     3.How well did the group do and why?
     4.If you disagreed with the group, how did you deal with it?
     5.What did you like about this activity?

ALL ABOARD
Problem Solving
Teamwork
Cooperation
Trust.
For an entire group to stand on a two by two foot platform without anyone touching the ground.
Stable two by two foot platform

Everyone in a group must get off the ground and onto the platform. For groups of 10-15, a two by two foot platform is adequate. Use smaller or larger platforms accordingly. In order to be counted as on the platform, each participant must have both feet off the ground for five seconds.
Rules:
1.Everyone must have both feet off the ground, simultaneously, for 5 to 10 seconds.
   1.What was the purpose of this activity?
   2.Did it seem simple at first?
   3.How difficult was the activity?
   4.What made the activity go well or not?
   5.What things involved teamwork?
   6.Did everyone want to cooperate?
   7.What did you learn from this activity?
   8.How did you decide what to do?

Title and Concepts	Objective and Equipment	Procedure and Rules	Questions
BLIND SQUARE Handicap Awareness Teamwork Cooperation Communication	To form a geometric shape with a 50 foot loop of rope. Length of rope. Blindfolds for everyone. (Use neckerchiefs.)	Gather the group into a large circle, Place the loop of rope on the ground inside of the circle at the feet of all of the participants. Tell the group to blindfold themselves, then pick up the rope. When the group is ready tell them to form a perfect square with the rope. When they think they have succeeded, have them remove their blindfolds. Rules: 1.Each participant must hold onto the rope with at least one hand at all times. 2.Blindfolds are to remain in place until they feel they have completed the figure.	1.What did the group think the purpose of this activity was? 2.How did being blind make you feel? 3.Ask them to describe what happened, how well did the person perform? Why? 4.How could they improve?
WEIGHT PULL Teamwork Cooperation Leadership	To raise and lower a weight using a rope and pulley as often as possible in a given time. Heavy weight (about 200 pounds). Pulley Strong, large diameter rope. Timer.	A weight is attached to a rope running through a pulley or tackle. Each person in the group must hold the rope behind a set point and then raise and lower the weight as many times as possible in two minutes. Rules: 1.The weight may not be dropped from the top of the pulley. 2.A safety area is drawn on the ground six feet around the weight and no one is allowed to enter it.	1.What was the purpose of this activity? 2.Were you doing more or less work than you thought you should? 3.Did the group arrange itself in any particular order? 4.How were they arranged? 5.What was physically hard about this activity? 6.What was mentally hard about this activity? 7.How well did your group do? 8.What could you do to improve?
MINUTE MEASURE Problem Solving Self-esteem.	To develop an awareness of the duration of a minute and to practice estimating time spans. A watch with a second hand or a stopwatch.	Ask the group to find a comfortable spot and sit down. Explain that they are going to estimate three minutes. Have them close their eyes and keep them closed. They begin timing on a signal from the instructor. At the end of one minute, each one should raise their hand with one finger up. At the end of two minutes, they should raise another finger. At the end of three minutes, they should open their eyes and put down their hand. Everyone should remain silent until everyone is finished. Rules: 1.Everyone keeps their eyes closed until they are finished timing. 2.Everyone remains silent until the end of the activity.	1.How did you estimate the time? 2.For those who finished first, how did you feel? 3.What did you learn about yourself? 4.Are there other ways we tell time? 5.What are ways people use to estimate time? 6.If you did it again, what would you do differently? 7.Did you care if you were close or not? 8.Would you like to do this again to see if you could improve? 9.Did the time you spent waiting seem to take longer?
DIMINISHING LOAD Problem Solving Teamwork Cooperation Trust	To move a group across an open field as quickly as possible. No equipment	Instruct the group that they are to get across an open field as quickly as possible. To get across a person must be carried. Rules: 1.The first person must return to be carried across. 2.If someone being carried across touches the ground, both must return to be carried across.	1.How did the group decide to solve the problem? 2.Did anyone becmome the leader? 3.How did the leader emerge? 4.What things did you have to think about before you started? 5.How did you feel when things didn't go as well as you wanted? 6.How did you deal with the feelings?
HEIGHT ALIGNMENT Communication Problem Solving Handicap Awareness	For the group to align themselves according to height. Try with blindfolds.	Instruct the group to blindfold themselves. When everyone is blindfolded, tell the group to arrange themselves in a line according to height without speaking. Rules: 1.No one may talk during the activity. 2.Blindfolds must remain in place throughout the activity.	1.Let the discussion go where the group takes it. 2.What bothered you about not being able to speak? 3.How did you communicate? 4.Who became a leader? 5.How did you decide to lead or follow? 6.How did you know where to fit into the line? 7.What did you learn from this activity?
ORDER OUT OF CHAOS Communication Problem solving Leadership Teamwork	Develop nonverbal communication in carrying out a task. Try with blindfolds.	The group is blindfolded. Each member is assigned a number. Once the numbers are given out, the members must line up in proper numerical order without talking. Rules: 1.No talking is allowed. 2.Blindfolds should remain in place until the task is completed.	1.What do you think is the purpose of this activity? 2.What ways did you see to solve the problem? 3.How did you try to communicate this solution? 4.What examples can you give of not understanding what someone was trying to say? 5.How did you deal with any frustration? 6.What kind of leadership came out of the group?
REACH FOR THE SKY Teamwork Cooperation Communication	To place a marker as high on an object (tree or wall) as possible. Two inch masking tape or other marking material.	Break the group into groups of five. The group is then to place a mark as high as possible on an object using resources of the group. Rules: 1.The group may not use the object for climbing, only for placement.	1.What do you think was the purpose of the activity? What was the best part? 2.What was the hardest part? 3.How did the group decide to proceed? 4.How well did you communicate with one another to solve the problem? 5.Did anything hamper communication? 6.Can you think of specific examples of when the group cooperated in completing the activity? 7.How did cooperation lead to success in the activity? 8.What did you like about how the group made decisions?
TRAFFIC JAM Leadership Decision Making Communication	To have two groups, of at least three people each, exchange places on a line of spaces. Space markers	Have the two groups line up facing each other on the spaces. There should be one more space than the number of participants and that space should be in the middle, separating the two groups. The spaces should be one step apart. The groups are now to switch positions on the line. A's should move to the right of the center space and the B's should end up on the left of the center space. They must do this by following these procedures: 1.Stepping off to an adjacent empty square, or 2.Stepping around a person facing the opposite way to an empty space. Rules: 1.Persons cannot move backwards. 2.Persons may not step around someone facing in the same direction. 3.Two people may not move at once.	1.What was the purpose of this activity? 2.Did a leader emerge and how did he lead? 3.How well did the group do and why? 4.If you disagreed with the group, how did you deal with it? 5.What did you like about this activity?
ALL ABOARD Problem Solving Teamwork Cooperation Trust.	For an entire group to stand on a two by two foot platform without anyone touching the ground. Stable two by two foot platform	Everyone in a group must get off the ground and onto the platform. For groups of 10-15, a two by two foot platform is adequate. Use smaller or larger platforms accordingly. In order to be counted as on the platform, each participant must have both feet off the ground for five seconds. Rules: 1.Everyone must have both feet off the ground, simultaneously, for 5 to 10 seconds.	1.What was the purpose of this activity? 2.Did it seem simple at first? 3.How difficult was the activity? 4.What made the activity go well or not? 5.What things involved teamwork? 6.Did everyone want to cooperate? 7.What did you learn from this activity? 8.How did you decide what to do?