Easy icebreakers: Grid minefield
Print
EmailFun icebreakers to build your team.
Every meeting should include learning, fun and business. Through icebreaker activities, you can build trust, learn about group members’ strengths and weaknesses, and gain insight on how to work together. This Michigan State University Extension article is part of a series on icebreakers that can be done with simple supplies that group facilitators often already have on hand or could be acquired easily. A video of the activity is also available on MediaSpace.
Grid minefield
Supplies needed
- A large tarp with a grid laid out on it with duct tape.
- The grid can vary depending on the size of your tarp
- Paper
- Writing utensil
- OPTIONAL: A noisemaker, like a buzzer or bell
Directions:
- The object of the game is for the group to cross the grid, but they can only do so by stepping on the correct places in the correct order (they must first start on 1 and then step to spot 2, etc.). Draw out a pattern of numbers on a piece of paper. Keep this pattern hidden from the participants.
- An example of a difficult pattern is below.
- NOTE: Drawing the pattern is best done before the activity.
- Explain to the group that everyone must get from one side of the tarp to the other successfully, but that the tarp must be crossed in a particular sequence. The next spot will always be adjacent to the current spot, but it might be connected only at the diagonal.
- OPTIONAL: The facilitator may choose to tell participants how many steps it will take to cross the grid correctly.
- Have participants get in a single file line. Explain that each person must try the maze once before anyone repeats.
- The first participant picks a spot to step on. If they guessed correctly and stepped on spot “1”, then they can take another step. If they guess incorrectly, the facilitator makes a buzzer or other silly noise, and the participant has to go to the end of the line to try again later. If they step on a “safe” spot, but in the wrong order, they still have to start over.
- The next participant then tries to stand on the spots in the correct order. They take one step at a time and after each step, the facilitator either tells them they are safe or makes a buzzer noise. The buzzer noise indicates that they picked a wrong spot and they have to get to the end of the line to try again.
- NOTE: It usually takes a while for the group to realize they have to pay attention to what everyone else is doing, not just themselves. The group will get frustrated. As a facilitator, resist the urge to help them out. Let them learn from their mistakes.
- NOTE: If the group gets across quickly, you can have them go again with a different pattern.
- Debrief. As participants:
- If you had this to do over again, what would you do differently?
- What roles did different people take on?
- How long did it take before people started paying attention to what others were doing?
- Did someone become the “recorder” to keep track of the correct order? How does this relate to other meetings?
- How does this apply to other things you might do?
MSU Extension and the Michigan 4-H Youth Development program help to prepare youth as positive and engaged leaders and global citizens by providing educational experiences and resources for youth interested in developing knowledge and skills in these areas. This article is part of the 4-H Advisory Groups Toolkit. For more information about 4-H learning opportunities and other 4-H programs, contact your local MSU Extension office.
