The web dough game - an activity

Purpose:

To break the ice in new groups

To encourage team-building

To have fun

Procedure: Participants are split into three groups and each group is given a tub of play-dough and a pencil (to draw shapes on the dough). One member of each group is asked to mould the same word and the others in each team must guess what it is.

The first team to guess correctly wins a point. Each team member must take a turn at moulding. The team with the most points at the end wins.

Materials

Three tubs of Play-Dough.

Pencils

List of words to be moulded

Score sheet

Variations. If dough is not available the game can be played using pencil and paper. The participants then draw their word for the rest of the team.

The game can be made more issue-based by asking team members to model issue-based words (i.e. alcohol, pregnancy, homelessness etc.). The team that guesses correctly first should then be given a bonus question to answer which is related to the word previously modeled. For example:

modeled word = alcohol

bonus question = How many units of alcohol is it safe for a woman to drink in a week?

Comments for facilitators. Facilitators should watch for cheating which can cause arguments, bad feeling and therefore prevent team building, fun and ice breaking. Cheating tactics to look out for include: people beginning to model before the facilitator shouts 'go'; modelers using sign language or muttering to convey the answer to their team members; and modelers allowing their team members to see the word as it is passed around.

Facilitators should also be aware that tiny pieces of play-dough do tend to
fall on the floor and get trampled into the carpet - be warned!

Name of Agency/Originator. The WEB Project (Dundee) © 1999