Brain Teasers

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collaborate in small teams to solve lateral thinking puzzles within a set time limit.

Use it when: Use as an opening energizer or mid-session transition when participants need to reset focus and practice shifting perspectives.

Skip it when: Skip when the group is addressing sensitive or emotionally heavy topics, or when right-or-wrong trivia creates unproductive tension.

Group arrangement: Subgroups of 3 to 4 people. If total count is 5, form one group of 5 or a pair and a trio.

Timing: TrainerBubble source specifies 5 minutes for solving; UWT sets 15 minutes to include setup, puzzle time, scoring, and debrief.

Materials and tools

• One Brain Teasers Question Sheet per subgroup
• One Brain Teasers Answer Sheet for the facilitator
• One pen or pencil per subgroup
• One digital or manual countdown timer

Before participants arrive

1. Print one Question Sheet per team.
2. Keep the Answer Sheet hidden until the scoring phase.
3. Arrange seating so small teams can converse quietly without showing sheets to adjacent teams.

Say this to open

We are going to do a quick puzzle challenge. In your groups, work together to decipher as many of the six brain teasers on your sheet as you can. You will have five minutes once the clock starts. Write your agreed answers directly on the sheet. Collaboration counts more than speed. I will answer any procedural questions before we begin.

How to run it

1. Form teams and explain task 2 minutes

   Divide participants into groups of three or four. For five total people, make one group of five or a trio and pair. Distribute one question sheet face down and a pen to each team. Explain the task using the opening script. Answer any procedural questions before starting the clock.

2. Solve puzzles in subgroups 5 minutes

   Tell groups to flip their sheets over. Start the 5-minute countdown timer. Teams discuss and record their solutions. Give a 1-minute warning before time expires. Call time when the timer reaches zero and ask everyone to set their pens down.

3. Review solutions and tally scores 5 minutes

   Read each puzzle aloud. Invite one subgroup to volunteer an answer for each clue, then announce the official answer from the facilitator key. Teams score one point per correct answer. Acknowledge the highest tally without requiring low-scoring teams to announce their totals.

4. Debrief problem-solving habits 3 minutes

   Lead a brief whole-room reflection on how teams tackled counter-intuitive clues. Take two or three contributions on where groups got stuck and what allowed them to reframe their assumptions.

Debrief questions

• Which puzzle felt most counter-intuitive, and what assumption did you have to drop to solve it?
• How did your team handle disagreements about what an answer might be?

Finished output: Completed puzzle sheets scored by each subgroup.

Remote

Create breakout rooms of 3 to 4 participants. Post the Question Sheet text into the chat or provide a link to a view-only slide. Broadcast a 1-minute warning, then recall everyone to the main room after 5 minutes to review answers together.

Hybrid

Create separate in-person teams and fully remote breakout rooms. Provide physical sheets in the room and paste text in chat for remote participants. Display puzzle text and review answers on the main video screen so all participants hear solutions simultaneously.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may contribute vocally, write for the team, or observe quietly.
• Teams may skip frustrating clues or decline to report their final score publicly.

If the session gets stuck

A team finishes all puzzles before the 5-minute timer expires.

Invite them to write an original lateral thinking riddle on the back of their sheet while waiting.

Teams strongly dispute an official answer.

Validate reasonable alternative interpretations and award the point; prioritize engagement over rigid grading.

Terms used here

• lateral thinking: Solving problems by indirect, creative approaches and challenging unstated assumptions.