--- title: "Cave Rescue" description: "Participants review neutral profiles of six people trapped in a cave, rank their extraction order individually, and negotiate a group sequence under an unexpected deadline change." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/cave-rescue/" --- # Cave Rescue Participants review neutral profiles of six people trapped in a cave, rank their extraction order individually, and negotiate a group sequence under an unexpected deadline change. **Time:** 60 minutes. 60 minutes total, matching source pacing: 10 minutes individual, 20 minutes group work with a surprise inject at minute 10, and 30 minutes debrief. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual ranking followed by small teams of 4 to 6 (groups of 3 or 7 permitted when participant totals require it) ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Examine team decision-making, criteria selection, and communication when prioritizing under incomplete information and time pressure. **Use it when:** Use when a team needs to examine how members negotiate trade-offs, voice assumptions, and respond together to sudden deadline changes. **Skip it when:** Skip when groups are sensitive to disaster premises or life-and-death dilemmas. Skip if the goal is actual emergency triage or rescue operations training. ## Materials and tools - One printed Cave Rescue Brief and Volunteer Sheet per participant - One printed Ranking Worksheet per participant - One additional printed Ranking Worksheet per group for collective results - One pen or pencil per participant - One visible countdown timer ## Before participants arrive 1. Print one Cave Rescue Brief and Volunteer Sheet and one Ranking Worksheet per participant. 2. Print one extra Ranking Worksheet per group labeled Committee Final. 3. Arrange tables and chairs to seat small groups of 4 to 6 people. 4. Test the countdown timer and audio or visual alert for the surprise announcement. ## Say this to open You serve on a research management committee. An experiment in a remote cave has met rising water and rockfall. Six volunteers are trapped. Review the project records on your sheet, choose your own rescue sequence individually, and write your reasons. You have 10 minutes working alone. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce scenario and rank individually (10 minutes) Distribute the brief and individual ranking sheets. Speak the opening script. State clearly that this is an exercise in group process with no single official solution. Participants read and complete positions 1 through 6 in silence on their individual sheets, writing a concrete reason for each rank based strictly on the provided facts. ### 2. Begin group deliberation (10 minutes) Divide the room into teams of 4 to 6. If totals leave an odd remainder, form groups of 3 or 7. Hand each team one Committee Final ranking sheet. Instruct teams to compare individual lists and negotiate an agreed sequence from 1 to 6. Remind them to seek shared rationale rather than taking a quick vote. ### 3. Deliver early arrival inject and complete ranking (10 minutes) At minute 10 of group work, ring a chime and announce loudly: Rescue gear has arrived early. You have exactly 2 minutes to select your first evacuee. After 2 minutes, call time and check that every group has recorded person number 1 on their sheet. Give groups the remaining 8 minutes to complete positions 2 through 6. ### 4. Reflect in small groups (10 minutes) Keep participants at their tables. Ask each team to review their internal process before the whole-room debrief. Prompt them to identify the main criteria they used, who influenced the final sequence, and how their communication shifted during the two-minute surprise deadline. ### 5. Debrief as a full group (20 minutes) Reconvene the full room. Invite two or three groups to state their first evacuee and their reasoning. Then facilitate a broader discussion using the debrief questions. Focus on how participants handled missing data, emotional pressure, and disagreements. ## Debrief questions - What specific facts or criteria did your group rely on to choose the first person out? - How did the sudden two-minute deadline change your team's communication and decision-making style? - Did everyone in your group feel their perspective was considered, and how did you resolve strong disagreements? - Where do you see similar patterns of incomplete information or shifting deadlines in your everyday work? **Finished output:** A completed individual ranking worksheet per participant and one consensus sequence worksheet per team. ## Remote Distribute digital copies of the brief and worksheet via chat or email. Keep participants muted in the main room for 10 minutes to complete individual rankings. Move participants into breakout rooms of 4 to 6. At minute 10 of breakout work, broadcast an announcement banner and audio alert giving the 2-minute deadline to select person number 1. After 20 minutes total breakout time, return everyone to the main room for the debrief. ## Hybrid Form separate all-remote breakouts and all-in-person tables rather than mixed tables. Remote groups record decisions on a shared online document, while in-person groups write on paper. Display in-person and remote group choices on a shared screen during the full-room debrief. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may record rankings in writing, digitally, or orally through a designated peer recorder. - Any participant may observe group discussions or pass during sharing rounds without giving a justification. ## If the session gets stuck **A group deadlocks during the two-minute surprise deadline and cannot agree on person number 1.** Remind them that failing to choose forfeits their decision to chance; instruct them to run a rapid majority vote if consensus fails within 30 seconds. **One participant dominates discussion and overrides quieter peers.** Intervene briefly at the table and ask each member in circle order to state their individual first pick and one supporting reason. ## Terms used here - Inject: An unannounced scenario update introduced mid-exercise to test how a team handles unexpected changes. ## Participant material: Cave Rescue Brief and Volunteer Sheet SCENARIO BRIEF You are members of a research management committee funding field studies on human behaviour in confined spaces. Six adult volunteers are trapped in an underground cave system by rockfall and rising water. A radio link connects them to the research hut at the entrance. The rescue team can bring out only one person per hour due to limited specialized hoist equipment. Rising water will flood parts of the cave before all six can be extracted. The volunteers know the risks and refuse to select an evacuation order among themselves. By project rules, your committee must decide the sequence. VOLUNTEER PROFILES (From Project Records) - Volunteer A: Stationed nearest the exit passage. Currently acts as relay between the cave radio link and the other volunteers deeper inside. - Volunteer B: Holds the only physical survey map of the cave corridors. Able to explain the map layout and water flow paths to another person. - Volunteer C: Currently operating a manual emergency valve and shoring a temporary water barrier. Can instruct another volunteer on operation in about five minutes. - Volunteer D: Has recorded and managed the shared water and ration supply list throughout the stay. The written log can be handed directly to another volunteer. - Volunteer E: Reporting acute distress and requesting immediate extraction. No physical injuries reported. - Volunteer F: Offers to take the last evacuation slot, but requests that the committee reconsider if flood conditions worsen. Note: This is a fictional exercise examining team decision processes. There is no single correct or approved answer. ## Participant material: Ranking Worksheet CAVE RESCUE RANKING SHEET Mark your proposed rescue sequence from 1 (first person removed) to 6 (last person removed). Use every position once. Volunteer | Proposed Position (1-6) | Supporting Reason | Open Question / Uncertainty Volunteer A: [ ] | Reason: ____________ | Question: ____________ Volunteer B: [ ] | Reason: ____________ | Question: ____________ Volunteer C: [ ] | Reason: ____________ | Question: ____________ Volunteer D: [ ] | Reason: ____________ | Question: ____________ Volunteer E: [ ] | Reason: ____________ | Question: ____________ Volunteer F: [ ] | Reason: ____________ | Question: ____________ Sheet Type: [ ] Individual [ ] Group Committee Consensus ## Sources and adaptation Observed on TrainerBubble as a free downloadable training game titled Cave Rescue. Original volunteer profiles reconstructed using United We Transform task-based text. Retained the source's core scenario premise, 60-minute duration, 10-minute individual ranking, 20-minute group negotiation, 2-minute inject at minute 10 of group work, and 30-minute debrief structure. The proprietary volunteer profiles were not accessible in public records; UWT supplied neutral task-based volunteer descriptions focused on logistics and communication without personal demographic or social-worth attributes. [TrainerBubble](https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/cave-rescue-free-training-game) [TrainerBubble](https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/cave-rescue-free-training-game/?currency=USD) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/cave-rescue/