Turn Over A New Leaf

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Collaboratively test and execute physical coordination and spatial problem-solving under tight spatial constraints.

Use it when: Use during in-person team workshops when a group needs an active, physical challenge to examine how they communicate and adapt during real-time trial and error.

Skip it when: Skip when group members have balance or mobility limitations, when floor space is slippery or cramped, or when close physical proximity creates discomfort.

Group arrangement: Small teams of 4 to 8 people per tarp. Groups larger than 8 split into parallel teams.

Timing: UWT facilitation plan based on the 5 to 15 minute playmeo activity.

Materials and tools

• One durable tarp or sturdy fabric sheet (roughly 1.2m x 1.8m or 4ft x 6ft) per team of 4 to 8 participants

Before participants arrive

1. Clear a flat, non-slip floor area large enough for each tarp with at least 1.5 meters of open space around all edges.
2. Spread each tarp flat on the floor.

Say this to open

Your goal is simple to state: your entire team must stand on this tarp, flip it completely over so the bottom side is facing up, and finish with everyone still on it. The catch is that no part of anyone's body or clothing may touch the floor outside the tarp at any point. If anyone touches the floor, you reset to the start.

How to run it

1. Form teams and position on tarp 3 minutes

   Divide participants into teams of 4 to 8. Each team stands entirely on their flat tarp. Confirm that everyone has both feet on the tarp surface before beginning. Remind participants that anyone can call a pause or step off if they feel off-balance.

2. Coordinate and flip the tarp 7 minutes

   Teams work simultaneously to invert their tarp while remaining on it. Typical approaches involve working a corner or edge underneath the group, shifting weight, and unrolling the new surface while standing on folded portions. If any participant touches the surrounding floor, that team resets the tarp flat and restarts. Stop when a team successfully inverts the tarp with everyone upright on the new side, or when time expires.

3. Reflect in small teams 3 minutes

   Have teams step off their tarps and talk in their small groups for three minutes. Ask them to address: What initial idea did you test, and how did your group adjust when space ran out?

4. Debrief with the full room 2 minutes

   Gather the full room. Take two brief contributions about how the group coordinated movement and communicated weight shifts under pressure.

Debrief questions

• What was the turning point where your plan either worked or collapsed?
• How did you signal when someone needed to shift weight or move their feet?
• What did this challenge show about how your team manages trial and error in close quarters?

Finished output: A fully flipped tarp with all team members standing on the inverted surface, or a shared record of strategies attempted.

Remote

This physical initiative cannot be run online without fundamentally altering the mechanic into a different game. For remote teams, run a virtual spatial puzzle such as collective tangrams on a shared digital canvas instead.

Hybrid

Not recommended for hybrid settings. If attempted, remote members act as external observers, navigators, and strategists via a dedicated video feed, analyzing the physical team's foot space and calling out clear foot placements.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to balance on the tarp can take the role of navigator and spotter, monitoring floor boundaries and guiding movements from the perimeter.
• Any participant may step off the tarp at any time without explanation to reset or take a break.

If the session gets stuck

The tarp is too slick on a polished floor, causing slipping hazards.

Move the tarps to carpet or outdoors on grass, or use heavy canvas drop cloths instead of plastic tarps.

Participants bump into each other or feel uncomfortably cramped.

Use a slightly larger sheet or reduce team size down toward 4 to 5 people to give ample footing.

Terms used here

• Tarp flip: The maneuver of folding and pulling the underside of the ground sheet up until the entire surface is inverted without stepping off.