United We TransformCreate teamsGrade your agenda
Exercises/Convergent Alignment/Crosswords at the Expo
General Collaboration Exercise ยท Convergent Alignment

Crosswords at the Expo

Crosswords at the Expo is a structured group exercise for convergent alignment: it helps participants compare options and move toward a shared decision.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Problem Specificity This convergent alignment exercise strengthens Problem Specificity, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Earn a token. Let the player solve the crossword puzzle. If the player is successful, give him or her a token.
  2. A client recently asked me to design some games that can be played in an expo booth with a bunch of slightly jaded wanderers who don't have too much time.
  3. Based on my experiences at the ISPI expo, I was able to develop a set of games in the "party-games" category.
  4. Specifically, the set includes word games, trivia games, graphic games, and communication games.
  5. The games are fast paced and easy to play.
  6. Each game is designed for use with one to ten players on a table top or in a crowded booth.
  7. We wrote the names of the top five players on this poster and kept updating the list.
  8. Depending on the number of players and the preferred level of competition, you have a choice of 12 different ways to conduct the game: One Player Earn
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Earn a token. Let the player solve the crossword puzzle. If the player is successful, give him or her a token.

A client recently asked me to design some games that can be played in an expo booth with a bunch of slightly jaded wanderers who don't have too much time.

Based on my experiences at the ISPI expo, I was able to develop a set of games in the "party-games" category.

Specifically, the set includes word games, trivia games, graphic games, and communication games.

The games are fast paced and easy to play.

Each game is designed for use with one to ten players on a table top or in a crowded booth.

Run this with your AI assistant +

Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Adapt this exercise for my exact room. Exercise: Crosswords at the Expo. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Earn a token. Let the player solve the crossword puzzle. If the player is successful, give him or her a token.; A client recently asked me to design some games that can be played in an expo booth with a bunch of slightly jaded wanderers who don't have too much time.; Based on my experiences at the ISPI expo, I was able to develop a set of games in the "party-games" category.; Specifically, the set includes word games, trivia games, graphic games, and communication games.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from The Thiagi Group; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including The Thiagi Group.)
  • What that means: we track where an exercise has been observed in public sources. We do not claim to know who created it, or how popular it is.
  • No efficacy claims: appearing in this library is not a claim that the exercise is proven effective. Facilitator judgment and context decide whether it works for a given room.
  • Corrections: if you have evidence of an earlier or more accurate source, read our methodology and trust boundary and tell us.

Pairs well with