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Exercises/Relationship Mapping/Desert Island: 3 Items Survival Icebreaker (2026)
Relationship Mapping

Desert Island: 3 Items Survival Icebreaker (2026)

Desert Island: 3 Items Survival Icebreaker (2026) is a relationship mapping exercise that helps participants build useful connections and understand how people, roles, or ideas relate.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), PairsGROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
Hybrid, In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Network Design This relationship mapping exercise strengthens Network Design, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Ask the group: 'If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you bring and why?'
  2. Go around the circle and have each person share their three items.
  3. Encourage follow-up questions to understand the reasoning behind their choices.
  4. Desert Island Desert Island Participants share the three essential items they'd bring to a deserted island.
  5. &url=https%3A%2F%2Ficebreaker-games.org%2Fdesert-island) &summary=Participants%20share%20the%20three%20essential%20items%20they'd%20bring%20to%20a%20deserted%20island.) 3+ PlayersHybrid10 minEasy How to Play This Icebreaker Game 1.
  6. 2Go around the circle and have each person share their three items.
  7. You can gently clarify: 'Assume there's no service - what else would you choose?' or accept their choice and ask why that specific device is important to t
Live facilitator

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Prompts to use +

Ask the group: 'If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you bring and why?'

Go around the circle and have each person share their three items.

Desert Island Desert Island Participants share the three essential items they'd bring to a deserted island.

&url=https%3A%2F%2Ficebreaker-games.org%2Fdesert-island) &summary=Participants%20share%20the%20three%20essential%20items%20they'd%20bring%20to%20a%20deserted%20island.) 3+ PlayersHybrid10 minEasy How to Play This Icebreaker Game 1.

2Go around the circle and have each person share their three items.

You can gently clarify: 'Assume there's no service - what else would you choose?' or accept their choice and ask why that specific device is important to t

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: Desert Island: 3 Items Survival Icebreaker (2026). Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Ask the group: 'If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you bring and why?'; Go around the circle and have each person share their three items.; Desert Island Desert Island Participants share the three essential items they'd bring to a deserted island.; &url=https%3A%2F%2Ficebreaker-games.org%2Fdesert-island) &summary=Participants%20share%20the%20three%20essential%20items%20they'd%20bring%20to%20a%20deserted%20island.) 3+ PlayersHybrid10 minEasy How to Play This Icebreaker Game 1.. Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The current corpus has one observed source organization: Icebreaker-Games.org. (1 source observed, including Icebreaker-Games.org.)
  • 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