# Desert Island Participants select three items to bring if stranded on a deserted island and explain their reasons. Small groups compare lists to see how individual priorities balance across survival, comfort, and recreation. **Time:** 15 minutes. Icebreaker-Games.org notes 10 minutes for small whole-room play; UWT allocates 15 minutes to include small breakout sharing and structured debrief for up to 24 people **People:** 4 to 24. Subgroups of 3 to 4 people. If 1 person remains, they join an existing group to make a group of 5. If 2 people remain, they form a pair. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Compare personal priorities and everyday preferences by sharing three chosen items in a fictional scenario. **Use it when:** Use as a low-stakes opening check-in at the start of a meeting or workshop to hear every voice early. **Skip it when:** Skip when addressing an active organizational crisis, running a technical work session, or when a fictional scenario feels dismissive of serious conditions. ## Materials and tools - Scratch paper and pens (one per person) - Digital whiteboard or text chat channel for remote attendees - Countdown timer visible to the room ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange room chairs into clusters of 3 or 4, or pre-configure online breakout rooms of 3 or 4. 2. Display the prompt on a central board or shared screen: 'Name 3 items you would bring to a deserted island and why.' ## Say this to open Imagine you are stranded on a deserted island. You can bring three items with you. Take one minute quietly to pick your three items and consider why you chose them. You can focus on survival, comfort, or recreation. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce scenario and reflect (3 minutes) Read the opening script. State a neutral example: one person might pick a water filter for survival, while another picks a guitar for entertainment. Remind everyone that devices have no cellular reception or internet. Start the 60-second silent reflection timer so participants can record their three choices on scratch paper. ### 2. Share lists in small groups (7 minutes) Direct participants to their groups. In person, the person with the next birthday speaks first, then turns pass clockwise. Remotely, pass alphabetically. In mixed groups, the remote participant shares first, followed clockwise by present members. Each person has up to 90 seconds to share items and reasoning. Listeners may ask one quick clarifying question. Anyone may pass or share fewer items. ### 3. Identify patterns across groups (3 minutes) Bring the full room back together. Ask groups to name contrasts or common patterns they observed between survival gear, comforts, and pastimes. Take three brief contributions from volunteers in different groups. ### 4. Debrief and close (2 minutes) Pose one debrief question to the room. Hear two concise reflections from volunteers, thank the room, and conclude the exercise. ## Debrief questions - What balance did your group strike between survival tools, daily comforts, and entertainment? - Which item chosen by someone else surprised you or made you rethink your own list? **Finished output:** Each participant creates a personal list of three items (or passes) and shares their rationale with a small group. ## Remote Display the prompt and neutral example on a shared slide. Give participants one minute of quiet reflection to write their three items. Send participants into breakout rooms of 3 or 4 people for 7 minutes. In each breakout room, turns pass alphabetically by first name. Listeners may ask one quick clarifying question per turn. Reconvene in the main room for the collective pattern check and debrief. Invite participants to paste standout items heard into the text chat channel. ## Hybrid Keep remote attendees in dedicated online breakout rooms of 3 to 4, while in-person participants talk in physical clusters. If a mixed group is unavoidable, place in-person members around a single laptop with an external microphone. In mixed groups, the remote participant shares first, followed clockwise by the in-person members. Use the text chat channel or digital whiteboard so both in-person and remote participants can paste standout items during whole-room sharing. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may pass entirely, name fewer than three items, or choose an alternate setting like a quiet cabin if an island scenario causes discomfort. - Participants may show a written list or paste choices into chat instead of speaking aloud. ## If the session gets stuck **A participant chooses a smartphone or laptop, prompting an argument over technical realism.** Remind everyone that while there is no cellular service or internet on the island, offline functions like stored music, loaded e-books, or saved photos are acceptable. **One speaker takes several minutes and leaves little time for other group members.** Announce the 90-second turn guideline before conversations begin, and give a whole-room time check at the 3.5-minute mark so groups know to switch to the second half of their circle. ## Sources and adaptation Observed on Icebreaker-Games.org as a classic parlour game and icebreaker prompt without verified individual authorship. Retained the traditional 3-item prompt, scenario framing, and category distinctions from Icebreaker-Games.org. UWT added structured group sizing, explicit time boxes, distinct turn-taking rules for in-person, remote, and mixed groups, and opt-out access choices. [Icebreaker-Games.org](https://icebreaker-games.org/desert-island) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/desert-island-3-items-survival-icebreaker-2026/