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

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: b296c84ddd6078889819dbe2725247d9f57637c628b7eceecf27e80ac30bed64

# Turbo Name Game

Participants freeze in place and pass a turn across the group by calling a person's name and tagging them. The group attempts to touch and name every person in sequence as fast as possible.

**Time:** 10 minutes. UWT suggested 10 minutes to fit setup, two timed rounds, and a brief debrief.
**People:** 6 to 24. Whole group dispersed across an open floor

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Test and reinforce name recall across a group under a collective timed goal.
**Use it when:** Use during early team formation when participants have introduced themselves but need rapid practice remembering everyone's name.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants have mobility limitations that make rapid physical tagging unsafe, or when personal space and physical contact are sensitive.

## Materials and tools

- 1 stopwatch or smartphone timer
- 1 whiteboard or flip chart and marker to record round times

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear furniture to create an open, level floor area with no tripping hazards.

## Say this to open

We are going to test our group memory against the clock. When I say start, you will scatter and freeze. Then we will pass a tag across the entire room. You must say the person's name out loud before you tag them. Once tagged, step back so we know who is left.

## How to run it

### 1. Explain rules and scatter (2 minutes)

Explain the rules: participants mingle across the room until the facilitator calls 'Freeze!' Everyone stops in place. Explain the passing rule: the active runner calls a target person's name, walks quickly to them, and gently tags their shoulder or forearm. The tagged person becomes the runner, while the previous runner steps back out of play. Give an explicit example: 'Jordan calls Sam, walks over, tags Sam's shoulder, and Jordan steps outside the circle.'

### 2. Run round one (3 minutes)

Call 'Mingle' for five seconds, then call 'Freeze!' Everyone stops where they stand. Tap the first volunteer runner to start the clock. The runner names someone, moves to tag them, and steps back. The sequence continues until the final person is tagged. Stop the timer, announce the elapsed time, and record it on the flip chart.

### 3. Run round two (3 minutes)

Ask the group if they can beat their initial time. Remind them they can change their scatter positions or call out reminders if someone forgets a name. Call 'Mingle' and 'Freeze!' Designate a new starting runner and start the timer. Stop the clock when the final person is tagged. Record the new time.

### 4. Debrief (2 minutes)

Gather the group in a semicircle. Ask 1 or 2 debrief questions to reflect on recall strategies and collective speed. Take 2 to 3 comments from volunteers.


## Debrief questions

- What strategies helped you remember names quickly under time pressure?
- How did the group handle moments when someone blanked on a colleague's name?

**Finished output:** A completed round where every participant was named and tagged, with a recorded group completion time.

## Remote

This active physical tagging game does not run identically online. For a video call, run a visual turn-pass alternative: everyone turns their camera on. The facilitator starts a timer and calls one person. That person must call the name of an untagged person and perform an agreed visual gesture (such as pointing at the screen). The named person unmutes, confirms their own name, calls another person, and turns their camera off. Repeat until all cameras are off. Stop the timer and compare across two rounds.

## Hybrid

Hybrid play fractures the physical mechanic. Run the remote visual pass format for all participants, with in-room participants joining the call on individual laptops or standing in camera view and sitting down once named.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may opt to receive a wave, pointed finger, or vocal cue instead of physical contact.
- Participants who prefer not to run can serve as the official timekeeper or spotter.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant forgets someone's name and freezes mid-round.**

Remind the room that teammates can shout out helpful hints or the person can politely ask 'Remind me your name?' without penalty.

**Participants run recklessly or collide in the open space.**

Pause the clock and enforce a speed-walking rule where at least one foot must touch the floor at all times.


## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo records, where the activity is attributed to Mark Collard.

Retained the core Playmeo mechanic of mingling, freezing in place, calling a name before tagging, and stepping out of play across multiple timed rounds. Adjusted instructions to replace closed-eyes wandering with open-eyes mingling for physical safety. Added explicit consent options for physical touch, speed-walking safety constraints, and an exact remote gesture-based equivalent.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/turbo-name-game)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/turbo-name-game/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fast-paced-name-game-for-icebreaking-energy-turbo-name-game/