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: 300b062ddb3db115b3639f3db720867208e6dab3bbbb00a50b6534c5ae6658ae

# Wampum

Participants sit in a circle with their feet extended while a tagger in the center tries to tap a named person's foot with a soft foam noodle. The named person must shout another participant's name before being tagged to pass the target along.

**Time:** 10 minutes. Playmeo suggests playing for 5 to 10 minutes. 10 minutes includes orientation and a brief closing review.
**People:** 8 to 20. Single circle with one person standing in the center

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Help participants recall and call out each other's names quickly under light physical pressure.
**Use it when:** Use during early team formation or orientation after basic name introductions have already happened.
**Skip it when:** Skip if participants have mobility limitations that make sitting on the floor or extending legs painful, or when physical tagging causes discomfort.

## Materials and tools

- 1 soft foam boffer or pool noodle cut in half (approx. 60 to 90 cm)
- Name tags with large, legible lettering for all participants (optional but recommended)

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in a wide circle or clear an open floor space where everyone can sit facing inward.
2. Ensure the center has enough clear floor space for one person to pivot and step safely.

## Say this to open

We are going to play a rapid name-recall game called Wampum. Everyone sits in a circle with their feet out in front. I will stand in the middle holding this soft foam noodle. One person will call out someone's name. As soon as your name is called, you must call out someone else's name before I gently tap your shoe. If I tap your foot before you say a name, we trade places.

## How to run it

### 1. Form circle and review names (2 minutes)

Direct all participants to sit in chairs or on the floor in a circle with their legs extended forward. Run a quick roll call around the circle where each person states their name clearly so everyone has heard every name at least once.

### 2. Explain rules and safety (2 minutes)

Demonstrate a gentle tap on a shoe using the foam noodle. Explain the core rule: tags are strictly light taps directed only at shoes or feet. No overhead swings or hard hits. If tagged before speaking another person's name, that person replaces the tagger in the center. Clarify that when someone returns to the circle from the center, they must call a new name before sitting down completely, or they can be tagged immediately.

### 3. Run the game (5 minutes)

Start in the center as the first tagger to establish the appropriate pacing and gentle touch. Pick an initial seated player to call the first name. When that player calls a name, move toward the named person's feet. If that person calls a third name before being tagged, divert to the new target. Continue until a tag lands before a name is spoken. Swap roles with that participant. Let play continue in the group for 5 minutes, stepping in only if safety rules need reinforcement.

### 4. Conclude and debrief (1 minutes)

Call time, collect the tagging noodle, and ask 1 or 2 reflective questions to conclude the exercise.


## Debrief questions

- Which names came to mind easily, and what helped you remember them?
- What strategy helped you speak quickly when the tagger turned toward you?

**Finished output:** All participants have repeatedly called and responded to peers' names in real time.

## Remote

Wampum relies entirely on physical proximity, spatial reach, and physical tagging. It cannot be run online in this form. For a remote group needing fast-paced name practice, run a verbal hot-potato round: person A names person B, person B has 3 seconds to name person C, accompanied by a visual countdown timer on screen.

## Hybrid

Not suitable for hybrid play. The central mechanic depends on co-located physical tagging in a single room. Keep all participants together in person or run the separate remote name round for a distributed group.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants who prefer not to sit on the floor can sit on chairs with feet extended outward.
- Anyone who wishes not to be tagged or run can act as the official name referee, calling fair tags or tracking whose name has not yet been spoken.

## If the session gets stuck

**A tagger swings too hard or aims above the feet.**

Pause the round instantly. Reiterate that tags must only be soft taps on the shoe tops, and model the exact motion before resuming.

**Participants repeat the same two or three familiar names over and over.**

Add a temporary rule: you cannot call back the person who just called you, or you must call someone sitting across the circle.


## Terms used here

- Boffer: A padded foam tube or cut pool noodle used for safe, non-injurious tagging.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo library, attributed to Mark Collard.

Retained the core mechanic from Playmeo (seated circle, extended feet, center tagger with boffer, passing the tag by shouting names). UWT added explicit safety guidelines regarding tag force, chair options for accessibility, a name referee role for opt-outs, and structured step timings totaling 10 minutes.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/running-tag-pe-games/wampum)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/running-tag-pe-games/wampum/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fast-paced-name-game-that-builds-energy-quick-thinking-wampum/