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: 0925efa5e4323bb782b9ba82c02f5450770daa5ca0bbc41573a388484b55ba88

# Caught Ya Peekin'

Participants sit or stand in a circle with eyes closed, sneaking peeks to catch peers with open eyes. Spotting someone with their eyes open eliminates that person from the round.

**Time:** 5 minutes. Source suggests 1 to 2 minutes per round; 5 minutes allows rule explanation, two short rounds, and a brief debrief.
**People:** 4 to 24. Single whole-room circle

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Build group alertness and shared laughter through a quick, low-stakes game of observation and timing.
**Use it when:** Use as a quick five-minute energizer between intensive work blocks or during an opening warm-up.
**Skip it when:** Skip if participants are uncomfortable closing their eyes in the group, or when the group does not yet know each other's names.

## Materials and tools

- No materials required; name tags recommended if participants do not know all names

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs or clear floor space so everyone can form a single circle where every person can see everyone else.

## Say this to open

We are going to play a quick game called Caught Ya Peekin'. In a moment, everyone will close their eyes. At any time, you may open your eyes to peek around the circle. If you catch someone else with their eyes open, call out 'Caught ya peekin', [Name]!' That person is out for the round. The catch is: whenever your eyes are open, you risk getting caught too. Let's begin.

## How to run it

### 1. Form the circle and state rules (1 minutes)

Gather the group into a circle where everyone has an unobstructed line of sight to everyone else. State the core mechanics: close your eyes, open them whenever you wish to peek, and if you make direct eye contact or spot someone else looking around, call out 'Caught ya peekin', [Name]!' The accused person steps back or places hands on their head. Address ties by eliminating both callers if they spoke at the exact same second.

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

Tell everyone to close their eyes and start the round. Remain silent while participants peek, wait, and call out names. If someone calls a name whose eyes were clearly closed, remind them they must catch eyes actually open. When two players remain or when two minutes elapse, declare the round complete.

### 3. Run round two (1 minutes)

Invite all eliminated players back into the circle. Run a second quick round with the same rules to let people apply any tactics they noticed in round one.

### 4. Debrief the game (1 minutes)

Ask one or two brief reflection questions to wrap up the energy before shifting to the next agenda item.


## Debrief questions

- What made you decide when to open your eyes versus keeping them closed?
- What tactics did you notice people using to avoid getting caught?

**Finished output:** Two rounds completed with one or two finalists identified per round.

## Remote

Have everyone turn on gallery view on their webcams. On the facilitator's signal, participants look down or close their eyes. When they look directly up into their camera or scan the screen, they try to call out another person whose eyes are visible. Because video latency can cause false accusations, the facilitator serves as the final judge. Anyone eliminated turns off their camera until the round ends.

## Hybrid

Hybrid play is not recommended for this mechanic because camera latency, variable screen sizes, and room camera angles give remote participants a distinct disadvantage over in-person circle members. Run separate in-person and remote games simultaneously instead.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants who do not want to close their eyes may opt out of playing and serve as neutral referees who verify calls.
- Anyone may pass or step out at any moment simply by taking a step back from the circle without explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants do not know everyone's names, causing hesitations or incorrect accusations.**

Have everyone wear clear name tags, or do a rapid name go-around immediately before closing eyes.

**Two participants call out each other at the exact same instant.**

Rule that both players caught each other simultaneously, eliminating both, or let both stay in and immediately close eyes again.


## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo library records, which attribute the activity to Mark Collard.

Retained the core Playmeo elimination mechanic, the trigger phrase 'CAUGHT YA PEEKIN'', and the circle layout. UWT added structured time bounds (5 minutes total for two rounds and debrief), specific tie-breaker guidelines, name tag recommendations, and a referee role for accessibility.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-large-group-games/caught-ya-peekin)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-large-group-games/caught-ya-peekin/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fun-circle-game-activity-kids-love-to-play-caught-ya-peekin/