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Exercises/Reflection and Learning/Fun Circle Name Game That Creates Energy - Zombie Name-Game
Circle Dialogue · Reflection and Learning

Fun Circle Name Game That Creates Energy - Zombie Name-Game

Fun Circle Name Game That Creates Energy - Zombie Name-Game is a circle dialogue exercise for reflection and learning: it helps participants reflect on experience and turn observations into learning.

5 to 15 minutesTIME
Medium group (9-25), Small group (4-8)GROUP SIZE
ActiveENERGY
In person, RemoteSETTING
High cognitive loadCOGNITIVE LOAD
Strengthens Learning Transfer This reflection and learning exercise strengthens Learning Transfer, one of the eight Gathering Effectiveness pillars.

How to run it

  1. Loudly call the name of a person standing in the circle and start walking towards them, acting like a ‘zombie’ with your arms stretched out in front of you.
  2. Your aim is to tag this named person on their shoulders.
  3. This named person aims to call the name of another person in the circle before they are tagged.
  4. If they avoid being tagged, the originally named person will immediately step into the circle and attempt to tag the person they just named.
  5. On all occasions, the openings in the circle are filled by the previous zombie.
  6. If the named person is tagged, everyone can enjoy a good laugh and, after a few moments, invite the tagged person to become the next zombie.
  7. Play for several minutes, introducing extra ‘zombies’ as appropriate.
  8. Zombie Name-Game Fun circle name game that creates energy & helps learn names.
  9. Zombie Name-Game is a fun circle name-game that helps groups learn names playfully, thereby helping to break down barriers quickly.
Live facilitator

Run this exercise live

The facilitator console stays in this browser. Its QR handoff is a short-lived participant snapshot containing only public exercise instructions, phase, prompt, and timer state.

Prompts to use +

Loudly call the name of a person standing in the circle and start walking towards them, acting like a ‘zombie’ with your arms stretched out in front of you.

If the named person is tagged, everyone can enjoy a good laugh and, after a few moments, invite the tagged person to become the next zombie.

Play for several minutes, introducing extra ‘zombies’ as appropriate.

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: Fun Circle Name Game That Creates Energy - Zombie Name-Game. Readiness: Publishable Draft. Core moves: Loudly call the name of a person standing in the circle and start walking towards them, acting like a ‘zombie’ with your arms stretched out in front of you.; If the named person is tagged, everyone can enjoy a good laugh and, after a few moments, invite the tagged person to become the next zombie.; Play for several minutes, introducing extra ‘zombies’ as appropriate.; . Return a concise facilitator script with timing, wording, safety notes, and remote/in-person adjustments.

Origin unverified

  • Where we observed it: The strongest current observations come from Playmeo; aggregators are listed as additional observations, not origin proof. (1 source observed, including Playmeo.)
  • 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