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: 6dd27da5b82ae12553c21fcd333c0bd9588634901f6708ed672ef8c4df2f0f9a

# Who Is It?

The group asks binary yes-or-no questions to deduce a secret participant chosen by the facilitator. Participants sit down when an answer rules them out, continuing until one person remains.

**Time:** 10 minutes. Playmeo suggests a brief warm-up format; 10 minutes fits an introduction, deduction round, and brief reflection.
**People:** 6 to 24. Whole group standing, eliminating down to one person

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Identify a secret group member using binary deduction in as few questions as possible.
**Use it when:** Use as a light icebreaker when an assembled group needs a fast whole-room guessing game.
**Skip it when:** Skip when group members do not know one another at all or when participants dislike being singled out for observable attributes.

## Materials and tools

- Chairs for participants to sit down on when eliminated
- Pack of 3x5 index cards for seated participants to signal active status

## Before participants arrive

1. Arrange chairs in a loose circle or facing the facilitator with clear visibility across the room.
2. Place index cards near the entrance for anyone who prefers to stay seated during play.

## Say this to open

I will secretly choose one person in this room as our mystery candidate. Your task as a team is to discover who it is in as few questions as possible. You may ask any question I can answer with Yes or No. If my answer is Yes, anyone for whom that statement is not true sits down. If my answer is No, anyone for whom it is true sits down. We continue until one person remains standing.

## How to run it

### 1. Explain the rules (2 minutes)

Gather participants in view of one another. Deliver the opening script. Hand index cards to anyone who prefers to remain seated, instructing them to hold their card up while active and lay it flat when eliminated.

### 2. Choose the mystery candidate (1 minutes)

Select one participant in your mind without looking directly at them or stating their name. Confirm that the mystery person is chosen and invite the group to confer briefly on an opening question.

### 3. Run deductive elimination (5 minutes)

Field yes-or-no questions from the room. Answer 'Yes' or 'No' based strictly on the secret candidate. Direct eliminated participants to sit down or lower their index cards. Continue until only one person remains standing or showing a card.

### 4. Debrief the deductions (2 minutes)

Invite everyone to sit comfortably. Ask the debrief questions to examine which questioning strategies split the field fastest. Take two or three brief responses from the group.


## Debrief questions

- Which questions eliminated the largest share of the group in a single move?
- How did you balance asking broad categories versus narrow personal guesses?

**Finished output:** One secret participant identified by deduction, or the game ends when all traits are tested.

## Remote

All participants start with webcams on. A participant turns their camera off when eliminated. The facilitator takes questions via voice or chat until only the mystery person's video remains on screen.

## Hybrid

Remote participants keep their cameras on while in-person participants stand. When eliminated, in-person participants sit and remote participants turn off their cameras. Take questions alternately from the room and the chat or video feed.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants who prefer not to stand can hold up an index card and lower it to indicate elimination.
- Anyone who prefers not to be chosen as the mystery person may opt out quietly during setup.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant asks an open-ended question that cannot be answered with yes or no.**

Pause and ask the speaker to restate their question as a clear yes-or-no statement.

**A question relies on private information that the facilitator cannot verify.**

State that the answer is unknown and ask for a question based on visible or shared team facts.


## Terms used here

- Binary question: A question framed so it can only be answered with an exact 'Yes' or 'No'.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on Playmeo, where it is listed as an activity by Mark Collard.

Retained the core Playmeo deduction and sitting elimination mechanic. Expanded to four clear steps within a 10-minute container. Added index cards to materials to ensure consistent access choices for seated participants. UWT added scripted prompts, hybrid instructions, and structured debrief questions.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/who-is-it)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/who-is-it/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/fun-get-to-know-you-game-that-builds-connections-who-is-it/