Speedy Name Game

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Reduce group completion time across repeated rounds by coordinating physical positioning, naming, and tag sequencing.

Use it when: Use when a newly formed group has already learned basic names and needs an active, lightweight coordination exercise.

Skip it when: Skip when participants cannot comfortably move in close proximity, when physical touch is unwelcome, or when people do not know each other's names yet.

Group arrangement: Whole group standing in an open space, moving individually.

Timing: UWT suggested 15 minutes to allow three timed attempts and two strategy breaks.

Materials and tools

• One stopwatch or phone timer
• Flipchart or whiteboard with dry-erase marker for recording round times
• Remote or hybrid: a video call, one camera-enabled device and headset per chain participant, and a shared text record for the three round times
• Hybrid physical option: a wide-angle room camera and screen/audio so remote support participants can observe and join strategy discussions

Before participants arrive

1. Clear a flat, open floor area free of tripping hazards, chairs, bags, and cables.
2. Draw a line or designate an outer perimeter where tagged participants step out.
3. Before the timed session, check video/audio and visible participant names. For digital play, confirm the participating roster and shared timing record. Room participants use separate speaking positions and headsets. Anyone may choose timekeeping or strategy observation; if fewer than two people join the chain, skip timed play.

Say this to open

We are going to test how quickly we can pass a chain reaction across the entire group. In this game, you will keep your eyes cast down or closed. I will tap one person to start our timer. That person looks up, calls the name of someone who has not been tagged yet, taps them on the shoulder or calls their name clearly, and then steps out. The next person does the same until everyone is tagged.

How to run it

1. Set rules and safety boundaries 3 minutes

   Explain the safety rules. Participants can choose to close their eyes or keep their eyes fixed directly on the floor at their feet. If someone prefers no physical touch, they can hold up one hand and receive a verbal tag by name and point instead of a shoulder tap. Run a slow dry run with three people so the mechanic is clear.

2. Run baseline round 3 minutes

   Ask everyone to mingle randomly in the marked area. Call 'STOP.' Everyone freezes and closes eyes or looks down. Start the stopwatch and tap the first person. That person opens eyes, names an untagged person, tags them on the shoulder (or points and calls name), and steps into the outer ring. The chain continues until the final untagged person is tagged. Stop the timer and write the time on the board.

3. Strategy break and second round 4 minutes

   Give the group 90 seconds to discuss ways to shave seconds off their time without compromising safety or changing the rules. Run Round 2 using the same start procedure. Record the new time.

4. Final round and debrief 5 minutes

   Give 60 seconds for final adjustments. Run Round 3. Record the final score. Gather the group in a circle and facilitate a brief discussion using the debrief questions.

Debrief questions

• What, if anything, changed in your cycle time after each adjustment?
• How did you track who had already been tagged and who was still waiting?
• Where did hesitation happen, and how did you resolve it?

Finished output: A recorded log of three timed rounds and the group's strategy adjustments, whether times improved, stayed similar or increased.

Remote

Use a UWT timed name-calling variation. Chain participants start with cameras on; chosen timekeepers and observers stay outside the chain. Start the stopwatch and call one participant. Each called person switches their camera off and names someone not yet called. Stop only after the final uncalled participant is named and switches their camera off. Record the time. Before each new round, everyone in the chain turns their camera back on. Keep the same three rounds and strategy intervals; compare times within this delivery format.

Hybrid

Use the remote timed-calling variation with one full roster, regardless of location. Each chain participant needs an individual camera device and headset; room participants use separate speaking positions. Alternatively, use the physical game only when at least six room participants play and all remote attendees choose timekeeper, strategy-recorder or false-tag-observer roles through the wide-angle camera. Include them in both strategy discussions and the debrief. Otherwise use the full-roster digital version. If the required equipment or space is unavailable, use a fully in-person or fully remote session with a working setup, or skip the activity.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may keep eyes open looking down at their feet instead of closing their eyes.
• Participants can opt for non-contact verbal tagging by crossing their arms or raising a hand.
• Anyone who wishes to pass on moving quickly can serve as the timekeeper or scorekeeper without needing to provide a medical reason.

If the session gets stuck

Two people tag the same person, causing confusion about who remains untagged.

Remind everyone that only the person who was just tagged has the token to tag the next person. Reinforce that tagged participants must immediately step into the outer perimeter.

A participant forgets someone's name mid-round, freezing the clock.

Allow the untagged target to call out their own name if the tagger hesitates for more than three seconds, or let the tagger point and ask 'Name?' quickly.

Terms used here

• Cycle time: The total elapsed seconds from the facilitator's opening tap until the last participant is tagged.