Giants, Wizards, Elves

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Raise physical energy and practice quick group consensus through an active chasing game.

Use it when: Use during long in-person workshops when participants need physical movement and quick group coordination between seated work blocks.

Skip it when: Skip when the room lacks open running space, when floors are slick, or when running and tagging do not match group mobility needs.

Group arrangement: Two opposing teams facing each other across a center line

Timing: UWT suggested duration; each round takes about 1 to 2 minutes.

Materials and tools

• Floor tape or cones to mark one center line and two safety zone lines
• Whistle or handheld bell (optional)

Before participants arrive

1. Choose a large, open area clear of furniture and trip hazards.
2. Mark three parallel lines with tape or cones: one center dividing line and two outer safety boundary lines at least 15 to 20 feet behind each team starting side.

Say this to open

We are playing Giants, Wizards, Elves. It is a whole-body Rock-Paper-Scissors tag game. Giants beat Elves, Elves beat Wizards, and Wizards beat Giants. Your team will secretly choose a character, line up in the center, flash your pose together, and either chase or flee.

How to run it

1. Learn poses and rules 3 minutes

   Demonstrate the three characters: Giants raise both hands overhead and roar. Wizards point hands forward, wiggle fingers, and buzz. Elves cup hands to ears and chatter. Teach the hierarchy: Giants beat Elves, Elves beat Wizards, Wizards beat Giants. Explain that gentle two-finger tags on shoulders or arms count; no shoving. Anyone who prefers not to run may serve as a boundary judge.

2. Form teams and pick characters 3 minutes

   Divide participants into two roughly equal teams. If the total count is odd, allow one team an extra runner or invite an odd participant to serve as a boundary judge. Send teams to their safety lines. Give them 60 seconds to huddle and secretly select both a primary character and a backup character in case of a tie.

3. Face off and chase 6 minutes

   Call teams to the center line facing each other, four feet apart. Call out: 'One, two, three, what is it going to be?' Both teams show their primary pose. The dominant character team chases the other team toward their safety line. Anyone tagged before crossing joins the tagging team. If both show the same pose, call immediately for backup poses. If both backup poses tie, teams return to their lines to re-huddle. Run repeated rounds until time expires or one side absorbs everyone.

4. Catch breath and debrief 3 minutes

   Gather the full room back together in a seated circle. Take two shared deep breaths and invite two or three quick observations about communication under speed.

Debrief questions

• How did your team agree on your secret choice in under a minute?
• What happened when you had to switch instantly from chasing to fleeing?
• How did switching teams after being tagged affect how you played?

Finished output: Completion of active tag rounds, concluding when time expires or when one team absorbs all opposing runners.

Remote

This active running game cannot run online without changing into an entirely different method. If your group is remote, do not run this activity; use a seated camera game instead.

Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not supported for this activity because the core mechanic requires physical running and tagging in shared space.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may opt out of running or tagging at any time and serve as boundary judges or game callers without giving a reason.
• Participants with mobility limits can participate as boundary judges, callers, or designated walking taggers by mutual group agreement.

If the session gets stuck

Players argue over whether a tag happened before crossing the safety line.

Appoint boundary judges before starting, and enforce an honor system rule where ties go to the runner.

Both teams pick the same character and stall the game.

Have teams always pick a primary and backup character in each huddle. Switch immediately to backup characters on a tie, and only re-huddle if backup choices also tie.

Terms used here

• Safety zone: The marked space behind a team home line where runners can no longer be tagged.