Heads Up

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Practice quick verbal clue-giving and listening under a gentle, shared time limit.

Use it when: Use as a high-energy warm-up, energizer transition, or review of shared concepts during a team session.

Skip it when: Skip when the session calls for quiet analytical focus, when participants share no common vocabulary, or when rapid verbal performance causes discomfort.

Group arrangement: Teams of 3 to 6 people. Form two groups of 3 for 6 participants; one group of 4 and one of 3 for 7. Any remaining participant joins an existing group up to 6, or serves as room timekeeper.

Timing: Relationship Makers Handbook suggests 5 to 15 minutes. This 15-minute plan provides 10 minutes of active play, allowing one 60-second turn per person in groups of 5 to 6, or two turns in groups of 3 to 4.

Materials and tools

• One smartphone per team with a guessing app installed, or one pre-cut deck of index cards with target words written on them
• One countdown timer per team or a single facilitator display timer
• One score sheet or scratch paper per group with one pen

Before participants arrive

1. Divide room into team clusters of 3 to 6 participants.
2. Distribute one phone running the app or one deck of face-down cards to each team.
3. Designate one person per group as the starting scorekeeper.

Say this to open

We are playing Heads Up. One person holds a card or phone against their forehead without looking at the word. Everyone else gives clues, describes the concept, or acts it out without saying any part of the target word. You have sixty seconds per turn to guess as many as you can.

How to run it

1. Explain rules and demonstrate 3 minutes

   Deliver the opening script and demonstrate one 30-second example with a volunteer. Clarify clues: no rhyming, no spelling out letters, and no using root words from the target term. For example, if the card says 'Coffee Machine', clue-givers cannot say 'coffee' or 'machine'.

2. Run first guessing turns 5 minutes

   Teams choose their first guesser. Start the synchronized 60-second timer. Teammates call out clues while the guesser guesses. The scorekeeper tracks correct answers. When the timer chimes, pass the role clockwise to the next person. Run three consecutive 60-second turns.

3. Run second guessing turns 5 minutes

   Continue passing the guesser role clockwise for three more 60-second turns so every member who wants to guess takes a turn. If time remains in groups of 3 or 4, take a second turn.

4. Debrief and close 2 minutes

   Call the room back together. Hear two or three observations using the debrief questions, acknowledge group efforts, and close the activity.

Debrief questions

• Which clue styles helped the guesser identify terms fastest?
• What happened when multiple teammates spoke at the exact same time?
• What adjustment did your team make after the first turn?

Finished output: Completed guessing rounds with recorded point tallies per team.

Remote

Use breakout rooms of 3 to 6 people. The guesser turns their back to the screen or closes their eyes. Another participant pastes the target word into the breakout chat so all clue-givers see it. Clue-givers describe it aloud for 60 seconds while the guesser guesses.

Hybrid

Run parallel setups. Group remote participants together in a dedicated video breakout room using chat prompts. Group in-person participants in room clusters using physical cards or phones. Bring all groups together in the shared room for the final debrief.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may choose to be scorekeeper, timer, or clue-giver instead of being the guesser.
• Clue-givers may type clues in chat or write them on small whiteboards if speaking rapidly is uncomfortable.
• Teams can skip point tracking entirely upon request.

If the session gets stuck

Teammates all talk at once, creating unintelligible noise for the guesser.

Pause the group and instruct clue-givers to let one person speak per card or take rapid alternating turns.

A guesser is stuck on a difficult word and burning their entire turn.

Remind teams that passing is free. The guesser says 'Pass' to draw the next card or skip the screen.

Terms used here

• Heads Up: A party game mechanic where a player displays a hidden word on their forehead for teammates to describe without speaking the word itself.