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: ee9692e90ffedb3383da3013dbd38c6a4b95bc501e4cfd3fe7c6706beecee046

# Alien

Participants secretly plant a designated small token (an alien) near an unsuspecting peer over an extended session or multi-day retreat. When a person discovers the token in their belongings or immediate space, they secretly re-plant it near someone else.

**Time:** 15 minutes. 15 minutes total facilitator time (5 minutes briefing, 10 minutes debrief at the conclusion). The ambient stealth gameplay runs in the background over 3 hours to several days.
**People:** 6 to 24. Whole-room ambient game with individual secret turns.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Maintain informal vigilance and playful observation across an extended multi-hour or multi-day program.
**Use it when:** Use during a retreat, multi-day training, or half-day workshop where people share a physical space and need an ambient, ongoing micro-interaction.
**Skip it when:** Skip during fast-paced single-hour agendas, strict security environments where touching personal belongings creates distress, or when group members do not interact outside structured seats.

## Materials and tools

- 1 standard metallic washer or small recognizable token (such as a painted coin or wooden disc), designated as the Alien
- 1 small container or envelope for secret initial assignment

## Before participants arrive

1. Inspect the designated token to ensure it has no sharp edges.
2. Decide the exact end time when the alien hunt concludes.
3. Identify one initial player to receive the token privately before or during the opening.

## Say this to open

Throughout our program today, a quiet visitor will move among us: this metal washer, known as the Alien. The rules are simple. One person starts with it secretly. Your job, once you find the Alien in your belongings, is to secretly pass it to someone else. You must hide it where they will easily notice it, such as perched on their notebook or beside their water bottle. Never reach inside closed pockets, zipped bags, or private compartments. If you find the Alien, keep quiet, take possession, and plant it near another person when they look away. At our closing session, whoever holds the Alien will reveal it.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce rules and boundaries (5 minutes)

Display the token to the entire group. State the rules plainly: the token must always be placed where it will be found naturally within 15 to 30 minutes. Explicitly forbid touching personal pockets, closed bags, phones, or private items. Explain that anyone who does not wish to play may display a small agreed marker (such as placing their pen across their notebook) or hand the token immediately to the facilitator.

### 2. Secret initial delivery (2 minutes)

Quietly slip the Alien to the first participant without the rest of the room noticing, or place it openly beside an assigned starting person during a transition break. The ambient game is now live in the background while normal agenda sessions occur.

### 3. Final reveal (3 minutes)

At the scheduled end of the program, pause regular work. Ask the room who currently holds or has recently spotted the Alien. The final holder brings the Alien forward to confirm its location.

### 4. Debrief observations (5 minutes)

Facilitate a brief group reflection on how the token travelled. Invite up to three participants to share moments they caught someone or realized they had been tagged. Collect the token.


## Debrief questions

- How many times did you notice the Alien moving without the recipient realizing it?
- What strategies helped you place the token without being spotted?
- How did holding an ambient game in the background change your awareness of the room?

**Finished output:** The physical token is retrieved at the final session, revealing the path of secret transfers.

## Remote

This ambient physical stealth mechanic relies on physical proximity and cannot run authentically online. A related remote alternative using digital messaging is Secret Code Messenger: one participant is privately messaged a target phrase (e.g., 'blue elephant'). During open discussion over a two-hour virtual meeting, that person must weave the phrase naturally into speech without calling attention to it. Once spoken, the speaker private-chats another participant, passing the duty to introduce a new designated phrase.

## Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended because remote participants cannot plant or receive a physical token. If running in a hybrid meeting, restrict the Alien game strictly to the physical room as an in-person ambient element, or switch entirely to a chat-based word game so everyone participates equally.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may decline by placing a pre-agreed indicator (such as a sticky note marked with an X) on their workspace, signaling others to skip them.
- Anyone who finds the token and prefers not to play may pass it directly back to the facilitator without public comment.
- Ensure token placement accommodates individuals with limited mobility by mandating tabletop or open-surface placement rather than ground or out-of-reach locations.

## If the session gets stuck

**The Alien goes missing or remains undiscovered in one spot for hours.**

The last person who placed the Alien must retrieve it and re-plant it in an easier, more visible spot, such as next to an open notebook.

**Someone violates personal boundaries by searching inside a personal bag or jacket.**

Intervene immediately and re-state the rule: the token may only be placed on visible, open surfaces like tables, desks, or next to drink containers.


## Terms used here

- The Alien: The designated physical token, traditionally a common metal hardware washer, secretly transferred between players.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on Playmeo, where the activity is attributed to Mark Collard.

Retained the core mechanic from Playmeo (secret passing of a metal washer over an extended period, requiring easy discovery and retrieval if stalled). Added explicit physical boundary rules (no closed pockets or private bags), a non-verbal opt-out mechanism, a dedicated debrief sequence, and structured facilitation timings for kickoff and reveal.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-large-group-games/alien)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-large-group-games/alien/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/hilarious-secret-passing-game-that-builds-suspense-alien/