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: e7eb1e1b3b8ebb448c710f2246f7fc5c4f41e8856859a07aa440215b57910b37

# Paper Bag Pick Up

Volunteers take turns bending down to pick up a standing paper bag from the floor using only their teeth. After each cycle, a helper cuts the bag shorter to test balance across progressive rounds.

**Time:** 25 minutes. UWT suggested duration to allow up to three attempts per person across three to four progressive height rounds.
**People:** 7 to 24. Between 4 and 10 active players take turns in the center, while 3 participants serve as trimmer and boundary judges, and remaining participants form the cheering audience.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Test balance, coordination, and physical determination in a structured progressive novelty challenge.
**Use it when:** Informal social gatherings, retreat energizers, or camp settings where participants want an active physical coordination game.
**Skip it when:** When participants wear restrictive clothing, have joint or back limitations, or prefer non-physical activities.

## Materials and tools

- 2 standard brown paper grocery bags
- 1 pair of scissors
- 1 roll of painter's tape

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear a 3-meter open floor area free of hazards.
2. Use painter's tape to mark an attempt boundary and spectator perimeter.
3. Open one paper bag and stand it upright in the center of the attempt area.

## Say this to open

We have an open paper bag standing upright on the floor. Your goal is to pick up the bag with only your teeth or lips and stand fully upright again. Only your feet may touch the floor at any point. If your knee, hand, or elbow touches the ground, the attempt ends. I need four to ten volunteers to attempt the challenge, plus three helpers to judge boundaries and trim the bag.

## How to run it

### 1. Explain rules and assign roles (3 minutes)

State the rules aloud using the opening script. Emphasize that physical participation is completely optional. Gather 4 to 10 active players to line up behind the mark. Assign 3 separate participants to non-bending support roles: 1 bag trimmer and 2 boundary judges. Any remaining participants form the audience around the perimeter.

### 2. Run initial full-height round (8 minutes)

Each active player steps up individually to pick up the full-height bag with their teeth and stand upright. Allow up to 3 consecutive attempts per player. If any body part other than the feet touches the floor or braces against an object, that attempt fails. Players who do not succeed within 3 attempts step out to join the audience.

### 3. Trim bag and run progressive rounds (10 minutes)

The designated bag trimmer uses scissors to cut roughly 5 to 8 centimeters off the top rim of the bag and resets it upright. Remaining players take turns at the new lower height, each receiving up to 3 consecutive attempts under the same foot-only rules. Repeat this trimming cycle for 2 to 3 progressive rounds until 1 winner remains or the bag reaches floor level.

### 4. Conclude and debrief (4 minutes)

Acknowledge the final player or players. Gather the group in a semicircle. Ask the debrief questions and take 2 or 3 quick observations from the floor on balance technique and spectator encouragement.


## Debrief questions

- What balance adjustments or foot placements worked best as the bag grew shorter?
- How did watching earlier attempts help later players plan their movements?

**Finished output:** Completion of progressive balance rounds until a final participant remains or the bag reaches floor level.

## Remote

This physical party game relies on shared floor space, a single central prop, and live spectator feedback. It cannot be run as an equivalent remote activity. For remote groups seeking an active challenge, run a household item scavenger hunt instead.

## Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not recommended because remote participants cannot test the physical prop. If unavoidable, position a dedicated camera showing a wide floor-level view of the attempt area so remote participants can see foot and hand contact points. Remote participants can serve as remote line judges by typing callouts or flashing a hand signal on screen when a bracing foul occurs.

## Access and participation choices

- Offer non-bending roles such as bag trimmer, scorekeeper, attempt counter, or boundary judge.
- Any active player may step down to the audience between turns without explanation.

## If the session gets stuck

**The paper bag tips over before the participant can grip it.**

Ensure the bag base is creased flat. Allow one reset if wind or breath knocks it over before an actual bite attempt.

**A participant begins to lose balance and risks falling hard.**

Remind players that touching the floor with a hand or knee is a normal round exit, not an injury risk to avoid. Encourage safe bracing rather than struggling.


## Terms used here

- Attempt area: The cleared 3-meter floor space where a single participant stands to reach for the bag.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in the Playmeo activity collection, where it is credited to Mark Collard. The activity is widely known as a traditional folk and camp balance stunt.

Retained the traditional folk and camp challenge mechanic documented by Playmeo: picking up an upright paper bag with mouth only, requiring feet-only ground contact, trimming the bag shorter each round, and allowing three attempts per height. UWT increased total running time to 25 minutes to realistically support multiple attempts across rounds, explicitly assigned bag trimming to a non-bending participant role, added setup dimensions, and aligned group minimum to 7 to account for 4 active players plus 3 support roles.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-large-group-games/paper-bag-pick-up)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/fun-large-group-games/paper-bag-pick-up/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/hilariously-fun-challenge-game-for-groups-paper-bag-pick-up/