Long Words

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Demonstrate how exhausting resources for an immediate victory undermines performance in later stages.

Use it when: Use in project planning, budgeting, or strategy workshops where participants tend to front-load capacity without planning for later project phases.

Skip it when: Skip when working with groups that have varied English language proficiency or when participants resent competitive deception exercises.

Group arrangement: Tables of 4 to 6 people: 1 judge and 3 to 5 contestants. When player counts do not divide evenly into 4 to 6, form tables of 3 (1 judge, 2 contestants) or assign extra players as assistant timekeepers or observers (for instance, 13 players form two tables of 6 plus 1 observer; 17 players form three tables of 5 plus 2 observers or one table of 5 and three tables of 4).

Timing: 20 minutes total based on the source structure: 10 minutes for setup and play, 10 minutes for debrief.

Materials and tools

• One set of 15 letter cards per contestant containing: A, A, E, E, G, I, I, M, N, N, O, P, R, S, T (or digital text equivalent for remote use)
• One Judge Guide per table judge
• One private Contestant Sheet per contestant (exactly one Strategy A per table; remaining contestants receive Strategy B, C, D, or duplicate copies of B, C, D as needed)
• One stopwatch, phone timer, or digital countdown clock per table judge
• Central flip chart and marker or shared digital document for debrief notes

Before participants arrive

1. Prepare letter envelopes containing the 15 specified cards for each contestant, or draft direct messages for remote delivery.
2. Collate contestant sheets so each table receives exactly one Strategy A sheet and a mix of Strategy B, C, and D sheets (repeating B, C, or D if a table has 4 or 5 contestants).
3. Arrange seating into tables of 4 to 6 people.

Say this to open

We are going to play a three-round word competition called Long Words. Each table will have one judge and several contestants. Contestants receive 15 letter cards and a private instruction sheet. Read your instruction sheet silently and keep your strategy completely secret. Follow your judge's timing signals precisely.

How to run it

1. Assign roles and brief contestants 4 minutes

   Group players into tables of 4 to 6. Select one judge per table and hand them the Judge Guide and a timer. Give each contestant an envelope of 15 letter cards and one private Contestant Sheet face down. Ensure exactly one contestant per table receives Strategy A. Contestants read their sheets silently. If anyone asks questions aloud, direct them to reread their sheet without speaking.

2. Conduct round 1 3 minutes

   Table judges start a 30-second timer. Contestants spell their longest valid English word using their letter cards. At 30 seconds, judges call stop and collect the cards forming each contestant's word. The judge announces who submitted the longest valid word as the round 1 winner. The judge places all submitted cards into a discard pile and confirms those cards cannot be returned.

3. Conduct rounds 2 and 3 4 minutes

   Judges run round 2 with a 30-second timer. Contestants may use only their remaining letters. Judges declare the round 2 winner and remove the submitted cards from play. Judges immediately repeat the process for round 3 using remaining cards. At the end of round 3, each judge counts total round wins to identify the overall table winner.

4. Debrief resource pacing 9 minutes

   Ask judges to announce their overall table winners. Have winners reveal their round-by-round words and read their secret strategies aloud. Compare round 1 winners with overall winners. Invite 4 to 5 participants to share their reflections on how early resource consumption affects subsequent delivery, recording key principles on a shared board.

Debrief questions

• What assumptions guided your word choice during round 1?
• How did surrendering most or all of your letters in round 1 affect your ability to compete in rounds 2 and 3?
• Where in our regular work do we exhaust budget, time, or energy on an early win without budgeting for subsequent phases?

Finished output: A shared list of practical rules for pacing resources across multi-phase projects, recorded on a flip chart or shared document.

Remote

Form breakout rooms of 4 to 6 people with one judge per room. Direct-message each contestant their 15 letters and private strategy text. Within each 30-second round, contestants direct-message their word to their room judge. The judge tallies letter counts, tracks discarded letters, and announces the winners in the breakout room.

Hybrid

Run remote participants in dedicated digital breakout rooms and in-person participants at physical tables. Do not mix remote contestants with in-person tables, because physical card handling and chat-based submissions operate at different speeds.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to solve rapid anagram puzzles can serve as judges or timekeepers.
• Participants may decline to read their secret strategy aloud during debrief and instead contribute observations on project pacing.

If the session gets stuck

A contestant demands their round 1 cards back to play round 2.

The judge points to the written sheet stating that submitted letters are surrendered for all subsequent rounds.

Two contestants tie for the longest word in a single round.

The judge awards both players a round win and counts both toward the final table tally.

Terms used here

• Jolt: A short, interactive exercise that creates a deliberate surprise to challenge unexamined habits or assumptions.