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: b6d919290118a9fd5a042b7b0bd72f86b8c8b58ff075ed77e11cee8374ab3d7e

# Crossword Names

Participants write each letter of their preferred name on individual index cards, then link their names together on a shared surface like a collaborative crossword puzzle.

**Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested timing based on a 15-minute icebreaker window.
**People:** 4 to 24. Parallel tables of 4 to 8 participants. For sizes not evenly divisible (such as 9, 13, or 17), distribute participants so every table has between 4 and 8 people (for example, 17 divides into tables of 6, 6, and 5).

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Help participants learn and recall each other's names through a visual, collaborative puzzle.
**Use it when:** Use during kickoffs or initial team orientations with groups of 4 to 24 people to introduce names without rote repetition.
**Skip it when:** Skip when group members already know each other well, or when floor or large table space is unavailable.

## Materials and tools

- Blank 3x5 inch index cards or square paper slips (roughly 10 cards per person)
- Broad-tip markers (1 per person)
- Low-tack masking tape (1 roll per table station)
- Shared digital whiteboard with pre-drawn square sticky note templates (for remote or hybrid sessions)

## Before participants arrive

1. Place markers, masking tape, and stacks of blank cards at each table station.
2. Clear a central table surface or open floor area for each subgroup of 4 to 8 participants.

## Say this to open

We are going to build a collaborative crossword grid using our names. Pick up a few blank cards and write the letters of the name you want to use today, putting exactly one capital letter on each card. Hold onto your cards once you finish writing.

## How to run it

### 1. Write letter cards (3 minutes)

Distribute markers and cards. Participants write one letter of their chosen name per card in bold capital letters. The facilitator reads the opening script. Stopping condition: all participants hold a set of single-letter cards spelling their name.

### 2. Lay anchor names (2 minutes)

The facilitator asks one volunteer at each table to place their cards horizontally across the center of their workspace. The volunteer says their name aloud and shares its pronunciation. This word serves as the anchor for that table.

### 3. Build crossword grid (7 minutes)

Participants take turns attaching their names horizontally or vertically to existing cards. For example, if SAM is laid out, ANNA can cross vertically at the A. If a name shares no letters with cards on the table, the person lays their cards parallel and connects them to the grid using a strip of masking tape. Continue until all names are attached.

### 4. Review and debrief (3 minutes)

Subgroups view their finished layouts. The facilitator invites two or three volunteers from across the room to point out an interesting intersection or read a neighbor's name. The facilitator closes by posing one debrief question to the room.


## Debrief questions

- Which intersecting names or shared letters caught your eye?
- What strategies helped your table connect every name into one layout?

**Finished output:** A completed physical or digital crossword grid connecting every participant's chosen name.

## Remote

Set up a shared digital whiteboard with rows of blank square sticky notes. Each participant claims a line of notes, types one letter per note to spell their name, and drags the notes into a unified crossword grid. For names without overlapping letters, participants draw a digital connector line to the nearest tile as the digital equivalent of masking tape.

## Hybrid

Run the activity on a shared digital whiteboard accessible to both in-room and remote participants via laptops or mobile devices. In-room participants type on their own screens while viewing the shared display, ensuring everyone places letters on the exact same digital grid.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may use a short nickname, initials, or ask a tablemate to write cards on their behalf.
- Participants may place cards silently or pass on speaking during the final review.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant has a name that shares no letters with any name currently played.**

Have the participant lay their name parallel to the board and run a strip of masking tape from their first letter card to any letter card on the existing grid.

**The grid runs off the edge of the workspace.**

Allow the group to slide completed segments gently toward the center, or tape an additional sheet of paper to the table edge.


## Terms used here

- Anchor name: The first horizontal name placed on the board that provides the initial letters for other names to branch from.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo catalog entries, which attribute the activity to Mark Collard.

Retained the letter-card crossword connection mechanic described in Playmeo. UWT added explicit grouping math for all group counts between 4 and 24, clarified masking tape bridge rules for non-overlapping names, specified remote whiteboard sticky templates, and shortened step copy to under 90 words per step.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/crossword-names)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/ice-breakers-get-to-know-you-games/crossword-names/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/name-puzzle-game-for-creative-connections-crossword-names/