The Passing Game

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Track item positions and plan sequential moves as a team under strict capacity constraints.

Use it when: Use during collaboration workshops when a group needs a tangible demonstration of bottlenecks, step-by-step sequencing, or system optimization.

Skip it when: Skip when the space prevents close seated circles or when participants want conceptual strategy discussions rather than physical logic puzzles.

Group arrangement: Parallel small groups of 4 to 6 people seated in circles; if total headcount leaves an uneven count, groups of 3 to 7 are permitted, or a spare person serves as group move recorder and observer

Timing: UWT suggested duration for instructions, baseline attempt, optimization round, and debrief

Materials and tools

• Coloured index cards or small balls (N minus 1 items per group of size N, with each item uniquely coloured or numbered)
• Matching destination markers (coloured stickers, bibs, or paper markers placed on the floor in front of each participant to designate their target colour)
• 1 visible digital countdown timer or stopwatch for the room
• Scratch paper and pen per small group for planning

Before participants arrive

1. Seat participants in circles of 4 to 6 people.
2. Place a unique colour destination marker on the floor in front of each participant so everyone has an assigned target colour.
3. Distribute the N minus 1 coloured items matching the markers so each item starts with the wrong person, ensuring each person holds at most one item and exactly one person starts with an empty hand (the open space for the first move).

Say this to open

In this exercise, our goal is to sort scrambled coloured items so that every item reaches the person who matches its colour marker. You may only pass an item to an immediate neighbour, and a person can only receive an item if their hand is completely empty. Notice that exactly one person starts with an empty hand. Work together to sort the items using the fewest moves possible.

How to run it

1. Set up and explain the rules 3 minutes

   Explain the rules using the opening script. Emphasize the core constraint: an item may only move into an empty hand held by an immediate neighbour. For example, if Person A holds Red and neighbouring Person B has an empty hand, Person A can pass Red to B; Person B now holds Red and Person A is empty. Run one demonstration pass. Confirm each group has N participants and exactly N minus 1 items.

2. Run baseline round 4 minutes

   Start the timer. Groups pass items one move at a time until every coloured item rests with its matching target person. Groups count their total moves aloud or designate one member to tally moves on scratch paper. Stop when all groups complete the sort or at four minutes.

3. Plan and test an optimized system 5 minutes

   Reset the cards or balls to the exact initial scramble. Give groups two minutes to map out a system that reaches the sorted state in fewer moves. Have groups execute their planned sequence once more while counting moves.

4. Debrief system constraints 3 minutes

   Gather whole-room attention. Ask two participants from different groups to share their move count difference between rounds. Facilitate a brief discussion using the debrief questions.

Debrief questions

• How did having only one empty hand affect the speed and direction of your moves?
• What method did your group use to avoid moving the same item back and forth?
• Where do similar single-space bottlenecks show up in our daily workflow?

Finished output: Every small group completes a verified sorted sequence of items and records their lowest move count.

Remote

In breakout rooms of 4 to 6, use a shared digital whiteboard containing a circular diagram with N seats and N minus 1 coloured digital tokens. Participants take turns dragging a token to an adjacent unoccupied seat on their turn. One person tallies total moves.

Hybrid

Keep remote participants in a dedicated online breakout room using the digital board setup. In-person participants work at physical tables. Both cohorts share final move counts in the combined room chat.

Access and participation choices

• Use numbered and high-contrast coloured cards so colour vision differences do not hinder item identification.
• A participant who prefers not to handle physical items can serve as the group move tally recorder or system planner.
• Participants may pass on speaking during the whole-room debrief.

If the session gets stuck

Participants start holding two items at once or passing across the circle.

Pause the group immediately. Remind them that items move strictly between immediate neighbours into a vacant hand, just like a sliding tile puzzle.

A group becomes stuck in a repetitive loop moving items back and forth.

Ask the group to pause physical moves for 30 seconds and trace where the empty hand needs to travel to pull the next required item into position.

Terms used here

• Empty hand constraint: The rule requiring that exactly one slot remains open so items can only move by sliding into the single vacant position.