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: c090c74d43e0f6268529225fd49a2f2d0081bd3b0a6e4a4d5287a7621e6bf0fd

# Cold Shoulder

Small teams work outdoors to melt or crack a solid block of ice encasing a folded t-shirt. The challenge ends when one team successfully extracts the garment and has a member put it on.

**Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested 15-minute pacing based on standard ice-melting challenge dynamics.
**People:** 4 to 24. Small teams of 2 to 4 people each

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Test collaborative problem solving, rapid coordination, and resourcefulness under time pressure.
**Use it when:** Use during warm outdoor gatherings, camps, retreats, or field days when groups need a lively physical challenge.
**Skip it when:** Skip in cold weather, indoors without floor drainage, or where handling ice poses physical discomfort or injury risk.

## Materials and tools

- 1 standard cotton t-shirt per team (frozen solid in a water-filled plastic container)
- 1 plastic tub or tray per team to transport the ice block
- 1 towel per team for drying off
- 1 small cup per team for pouring ambient water if needed
- Access to ambient outdoor water tap or bucket
- Access to an outdoor area with safe ground (grass or pavement without sharp debris)

## Before participants arrive

1. Substantial advance preparation required: 24 hours prior, fold one t-shirt per team roughly, place each in a plastic container such as a 2-liter food tub, fill completely with water, and freeze solid overnight.
2. Transport the frozen blocks in coolers to the outdoor venue immediately before the session.

## Say this to open

Behind each team marker is a solid block of ice encasing a folded t-shirt. Your goal as a team is to free that shirt from the ice and get it onto one person on your team. Safety rules first: do not throw ice, do not drop ice near anyone's feet, and rotate handling so fingers do not go numb. No one has to touch bare ice directly or wear the wet shirt. You can use body heat, ambient air, friction, or safe impact on the ground. The first team to have one member wearing the shirt wins.

## How to run it

### 1. Set safety rules and assign teams (3 minutes)

Divide participants into teams of 2 to 4 people. Point out boundaries, distribute one frozen block in a tray to each team station, and read the opening script aloud.

### 2. Melt and extract the t-shirt (7 minutes)

Signal the start. Teams work simultaneously to chip, rub, melt, or separate the ice block from the fabric using hands, ambient warmth, sunlight, or ground friction. Roam to check safe handling. Encourage teams to test different extraction tactics if their first method is slow.

### 3. Put on the shirt and declare completion (2 minutes)

As the fabric frees up, teams peel the shirt open. One willing team member pulls the wet garment over their head and arms. The first team to have a member fully wearing the shirt calls out. Verify completion and stop the race. Prompt other teams to finish freeing their shirts or conclude together.

### 4. Debrief extraction tactics (3 minutes)

Gather all teams. Ask 2 or 3 participants to describe which specific physical tactic loosened the ice fastest and how their group decided who did what.


## Debrief questions

- What specific method worked best to release the fabric from the ice core?
- How did your team decide who handled which task while working against the clock?
- What would you change if your team had to free a second shirt immediately?

**Finished output:** At least one team frees and wears the frozen shirt, with all teams testing and concluding ice-extraction methods.

## Remote

Cold Shoulder requires physical thawing of a prepared ice block and cannot be replicated online without becoming an entirely different game. For a remote team-problem activity, choose a timed digital riddle or collaborative puzzle instead.

## Hybrid

This activity requires hands-on physical manipulation of an ice block. Remote participants cannot participate fairly alongside physical teams. Run an alternate online challenge for remote cohorts.

## Access and participation choices

- No participant is required to touch bare ice or wear the cold wet garment; teammates may choose strategist, observer, or cheer roles.
- Provide dry towels and an immediate warming station for anyone who needs to dry off.

## If the session gets stuck

**The ice block is frozen too thick and does not loosen after five minutes.**

Allow teams to drop the block from waist height onto soft grass to crack the outer shell, or supply small cups of ambient water.

**A participant experiences numbness or pain from the cold.**

Direct them to step back immediately, supply a dry towel, and let another teammate rotate into the handling role.


## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playmeo under the title Cold Shoulder, attributed to Mark Collard.

Retained the defining mechanic from Playmeo evidence (freezing a folded t-shirt in water, small teams racing to melt or smash the ice, first to wear the garment wins). Added UWT safety guardrails, specific step timings totaling 15 minutes, access choices, and practical troubleshooting. Converted setup into concrete preparation tasks.

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

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

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/outdoor-team-challenge-tests-creativity-cold-shoulder/