Five Card Sets

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Demonstrate comprehension and application of recent training material across analytical, verbal, gestural, visual, and interpersonal modes.

Use it when: Use at the end of a content-heavy training unit or workshop module when participants need an active, multi-modal review before testing or implementation.

Skip it when: Skip when participants have not yet covered foundational subject matter or when the room lacks psychological safety for impromptu drawing, gesture, or roleplay.

Group arrangement: Table groups of 4 to 7 participants working in parallel. Divide total headcount into balanced tables (for example: 8 splits into two tables of 4; 9 splits into 5 and 4; 13 splits into 7 and 6; 24 splits into four tables of 6). Any single spare participant may serve as table timekeeper and reader.

Timing: Source specifies 30 to 60 minutes. 45 minutes provides 10 minutes for comprehensive briefing, 25 minutes of table play, and 10 minutes for whole-room debrief.

Materials and tools

• One 50-card game deck per table (10 cards each in five distinct colors representing Compare-Contrast, Beat the Clock, Charades, Draw It Out, and Roleplay)
• One printed category instruction sheet set per table
• One tabletop timer or stopwatch per table
• One pad of blank unlined paper per table
• One pen or pencil per participant
• Two thick markers per table for sketching

Before participants arrive

1. Write or print 50 prompt cards tailored to the session subject matter (10 cards each across 5 color-coded card stocks). Example prompts: Compare-Contrast pairs two concepts (such as Behavior vs. Performance); Beat the Clock lists a category (such as Analysis Strategies); Charades names a term to act (such as Subject-Matter Expert); Draw It Out names a term to draw (such as Change Agent); Roleplay gives two roles and a conflict situation (such as Consultant and Manager negotiating scope).
2. Arrange room with tables of 4 to 7 chairs each, spaced so groups do not distract each other.
3. Place one shuffled 50-card deck, timer, unlined paper pad, markers, pens, and category rules handout at the center of each table.

Say this to open

We are going to review what we covered today using a game called Five Card Sets. Your table has five piles of cards, each asking for a different type of demonstration: comparing concepts, listing items against the clock, acting without speaking, drawing without words, or acting out a workplace scenario. Your goal is to be the first person at your table to win a five-card set with one card of each color. Take a look at your category instruction sheet as we walk through how each card type works.

How to run it

1. Brief rules and categories 10 minutes

   Deliver opening script. Direct participants to examine the five color-coded card piles and the category reference sheet on their tables. Walk through the rules for each category: Compare-Contrast, Beat the Clock, Charades, Draw It Out, and Roleplay. Explain that turns move clockwise, that in Charades and Draw It Out both the presenter and the correct guesser earn a card, and that players may use the optional duplicate-card trade rule. Answer procedural questions.

2. Initiate first round 5 minutes

   The tallest player at each table takes the first turn. That player selects the top card from any of the five category piles and runs the procedure on the reference sheet. Table members follow along, enforce the timer, and vote or guess according to the card rules. The winner keeps the card face up; unwon cards go to a waste pile.

3. Run rotating gameplay 20 minutes

   Play moves clockwise around each table. Each player draws the top card from any category pile they choose. Remind participants that a player holding duplicates may trade two matching cards for one card from the waste pile during their turn. Play continues until a participant collects one card of each of the five colors or until time is called.

4. Debrief learning and application 10 minutes

   Call time. Gather whole-room attention. Ask two or three volunteers across different tables to share which category challenged their understanding most and what nuances surfaced during acting, drawing, or voting.

Debrief questions

• Which of the five card categories required the deepest recall of our workshop content, and why?
• When you had to act, draw, or roleplay a concept, what new nuance did you notice that was missing from straightforward lecture notes?
• Which concept caused the most disagreement during table voting, and what was the resolution?

Finished output: Each participant produces multiple written lists, sketches, or roleplay interactions demonstrating topic knowledge, resulting in at least one participant per table earning a complete five-card set.

Remote

Set up breakout rooms of 4 to 6 people. Provide a shared slide deck or virtual whiteboard with five digital card stacks hidden face down. One player per turn reveals a card. For Compare-Contrast and Beat the Clock, participants submit answers via private direct message to an assigned reader or in an anonymous form, then vote using poll reactions. For Draw It Out, the presenter uses the whiteboard drawing tool with chat disabled. For Charades, the presenter turns on video and acts while others type guesses into chat. For Roleplay, two players act on camera while peers vote using thumbs-up emoji.

Hybrid

Keep remote and in-person participants in separate groups whenever possible. If mixed, pair each in-person table with an open video portal on a shared screen, and use an online digital card board so all players draw from the same visual interface. Ensure remote participants receive anonymous text submissions through chat direct messages during voting rounds.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may pass on an active acting, drawing, or roleplay turn by handing the drawn card to the next person in clockwise order, who then attempts it; the passing player does not earn a card on that turn.
• Provide thick markers and unlined paper for visual tasks, and permit typing on personal devices instead of handwriting for list challenges.
• For roleplays, participants may opt to read a prepared script outline or describe the tactical response verbally rather than performing live interaction.

If the session gets stuck

A table experiences deadlock because players vote against an opponent who needs only one final card to win.

Remind participants to evaluate the response objectively against the criteria. Also remind them of the standard trade rule: a player holding duplicate cards may trade two duplicates to pick an unearned card directly from the waste pile.

Players dispute whether a charade gesture or sketch guess was exact enough to count.

Remind tables that the active cardholder has sole authority to accept or reject a shouted guess.

Terms used here

• Framegame: A reusable game structure whose rules remain consistent while different educational content is loaded into the format.
• Waste pile: The discard area on the table where unearned cards are set aside face up.