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: b811088133744ffd7d6b0a7ec425963c8a4e8aaebb41f500ff75d6d0fd5f75db

# Mind-Reading Framegame

Participants secretly write five words associated with a prompt, then take turns trying to guess words from each other's hidden lists to score points. The group reveals cards to analyze shared assumptions and differing perspectives.

**Time:** 10 minutes. Based on the 3-minute demonstration game documented in the source, expanded to 10 minutes for full room instruction, multiple triad turns, and debrief.
**People:** 3 to 24. Triads (groups of 3; pairs or a group of 4 work as fallback)

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Compare intuitive associations and baseline assumptions on a shared topic through competitive guessing.
**Use it when:** Use as a rapid warm-up, icebreaker, or opener to check assumptions and baseline vocabulary around a new topic.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants need to conduct deep analytical problem solving rather than quick surface-level association testing.

## Materials and tools

- One 3x5 inch index card or slip of paper per participant
- One pen or pencil per participant

## Before participants arrive

1. Determine the single anchor topic for the session (for example, 'Customer Service', 'Remote Work', or 'Games').
2. Place one index card and a pen at each seat.

## Say this to open

We are going to play a quick mind-reading game. In a moment, you will secretly write five words on a card related to a single topic. Keep your list hidden until we finish playing.

## How to run it

### 1. Write association lists (2 minutes)

Introduce the session topic. Distribute index cards and pens. Say: 'Write down five single words you associate with [Topic]. Do it quickly. Keep your card hidden so nobody else can see what you write.' Give participants 90 seconds to finish writing.

### 2. Run guessing rounds (4 minutes)

Have groups assemble into triads. State the game rules: Each player in turn will name one guess for each of the other two players in their group. For example, Player A guesses one word for Player B and one word for Player C. If the guessed word appears on that person's card, Player A scores one point. The cardholder confirms hits honestly but does not reveal unmentioned words. Run 2 to 3 quick rounds of guesses so everyone guesses twice.

### 3. Reveal cards and check overlaps (2 minutes)

Call time on guessing. Have everyone reveal their cards to their triad partners. Let each triad total their scores, see which words went unguessed, and notice which terms everyone wrote down independently.

### 4. Debrief assumptions and applications (2 minutes)

Bring attention back to the full room. Ask 2 or 3 debrief questions about surprise overlaps, divergent words, and how the game frame reveals assumptions about the topic.


## Debrief questions

- Which words did multiple people write down, and what common assumptions surfaced immediately?
- How did your guessing strategy change after hearing the first few rounds of guesses?
- How could this exact guessing frame be applied to our project or topic to test shared understanding?

**Finished output:** Each triad produces lists of top-of-mind associations on the selected topic and identifies points of overlap across their guesses.

## Remote

Form breakout rooms of 3 people. Each participant types five topic-related words into a personal text document or on paper off-camera. Players take turns in their breakout room making guesses verbally or in breakout chat, tallying their own points.

## Hybrid

Form in-person triads with in-room participants and assign remote participants to online breakout rooms with virtual boards or private chat. If mixing modes in a triad is unavoidable, place a laptop at the physical table and have the remote person send guesses via audio while tracking their five hidden words in a private note.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may write fewer than five words or write down common obvious terms without penalty.
- Anyone who prefers not to speak or guess can act as scorekeeper and time monitor for their triad.
- Passing is allowed on any guessing turn with a simple phrase like 'pass this turn.'

## If the session gets stuck

**A group cannot divide evenly into triads.**

Allow one or two groups of two or four. In a pair, each player guesses two words for their single partner per turn. In a foursome, each player guesses one word for each of the other three players.

**A player uses slight variations of words, such as plural versus singular.**

Establish the rule that the root word counts as a match (for example, 'rule' matches 'rules').


## Terms used here

- framegame: A lightweight game structure or template where the topic or content can be changed without altering the underlying rules.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Play for Performance newsletter (March 2004) published by Workshops by Thiagi, Inc., written by Sivasailam Thiagarajan.

The original newsletter article ('Show and Tell Ask' from Play for Performance, March 2004) recounted Sivasailam Thiagarajan using an unnamed 3-minute index card 'mind-reading' game with two clients to demonstrate how framegames work. UWT codified this into a structured 10-minute triad exercise titled 'Mind-Reading Framegame', standardizing the triad format, specific scoring mechanics, rounds of guessing, and practical debrief questions.

[The Thiagi Group](https://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/march2004.html)

[The Thiagi Group](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/march2004.html)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/pfp-march-2004/