Mimeograph

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Recreate an exact hidden visual layout through sequential observation and verbal descriptions without note-taking tools.

Use it when: Use during communication or project management sessions to examine how groups handle distributed information, verbal handoffs, and verification.

Skip it when: Skip when the venue lacks a private, separate viewing station or when mobility constraints make walking between rooms impractical.

Group arrangement: Teams of 4 to 8 participants working in parallel; 1 runner at a time per team

Timing: Source suggests up to 20 minutes for pattern reconstruction; UWT sets 30 minutes total to accommodate 8 runners per team, setup briefing, and debrief.

Materials and tools

• 2 identical standard decks of 52 playing cards per team of 4 to 8 people
• 1 flat table per team for the reconstruction workspace
• 1 flat table or board per team in an out-of-sight room or partitioned area for the target layout
• 1 relay baton or small object per team to regulate runner turns
• 1 digital countdown timer or stopwatch

Before participants arrive

1. Arrange exactly 12 cards from Deck A into a distinct pattern on a table in an out-of-sight room away from the main group. Vary orientations such as face-up, angled, or overlapping.
2. Place Deck B intact on each team reconstruction table in the main room.
3. For multiple teams, set up an identical 12-card hidden pattern table for each team in the viewing space to avoid congestion, or mark designated lanes.

Say this to open

In the other room, I have arranged 12 playing cards in a precise layout. Each team has a matching deck on their table. Your task is to duplicate that hidden pattern exactly. Team members will visit the hidden station one at a time. Each person may visit only once. While viewing, do not touch the cards, take notes, or take photos. When you return, pass the team baton, describe what you saw, and place cards. You will have 20 minutes for the observation and reconstruction phase.

How to run it

1. Brief rules and plan strategy 3 minutes

   Deliver the opening script. Give teams 2 minutes of planning time to establish viewing roles, description conventions, and relay order before anyone departs.

2. Run observation relay 20 minutes

   Start the 20-minute countdown timer. The first runner from each team takes the team baton, walks to their team hidden station, observes the layout, and returns. Once back, the runner passes the baton, shares verbal descriptions, and helps position cards from Deck B. The next runner leaves only after receiving the baton. Repeat until all members have visited once or the group declares the reconstruction complete.

3. Verify accuracy 2 minutes

   Bring the master layouts into the main room or walk teams to the viewing area. Compare card values, suits, spatial grid positions, orientations, and overlaps directly against each team reconstruction.

4. Debrief observation and handoffs 5 minutes

   Facilitate a structured debrief. Select 2 prompts from the debrief list and collect brief comments from 2 or 3 volunteers across the teams to stay within the 5-minute window.

Debrief questions

• What system or reference coordinates did your team establish to describe card positions?
• How did the layout change as successive runners returned with new or correcting information?
• Where did descriptions conflict, and how did your group resolve those contradictions?

Finished output: A physical card layout reconstructed by the team and compared directly against the hidden original template.

Remote

Run with a single team per facilitator, or assign dedicated breakout facilitators if running multiple teams. The facilitator creates a password-protected digital slide with 12 playing card images. The team works in a main meeting room with an online whiteboard containing loose digital card images. One participant at a time leaves the team room to join the facilitator in a private viewing breakout room for exactly 30 seconds to view the pattern. The runner returns to the team room and verbally guides teammates in placing the cards. Screen sharing, screenshots, and note-taking are prohibited.

Hybrid

Run this activity only if the session is fully in-person or fully remote. Mixing in-person and remote participants in the same observation relay creates severe asymmetries in transit time, visual field, and physical manipulation.

Access and participation choices

• Participants who prefer not to walk between rooms may serve as base coordinators who interview returning runners and place cards on the team workspace.
• Any participant may pass on their viewing turn without explanation by handing the baton directly to the next person in sequence.

If the session gets stuck

A participant attempts to use a phone camera or notepad at the viewing station

State clearly before starting that all phones, pens, and paper must remain on the home team tables.

Multiple runners from one team leave for the viewing area simultaneously

Enforce the baton rule: only the participant holding the team physical baton is allowed to enter the viewing area.

Terms used here

• Mimeograph: An early duplicator machine using stencils; used here as a metaphor for manually duplicating a hidden master pattern.