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Purpose: Break repetitive thinking patterns on a stubborn challenge by forcing associations with unrelated external stimuli.

Use it when: Use during divergent ideation when a team is stuck in conventional, obvious solutions or repeating stale ideas.

Skip it when: Skip when the group needs to converge, select, or plan execution on ideas they already have.

Group arrangement: Individual ideation followed by small group sharing in tables of 4 to 6 people. If numbers do not divide evenly (such as groups of 7), form tables of 3 to 5 people so everyone has a group.

Timing: Gamestorming lists 30 to 60 minutes. This 30-minute plan runs two complete prompt rounds with debrief.

Materials and tools

• 50 to 75 slips of paper with unrelated nouns pre-printed or hand-written (from the starter list: Acorn, Anchor, Anvil, Backpack, Banjo, Bicycle, Blender, Cactus, Candle, Canoe, Carousel, Compass, Corkscrew, Dandelion, Feather, Firefly, Flashlight, Fossil, Fountain, Hammock, Harmonica, Helmet, Horseshoe, Igloo, Kettle, Kite, Ladder, Lantern, Lighthouse, Lock, Magnet, Microscope, Mitten, Mushroom, Needle, Origami, Parachute, Pebble, Pendulum, Periscope, Pillow, Pinwheel, Pump, Quilt, Radar, Saddle, Scythe, Seashell, Shovel, Siphon, Sled, Sponge, Telescope, Thermometer, Thimble, Trampoline, Umbrella, Whistle, Windmill, Yo-yo)
• 1 container or bowl to draw slips from blindly
• 1 pad of sticky notes (approx. 50 sheets) per participant
• 1 black marker per participant
• Whiteboard or flip chart paper with mounting tape
• Timer

Before participants arrive

1. Prepare 50 to 75 slips of paper, each containing a single concrete noun unrelated to the participants' domain (using the list in materials).
2. Fold the slips and place them into a draw container.
3. Write the core design challenge or problem topic clearly at the top of the shared whiteboard.
4. Distribute sticky notes and markers to each participant seat.

Say this to open

Welcome. We are exploring new angles on our topic: [state the challenge on the board]. We will draw an unrelated noun from this bowl. I will sketch it on the board. Your task is to use that noun as a springboard to invent new approaches, features, or angles for our topic. Avoid logic chains like 'noun leads to color, color leads to our logo'. Jump straight to a direct, unexpected connection. Silly and experimental angles are welcome.

How to run it

1. Draw and sketch round one 4 minutes

   Facilitator delivers the opening script, draws one slip from the container, announces the word, and sketches a quick rough drawing of the item on the main whiteboard next to the topic statement. Participants note the word and the sketch.

2. Silent ideation round one 5 minutes

   Participants write ideas individually on sticky notes, one idea per sheet, using the stimulus word to propose fresh approaches to the topic. Aim for 3 to 6 notes per person. Silence is maintained until the timer rings.

3. Post and rapid review round one 5 minutes

   Participants post their notes onto the shared board under the first sketch. Subgroups share concurrently at their tables: each person takes up to 45 seconds to read aloud one favorite or most surprising idea from their own notes.

4. Draw and ideate round two 8 minutes

   Facilitator draws a second unrelated noun, announces it, and sketches it on the board. Participants work silently for 5 minutes writing new sticky notes connecting this new word to the topic, then post notes beside the second sketch.

5. Group sorting and debrief 8 minutes

   Participants gather at the wall. Facilitator asks participants to cluster duplicates or highlight standout angles. Facilitator calls on 3 to 4 volunteers across the room to answer the debrief prompts.

Debrief questions

• Which connection seemed completely absurd at first but actually pointed toward a viable angle?
• What assumptions about our challenge did the random words force us to question?
• Which one concept generated today deserves 10 minutes of practical testing?

Finished output: A wall of sticky notes containing divergent concepts clustered beneath two random prompt sketches, with priority concepts marked.

Remote

Use an online canvas (such as Miro or Mural). Replace the paper bowl with a digital random word generator or pre-masked cards. Facilitator reveals the word, uses digital pen tools to make a quick sketch on the canvas, and sets a 5-minute timer. Participants type sticky notes silently and drop them around the sketch, then share highlights via voice in breakout rooms or sequential round-robin.

Hybrid

In-person participants post notes to a physical board while a co-facilitator mirrors remote participants' digital notes onto the physical wall (or vice versa using an active digital whiteboard shared on room screens). Camera must point directly at the sketch board during the drawing step. Remote speakers share during debrief using raised hands.

Access and participation choices

• Provide large-print text cards of the words alongside verbal announcements and visual sketches.
• Participants may opt to write private notes on personal scratch paper and contribute only when comfortable, or pass during verbal sharing without explanation.

If the session gets stuck

Participants try to justify multi-step associations (for example, 'Cactus has water, water means finance, finance means our budget issue').

Remind participants to make direct, immediate leaps: 'Take the cactus directly. What does a spiky product or a desert-proof service look like?'

Participants complain that the word has nothing to do with their professional domain.

Acknowledge that is the precise design: unrelated terms disrupt habitual domain logic. Ask them to borrow one physical property of the object (texture, function, habitat) and map it onto the problem.

Terms used here

• Divergent Ideation: A phase of creative thinking where the objective is to generate many wide-ranging possibilities rather than settling on one immediate correct answer.