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: 0c2f7d28ddbb19ef01d1282e6ef301d05db8e8e4018f104ded46f52183b2e414

# Scavenger Trail

Small teams race against a 15-minute timer to collect items from a designated list and return together to base. Teams peer-review scores, apply late penalties, and debrief their coordination tactics.

**Time:** 25 minutes. UWT plan allocates 25 minutes total to accommodate TrainerBubble's 15-minute core hunt plus briefing, peer scoring, and debrief.
**People:** 6 to 24. Teams of 3 to 4 participants (a team of 5 is permitted if group size requires it, such as 13 or 17 people)

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Examine how small groups delegate tasks, communicate under time pressure, and track shared goals.
**Use it when:** Use during onboarding, team kickoffs, or mid-day training sessions to build familiarity with a venue, team roles, and time management.
**Skip it when:** Skip when venue mobility is restricted, when quiet is required by neighboring workspaces, or when participants cannot leave the training room.

## Materials and tools

- One printed Scavenger Trail List per team
- One pen per team
- Countdown timer displayed for all to see
- Optional modest token prizes for the highest scoring team

## Before participants arrive

1. Print one Scavenger Trail List per team
2. Confirm boundaries of accessible areas in the venue and identify off-limit zones

## Say this to open

We are going to run a 15-minute scavenger trail. In your teams, your task is to gather as many items on your trail sheet as possible and have all team members back in this room before the timer hits zero. Each valid item is worth one point. Any team that is late loses five points. Plan your strategy before you disperse.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce rules and assign teams (3 minutes)

Explain the rules, boundary limits, safety guidelines, and scoring criteria. Form teams of 3 to 4 participants (allowing a group of 5 if total numbers leave an uneven remainder). Hand exactly one Scavenger Trail List to each group. Deliver the opening script.

### 2. Hunt for items (15 minutes)

Start the 15-minute countdown clock. Teams plan their strategy and disperse to find items. The facilitator remains in the central room to track base operations and sounds a 2-minute warning.

### 3. Verify scores (4 minutes)

Teams return to the main room. Any team returning after zero marks a 5-point deduction. Groups swap materials and sheets with an adjacent team. The facilitator reads the items aloud while peer teams inspect the collected objects, tally points, and record verifier initials.

### 4. Facilitate debrief (3 minutes)

Gather whole-room attention and announce final scores. Ask the debrief questions, taking 2 to 3 voluntary responses from across the room.


## Debrief questions

- What tactics did your team use to coordinate who retrieved what?
- How did having only one list per group affect your communication?
- If you ran this again with the same group, what would you change about your workflow?

**Finished output:** Completed scavenger trail sheets with verified collected items and a recorded score per team.

## Remote

Teams join separate breakout rooms for 15 minutes. Items are collected from participants' immediate home offices or online company directories. Breakout groups paste photos or links into a shared team slide. Teams reconvene in the main room where another breakout group verifies the slide and tallies points.

## Hybrid

Form mixed pairs or hybrid squads where remote participants locate digital documents or online company assets while on-site members locate physical items in the venue, communicating via a designated team video channel.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants can opt out of moving through the building by serving as team base coordinator, list keeper, or score verifier in the central room
- Items can be brought back physically or documented via smartphone photograph if physical transport or mobility is difficult
- Teams may skip any prompt without penalty, scoring only what they successfully produce

## If the session gets stuck

**A team divides and some members return late while others are on time.**

Enforce the rule consistently: the entire team must be across the threshold before zero to avoid the five-point penalty.

**Participants enter restricted or private office areas during the hunt.**

State clearly during the briefing which rooms, desks, and floors are strictly out of bounds.


## Terms used here

- Energiser: An active group activity designed to increase alertness and break up static sitting periods.

## Participant material: Scavenger Trail List

SCAVENGER TRAIL LIST
Rules: 1 point per confirmed item. All team members must return before time expires. Late return loses 5 points.

Items to locate and bring back:
1. A paperclip that is not silver.
2. A business card from someone not in this room.
3. A printed document showing today's date.
4. A piece of company or event branded merchandise.
5. A safety or emergency exit notice (or a photo of one).
6. A pen that writes in blue ink.
7. An empty reusable coffee cup or water bottle.
8. A sticky note with a hand-drawn map of this floor.
9. A receipt from any purchase made within the last week.
10. A flyer or brochure describing a company project or service.

Scoring:
Total items found (1 pt each): _____
Late penalty (-5 pts if after timer): _____
Final Total: _____
Verifier Initials: _____

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in TrainerBubble training materials under the title Scavenger Trail.

Retained the core mechanic from TrainerBubble: small teams collecting items from a set list within a strict time limit, late penalty points, peer verification, and team strategy debrief. TrainerBubble hosted the item list as an external download; UWT supplied a ready-to-run generic workplace list in participant materials and added explicit remote and hybrid rules. Set duration to 25 minutes to include introduction, 15-minute hunt, cross-checking, and structured debrief.

[TrainerBubble](https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/scavenger-trail/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/scavenger-trail/