# Snowball Fight Review

Participants write review questions on paper sheets, crumple them into balls, and toss them across the room. Everyone uncrumples a random ball and answers the question retrieved.

**Time:** 15 minutes. UWT suggested allocation based on typical training review needs; source documents do not specify fixed minute counts.
**People:** 4 to 24. Whole group standing in a loose circle, followed by pairs or whole-room reading

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Test recall and review session content through randomized, anonymous peer-generated questions.
**Use it when:** Use directly after a break or lunch to review covered material and re-engage attention.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the physical space is too cramped for safe movement or when participants cannot safely dodge or retrieve tossed paper.

## Materials and tools

- 1 to 2 sheets of blank paper per participant
- 1 pen or marker per participant
- 1 digital countdown timer

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear a central open space in the room so participants can form a circle with room to throw and retrieve paper safely.
2. Distribute one or two sheets of paper and a pen to every participant workspace.

## Say this to open

We are going to review what we covered earlier. Take a sheet of paper and write one clear question about today's topic right in the middle. Do not write your name. Once you have written it, crumple the paper into a loose ball.

## How to run it

### 1. Write review questions (3 minutes)

Set the timer for 3 minutes. Each participant writes one clear question about the workshop material in the center of their sheet. If someone finishes early, invite them to write a second question on another sheet. Participants crumple their completed sheets into paper balls.

### 2. Snowball toss (2 minutes)

Ask everyone to stand in an open circle or two facing lines. On your count, everyone tosses their paper ball across the room. Participants pick up balls landing near them and toss them again. Stop the tossing after 45 to 60 seconds with a clear verbal call.

### 3. Unwrap and solve (3 minutes)

Each person picks up exactly one paper ball from the floor, opens it, and reads the question. Allow 2 minutes for people to read silently, decide on their answer, or compare notes with an immediate neighbor if stuck.

### 4. Read and answer (7 minutes)

Go around the circle or call on volunteers to read their question aloud and share an answer. With 15 or more people, hear 6 to 8 answers whole-room and have the remaining participants read their questions to a partner. If an odd number of people remains, create one group of three. If a question is unclear or incorrect, ask the group to supply the missing fact.


## Debrief questions

- Which question surfaced an area where our understanding still feels incomplete?
- What key concept came up repeatedly across the different questions?

**Finished output:** A set of peer-generated questions answered and clarified by the group.

## Remote

This physical activity does not run online as a snowball fight without changing into a completely different digital submission exercise. As a direct online alternative, have participants send one question via direct private message to the facilitator in video chat. The facilitator pastes all questions anonymously into a shared document numbered 1 to N. The facilitator calls on each participant in turn to select one unclaimed number, read the question aloud, and answer it on mic.

## Hybrid

In-person participants toss paper balls as written. Remote participants send their questions by direct message to a co-facilitator, who transcribes them onto paper in the room and tosses them into the circle. During the reading phase, the co-facilitator uncrumples one paper from the floor for each remote attendee and pastes the text into chat. Turn-taking alternates evenly between room participants and remote participants reading and answering aloud.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants with mobility limits or throwing discomfort can sit or stand outside the toss zone; neighbors will hand them a paper ball after the toss ends.
- Anyone may choose to pass on reading aloud, ask a neighbor to answer on their behalf, or ask the full group to answer the question on their paper.

## If the session gets stuck

**A participant picks up a question that they wrote themselves.**

Have them immediately swap balls with an adjacent participant before uncrumpling.

**A retrieved question has an incorrect answer or the reader does not know the answer.**

Remind the group that the goal is collective review. Invite anyone in the room to assist without putting the reader on the spot.


## Terms used here

- Snowball: A standard sheet of scrap or writing paper crumpled loosely into a ball for tossing.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on TrainerBubble as 'Snowball Fight - Free Energiser'. Original creator unknown.

Retained the core mechanic from TrainerBubble evidence (writing training questions, crumpling into balls, tossing across a circle, uncrumpling and answering). UWT added step durations summing to 15 minutes, access accommodations, pairing contingency for odd numbers, concrete remote selection rules, and hybrid turn-taking.

[TrainerBubble](https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/snowball-fight/?currency=USD)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/snowball-fight-free-energiser/