# Anagram Expert Teams solve anagram puzzles after one member secretly receives the test words during an earlier review. Believing that person has general puzzle talent, tables nominate them for an upcoming Sudoku contest before the facilitator reveals the setup. **Time:** 15 minutes. 15 minutes matches the minimum running time documented in the source newsletter. **People:** 6 to 24. Table groups of 3 to 5 participants ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Demonstrate how visible fluency creates instant trust and show why specialized competence does not generalize to unrelated tasks. **Use it when:** Use when examining trust, credentials, domain authority, or halo effects in project teams and hiring discussions. **Skip it when:** Skip when group members are sensitive about deceptive setups or when high-stakes conflict makes playful trickery counterproductive. ## Materials and tools - One copy of Sample Anagrams sheet for each participant minus the rigged insiders - One copy of Special Anagrams sheet for exactly one designated participant per team - One copy of Test Anagrams sheet for each team - One pen or pencil for each team - One countdown timer - One whistle or bell ## Before participants arrive 1. Arrange the room into tables with 3 to 5 chairs each. 2. Count teams and designate one seat per table as the secret insider. 3. Collate handouts so the secret insider receives the Special Anagrams sheet face down while all others receive the standard Sample Anagrams sheet. ## Say this to open We are going to do a quick warm-up on word puzzles. I will hand each of you a reference sheet showing sample anagrams and their solved words. Review your sheet silently for one minute to get your eye tuned to letter scrambles. ## How to run it ### 1. Review sample anagrams (2 minutes) Distribute sample sheets face down. Unobtrusively give the Special Anagrams sheet to one person per team and the standard Sample Anagrams sheet to everyone else. Tell participants to turn the sheets over and review the words silently for 1 minute. Tell them they can cover the answers with a hand to test their recall. Call time after 60 seconds. ### 2. Solve team anagram test (3 minutes) Collect all sample sheets completely. Place one Test Anagrams sheet face down in the center of each table along with one pen. Announce that teams have exactly 60 seconds to work together and write down as many solved words as possible. Start the timer. Blow the whistle at 60 seconds. Ask each team to tally their solved count and state it aloud. Acknowledge the high-scoring tables. ### 3. Nominate Sudoku representative (3 minutes) Announce that teams will participate in a puzzle-solving contest involving an entirely different puzzle called Sudoku. Ask each team to take 60 seconds to choose and nominate one member as its representative for this contest. When time is up, ask the nominated representatives to stand up. ### 4. Reveal the setup and debrief (7 minutes) Before proceeding to any contest, explain that the game was rigged. One person on each team received the actual test anagrams on their sample sheet, giving them pre-learned answers. Invite representatives to sit down. Facilitate the debrief questions across the room, taking 2 to 3 responses per question. ## Debrief questions - Why did your team select this specific person as your representative? - Did anyone check whether your nominee had experience with Sudoku puzzles before putting them forward? - Now that you know one person held the answers in advance, how does that affect your view of their expertise versus their circumstance? **Finished output:** A team nomination choice and a whole-room analysis of how domain success inflates perceived general ability. ## Remote Place participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 5. Distribute individual sample sheets by private direct message, sending the special list to one person per room. Bring all back to the main room or share the test puzzle into breakout rooms for 60 seconds. Have each breakout nominate a representative before revealing the setup in plenary. ## Hybrid Keep remote participants together in dedicated online breakout groups and in-person participants at physical tables. Send digital private messages for the remote insider sheets while handing paper sheets to the physical room. Conduct the reveal and debrief in the unified conference audio. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may decline to be nominated as the puzzle representative without explanation. - Teams may write responses jointly or designate a scribe so physical handwriting speed is not a barrier. ## If the session gets stuck **The secret insider does not speak up during the team puzzle test.** Let the round proceed naturally. During debrief, ask why someone holding early knowledge chose silence, exploring how confidence and social pressure affect contribution. **A nominated representative feels embarrassed when the trick is revealed.** Explicitly clarify to the room that the insider did nothing wrong and had no idea they received a rigged sheet. Frame the exercise around group perception rather than individual deception. ## Terms used here - Anagram: A word formed by rearranging the letters of another word or scrambled letter set. - Sudoku: A logic-based number-placement puzzle using a 9x9 grid. ## Participant material: Sample Anagrams (Standard) Review these sample anagrams and solutions silently: AALST -> Atlas ADEGINR -> Reading AEHTW -> Wheat ORSTY -> Story ABDER -> Bread IKLM -> Milk ## Participant material: Special Anagrams (Secret Insider) Review these sample anagrams and solutions silently: AABLLD -> Ballad ABEKST -> Basket ACEEMN -> Menace ADLNOU -> Unload AEFLM -> Flame AHORTT -> Throat ## Participant material: Test Anagrams (Team Sheet) Solve as many anagrams as possible in 60 seconds: 1. AABLLD: ___________ 2. ABEKST: ___________ 3. ACEEMN: ___________ 4. ADLNOU: ___________ 5. AEFLM: ___________ 6. AHORTT: ___________ ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Thiagi GameLetter, October 2013, authored by Sivasailam Thiagarajan and published by The Thiagi Group. Retained the exact puzzle mechanic, word lists, and debrief arc from Thiagi's Anagram Expert published in the October 2013 Thiagi GameLetter. Replaced the vague newsletter TOC metadata with an executable run sheet, clarifying that the Sudoku round is a framing device for nomination rather than an executed activity, and aligned materials and timing. [thiagi.net](http://thiagi.net/archive/www/pfp/IE4H/october2013.html) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/tgl-october-2013/