--- title: "Trading Cards" description: "Participants create personal trading cards with a portrait, nickname, and little-known fact. They pass cards around to read them, keep one, and run brief spotlight interviews." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/trading-cards/" --- # Trading Cards Participants create personal trading cards with a portrait, nickname, and little-known fact. They pass cards around to read them, keep one, and run brief spotlight interviews. **Time:** 15 minutes. Matches the 10 to 15 minute duration observed in Gamestorming. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual creation followed by room-wide card passing and volunteer spotlight interviews. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Provide a low-stakes visual introduction that highlights individual interests and experiences beyond job titles. **Use it when:** Use at project kickoffs, workshops, or cross-functional team retreats where people benefit from discovering personal common ground. **Skip it when:** Skip when group members already work together closely every day, or during high-stakes crisis meetings where time must focus exclusively on operations. ## Materials and tools - Large index cards (5x8 inches) or sturdy paper (1 per person plus extras) - Dark markers or felt-tip pens (1 per person) - Digital whiteboard with pre-built card frames (for remote and hybrid use) - Access to digital icons or avatar images (for remote and hybrid use) ## Before participants arrive 1. Place one large index card and marker at each seat. 2. Write the three required card items on the room board: self-portrait or symbol, player nickname, and one little-known fact. ## Say this to open Welcome. We will make quick personal trading cards to get to know each other. On your card, draw a quick self-portrait or symbol, write your name with a fun player nickname, and add one true fact about yourself that colleagues here probably do not know. Keep it work-appropriate. Share only what you are comfortable discussing aloud. ## How to run it ### 1. Create personal cards (5 minutes) Deliver the opening script. Give everyone 5 minutes of quiet time to draw their card. For example, a card might show a stick figure with a bicycle, the name 'Sam "The Climber" Patel', and the fact 'Has repaired 200 bicycles'. Give a 1-minute warning to finish writing. Stop card creation at 5 minutes. ### 2. Pass and select cards (3 minutes) Ask participants to pass cards around the room in free order, skimming each card they receive. Instruct them to keep passing until they find a card with a fact they want to ask about, then hold onto that card. If someone holds a card but another person also wants it, the second person keeps browsing until everyone holds exactly one card from someone else. Assist anyone still looking at the 2-minute mark. ### 3. Interview card subjects (5 minutes) Run 4 to 6 brief interview turns. Ask for a volunteer to name the person on their held card and ask one question about the fact. That person answers within 30 seconds. That respondent then asks a question to the person whose card they hold. If a chain ends or someone prefers to pass, ask for a new volunteer. Stop when the 5-minute timer sounds. ### 4. Collect and wrap up (2 minutes) Collect all cards to tape on the wall or board so participants can browse the rest during breaks. Ask two participants to name one interesting detail they spotted while cards were circulating. Transition to the main meeting agenda. ## Debrief questions - What is one unexpected fact or skill you noticed while passing cards? - How does seeing personal details change how you approach working with someone today? **Finished output:** A physical gallery or digital collection of personal profile cards displayed for the duration of the session. ## Remote On a shared digital whiteboard, each person selects an empty card template and types their name, nickname, fact, and pastes a quick icon. Once all cards are complete, participants browse all cards simultaneously and claim one card by placing their name sticky note in the designated claim box beneath it. If two people claim the same card, the facilitator assigns it to the first claim and asks the second person to pick an unclaimed card. The facilitator invites volunteers to run 4 to 6 interview turns on open microphones. ## Hybrid In-person participants complete physical cards and either type their card info onto the digital board or have a room scribe post it. Remote participants fill card templates on the digital board. During browsing, in-person participants can view the shared screen or board. During the interview phase, the facilitator actively alternates calling volunteers across modalities: one turn starts with an in-person member questioning a remote member, and the next turn starts with a remote member questioning an in-person member. ## Access and participation choices - Drawing is optional: participants may write words, use abstract geometric shapes, or select an avatar image. - Personal facts are self-selected: participants may share public hobbies, food tastes, or non-work skills rather than private personal details. - Anyone may pass on asking or answering a question during the public share without explanation. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants spend too much time perfecting their artwork and fail to write the fact.** Remind the room that simple icons or stick figures are best. Announce a firm 1-minute countdown to complete the written detail. **Two participants want to hold the same card during the passing phase.** Ask one person to pass that card to the other and keep browsing for another intriguing fact among the circulating cards. **A participant is uncomfortable answering personal questions in front of the group.** Reinforce that anyone may say pass without giving a reason, and immediately invite another volunteer. ## Terms used here - Trading card: A small card modeled after collectible cards, displaying an image or portrait, a nickname, and a specific personal detail. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Gamestorming, where original authorship is noted as unknown. Retained the original Gamestorming mechanic of drawing cards with a portrait, nickname, and unknown fact, passing cards around without rigid order, and questioning players on their facts. UWT added explicit time caps per step to fit within 15 minutes, concrete rules for resolving card contention, and structured claiming and turn mechanics for remote and hybrid environments. [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/trading-cards) [Gamestorming](https://gamestorming.com/trading-cards/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/trading-cards/