--- title: "Where in the World" description: "Participants guess mystery geographic locations from progressive clues that move from obscure hints to obvious facts. Individuals write guesses silently on slips of paper before the final reveal." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/where-in-the-world/" --- # Where in the World Participants guess mystery geographic locations from progressive clues that move from obscure hints to obvious facts. Individuals write guesses silently on slips of paper before the final reveal. **Time:** 15 minutes. Based on TrainerBubble clue structure running 2 complete mystery locations in 15 minutes. **People:** 4 to 24. Individual guessing in a whole-group setting ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Re-energize a room and practice piecing together cumulative evidence under structured turn rules. **Use it when:** Use as a quick mental warm-up between heavy training blocks or at the opening of an international meeting. **Skip it when:** Skip when the session topic demands deep technical focus or when trivia-style competitive games alienate participants. ## Materials and tools - Scrap paper (3 to 5 small sheets per participant) - One pen or pencil per participant - One facilitator timer - Printed clue sheets for the facilitator ## Before participants arrive 1. Print the facilitator clue sheet. 2. Place small slips of scrap paper and writing utensils at every seat. ## Say this to open We are going to play Where in the World. I will read up to ten clues about a specific place, starting with very tricky clues and getting easier. As soon as you think you know the answer, write your name and your guess on a slip of paper and pass it to me secretly. Do not call out your answer. ## How to run it ### 1. Explain rules and start Round 1 (3 minutes) Distribute scrap paper. State the rules clearly: no shouting out, one guess per slip, hand slips face down to the facilitator. Read clues 1 and 2 for Location 1. ### 2. Run progressive clues for Location 1 (4 minutes) Read clues 3 through 10 spaced roughly 20 seconds apart. Collect slips as participants bring them up. Check each slip silently. If correct, nod silently and retain the slip. Stop reading once clue 10 is read or three people have guessed correctly. Announce the answer and congratulate early correct guessers. ### 3. Run progressive clues for Location 2 (5 minutes) Repeat the procedure with Location 2. Read clues 1 through 10 in order of decreasing difficulty. Collect written slips silently. Reveal the correct place after clue 10 or after three correct slips. ### 4. Debrief deduction strategies (3 minutes) Ask the room 2 quick reflection questions about clue interpretation. Take 2 or 3 brief volunteers to share which specific clue confirmed their guess. ## Debrief questions - At what clue number did your hypothesis shift from uncertain to confident? - What specific detail helped you rule out incorrect locations? **Finished output:** Two mystery places identified by silent written submissions. ## Remote Run via video conference. Participants send guesses as private direct chat messages to the facilitator rather than writing on paper. The facilitator reads clues aloud and watches the incoming direct messages. ## Hybrid In-person participants write slips and bring them to the facilitator desk; remote participants submit private direct messages to the facilitator in the video chat. The facilitator announces incoming correct guesses anonymously until the round ends. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may choose not to submit guesses and simply listen along. - Clues are read aloud and can also be displayed on a slide for visual accessibility. ## If the session gets stuck **A participant blurts out the answer aloud before round completion.** Acknowledge the blurted answer without confirming if it is right or wrong, remind the room of the silent rule, and immediately switch to the backup mystery location. **No one guesses the location even after clue 10.** Give one final open hint naming the region or continent, then reveal the answer cheerfully and move on. ## Terms used here - Decreasing difficulty: Clues start very specific or obscure and become broader and more widely recognized. ## Participant material: Facilitator Mystery Location Clue Cards LOCATION 1: Reykjavik, Iceland Clue 1: It is the northernmost capital of a sovereign state in the world. Clue 2: Its name translates roughly to 'Smoky Bay' due to surrounding geothermal steam. Clue 3: It was settled by Norseman Ingolfur Arnarson around the year 874. Clue 4: It sits on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean just south of the Arctic Circle. Clue 5: The city is heated almost entirely by geothermal energy. Clue 6: A distinctive landmark here is Hallgrimskirkja, a church designed to resemble basalt lava flows. Clue 7: The surrounding island country has no standing army and sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Clue 8: It hosted the famous 1986 summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. Clue 9: It is the capital of an island nation known for geysers, glaciers, and volcanoes. Clue 10: It is the capital city of Iceland. LOCATION 2: Kyoto, Japan Clue 1: It was laid out on a grid system modeled after the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. Clue 2: It served as the imperial capital of its nation for over one thousand years until 1868. Clue 3: It was largely spared from bombing in World War II due to its cultural heritage. Clue 4: It contains more than 1,600 Buddhist temples and 400 Shinto shrines. Clue 5: It gave its name to a landmark 1997 international treaty on greenhouse gas reductions. Clue 6: Fushimi Inari-taisha, with thousands of vermilion torii gates, is located here. Clue 7: It sits in a valley on the island of Honshu. Clue 8: Its historic Gion district is famous for traditional teahouses and geiko culture. Clue 9: It was succeeded as capital city by Tokyo. Clue 10: It is the historic cultural capital of Japan. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in TrainerBubble training materials as a deductive clue-based icebreaker. Retained the progressive 10-clue deduction mechanic and secret slip submission from TrainerBubble evidence. Supplied two complete, neutral clue sets with standard factual geography to make the game fully runnable without external purchases. ESL Active (map browsing) and Mural (collaborative pinboard) represent different games with the same name; this run sheet recovers the TrainerBubble deduction activity. [ESL Active](https://eslactive.com/activities/where-in-the-world/) [Mural](https://www.mural.co/templates/world-map) [TrainerBubble](https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/where-in-the-world/) [TrainerBubble](https://www.trainerbubble.com/downloads/where-in-the-world/?currency=USD) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/where-in-the-world/