This activity is often used as an icebreaker to encourage team bonding in the group of participants.  Great activity for when you are getting a new team together, or you think that collaboration could do with an improvement. You can observe and then highlight patterns in team communication during your debrief.

The goal of the game is for a group to untangle themselves without letting go of each other’s hands, and the extended hand-holding can increase oxytocin levels, which can lead to increased trust. Ideal group size is 8-12 people.

Watch the video

Steps

1. Ask the participants to stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, facing inwards.
2. Everyone reaches out their right hand and grabs someone else’s hand from across the circle (not next to them).
3. Everyone repeats the same with their left hand.
4. You now ask them to untangle themselves, but without letting go of each other’s hands at any point. The goal is to end up in a circle, by stepping over and under each other’s arms or legs.

If the chain is broken, they need to start over.

Debrief

Extra tips

What you need

No props needed for this activity!

Creator

Unknown