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Minefield

A popular and engaging game involving communication and trust. The task is very flexible and works for groups of various types and sizes. Objects are scattered in an indoor or outdoor place. Participants work in pairs with one person verbally guiding his or her blindfolded partner through the minefield.

Set Up

  • Consider how the pairs are formed - it's a chance to work on relationships. One person is blind-folded and cannot talk (optional). The other person can see and talk, but cannot enter the field or touch the person.

  • Select an appropriate area. Go outside, if possible. Can be done inside, even in rooms with fixed furniture (which can become objects to be avoided).

  • Distribute "mines" e.g., balls or other objects such as bowling pins, cones, foam noodles, etc.

  • Establish a concentrating and caring tone for this activity. Trust exercises require a serious atmosphere to help develop a genuine sense of trust and safety.

  • Explain the challenge - One person from each pair wears a blind-fold and must walk from one side of the mine field to the other, avoiding the "mines", by listening to the verbal instructions of his or her partner.

  • Announce the penalty for hitting a "mine". It could be a restart (serious consequence) or time penalty or simply a count of hits, but without penalty.

  • It can help participants if you suggest that they each develop a unique communication system. When participants swap roles, give participants some review and planning time to refine their communication method.

  • Allow participants a short period (e.g., 3 minutes) of planning time to decide on their communication commands, then begin the activity.

  • Allow participants to swap over and even have several attempts, until a real, satisfied sense of skill and competence in being able to guide a partner through the "minefield" develops.

Time

  • ~20 minutes to set up
  • ~5-10 minutes to brief
  • ~5 minutes planning/discussion
  • ~15-30 minutes activity
  • ~5-30 minutes debrief

Equipment

  • Markers or lengths of rope to indicate the mine fields boundaries
  • Mines in the form of cushions, books, cardboard boxes, or almost any no hazardous obstacle.
  • Blind folds.

Group Size

2 to 30 is possible; works well with larger groups e.g., 16 to 24.

Facilitation Notes

  • The facilitator plays an important role in creating an optimal level of challenge. Consider introducing more items or removing items if it seems too easy or too hard.

  • Be cautious about blind-folding people - it can provoke trust and care issues and trigger post-traumatic reactions. Minimize this risk by sequencing Mine Field within a longer program involving other get-to-know-you and trust building activities before Mine Field.

  • Be wary of blindfolded people bumping into each other. The instructor(s) can float around the playing area to help prevent collisions.

  • The activity can be conducted one pair at a time (e.g., in a therapeutic situation), or with all pairs at once (creates a more demanding exercise due to the extra noise/confusion).

  • It is easy to make the exercise competitive by measuring the time each pair takes for one or both of them to cross the mine field and by assigning penalties for touching mines.

  • Be aware that some participants may object to, or have previous traumatic experience around the metaphor of explosive mines which have caused and continue to cause much harm and suffering. It may be preferable to rename the activity, for example, "Sales Pitfalls" or "Negotiation Hurdles".

Variations

  • Minefield in a Circle: Blindfolded people start on the outside of a large rope circle, go into middle, get an item ("treasure", e.g., a small ball or bean bag), then return to the outside; continue to see who can get the most objects within a time period.

  • Metaphorical Framing: Some set ups for minefield get very elaborate and metaphor-rich. For example, mines can represent real obstacles or issues encountered in the work environment. Hanging objects extend the minefield into another dimension and increase the difficulty.

  • Participants can begin by trying to cross the field by themselves. In a second round, participants can then ask someone else to help them traverse the field by "talking" them through the field.

  • To increase the difficulty, you can have other people calling out. The blindfolded person must concentrate on their partner's voice amidst all the other voices that could distract them from the task.

Debriefing Ideas

  • How much did you trust your partner (out of 10) at the start?
  • How much did you trust your partner (out of 10) at the end?
  • What is the difference between going alone and being guided by another?
  • What ingredients are needed when trusting and working with someone else?
  • What did your partner do to help you feel confident?
  • What could your partner have done to help you feel more confident?
  • What communication strategies worked best?

Acknowledgement

Adapted from material at http://wilderdom.com/games/InitiativeGames.html