Why We Like This Game
Counting is a great way to learn about the cohesiveness of your group and help build teamwork. This game is much harder than it sounds and that is part of the fun. There are a variety of ways to adapt it to make the game more difficult. This game relies a lot on intuition and players are unable to “cheat.”
Objective
To count to the highest number you can without overlapping or making any errors.
Instructions
- In random order, ask participants to count consecutively starting with 1. Only 1 person can speak at a time. If more than 1 person speaks at the same time, the group has to start over at 1.
- Participants may not let others know when they are going to speak next (no raising hands!) and they may not cue other participants on when to go next (no pointing!). Note: Participants cannot go in a specific order. For example, if a group is seated/standing in a circle, don’t go in order around the circle! Click here for an example.
- If the group can count to a high number and the game becomes too easy, have them play the game with their eyes closed.
Tips
- Expect that some participants will have poor concentration or get frustrated. There will be a lot of restarts. Note: Unless you’re a professional acting troupe, this happens with every new group because you haven’t worked together before. As you learn how to use your intuition and communicate nonverbally as a group you can count higher and higher without messing up.
- If the group is still unsuccessful after 3 minutes, have them take a breath/break/wiggle their arms etc. Then ask them to go slow and resume the game.
- It is helpful to set a number goal so that your team can try to reach it. This can help people improve their focus (and encourage participants to take the game seriously if they are not). In one class, we kept getting stuck on the number 12, but after we set a goal to get to 20, we magically got to 76!
- To make this game more complicated, swap out some numbers for claps/words/sounds. For example, every multiplier of 3 is clapped instead of spoken.
- To make it even more complicated, swap out more numbers for different sounds/words. For example, every multiplier of 3 is clapped instead of spoken and every multiplier of 4 is replaced with the sound, “moo.”
Activity Type
Reset, Focus, Teambuilding
Length
3+ minutes (However, if your group is really good at the game, you can do this game in 1 minute.)
Number of Participants
4 or more
Benefits
Promotes pattern recognition, listening, focus & concentration, intuition, and teamwork
Fun Fact
In Korea, Counting is a drinking game called Nunchi! To see a performance art interpretation of this game, watch this video.