Grapevine
| Type: | icebreaker, name learning game |
| Number of players: | around 10 to 20 |
| Location: | everywhere |
| Equipment: | pen and paper |
| Duration: | a few minutes |
| Preparation: | none |
Grapevine ist an ice breaker game. It is perfect for groups that don't know each other. Then, the people are introduced to each other in a creative way and get a chance to learn a few names.
Equipment
It is usually played with pen and paper notes for every player. It can be played without that, though.
Procedure
Each player gets pen and a paper note and has to write (or draw) a few things about him on the paper - Name, hobbies, occupation, etc - you can adapt that to the situation at hand, to the theme of the meeting, etc.
Then, everybody wanders around the room, and get in contact with another person. They first introduce themselves just with their name. Then, they both introduce the player whose paper note they have (which, in the first round, is their own one). After that, they exchange their notes, and wander around the room again in search for another player. In each following round, everybody has to present someone different from himself! Try to avoid to get a note again you already had, so to learn to know as many different people as possible (that can be tricky in smaller groups).
After some time, the leaders stop the game. In a big circle, everybody then presents the person whose note he currently holds. This time, the owner of the note may correct the presentation or add his own thoughts, as the description might have deviated from the correct one over time (similar to Chinese whispers).
Variants
The game can be played without the written/drawn notes on paper. Then, it is even more alike Chinese whispers as the grapevine might end up totally different then it has started. Might be less productive, but be more fun :-)
