Outdoor Ed Director Leia Crosby, shares her Teambuilding Tip of the Month…

Name Roulette

What’s in a name?

Knowing someone’s name is often the first step toward developing a meaningful relationship with someone. Therefore, most of our teambuilding programs here at Camp Burgess start with a “Name Game”, where the participants are encouraged to learn the names of the other members of their groups.

A recent group from Northeastern University got to experience a casino-esque “name game” during their leadership retreat here at Camp Burgess. The game is called Name Roulette and serves as a high-pressure, exciting, game that tests your knowledge of the people’s names in your group and the speed with which you can say them!

The group is asked to split into two small circles. The circles are situated next to each other, like a pair of spectacles, with each member of the group facing toward the center of their circle. One circle rotates clockwise, the other rotates counter-clockwise. The two circles are not physically linked, however the outside edge of both circles pass over the same spot about a meter apart.

At the whim of the instructor, the circles are instructed to stop moving, and the two people who have been tapped on the shoulder (the ones closest to where the two circles meet) have to turn around and face the person from the other circle. Whoever can say the name of the other person first, wins!

What does that person win? He or she has just won the ability to bring the loser to their team, thus increasing the number of people on their team. With every win, one circle gets bigger and the other gets smaller, until one circle acquires almost everyone in the group!

This game is a fun, lively, engaging way to challenge group members to know the names of everyone in their group.