Image © 2012 Stanford d.school. That’s me in the purple sweater, right before I became the “Rock, Paper, Scissors” tournament champion of the d.school 2012 Design Thinking Bootcamp!

This is the third of three posts in which I share some of my favorite improv games to use with teams who are learning and using the design thinking process.

The first post covered improv games to kick-off a meeting or workshop, the second covered improv games for warming up for brainstorming and embracing failure, and this post considers improv games for warming up for user testing and prototyping.

Games to Warm-Up for User Testing

These two games help get team members into the mindset of user testing, which is about a user’s ideas and needs, not the ideas and needs of the person running the test. These games are great practice for resisting the natural urge to talk, overexplain, and apologize—something that happens even to the best of us when we hand over a rough, unfinished prototype to a user.

1) The Two-Minute Invention

This is based on a version of the game I learned from one of my favorite design thinkers, Molly Wilson. Pass out Post-it notes to everyone in the room and have them find a partner. Tell them they have one minute to make their partner an amazing invention with Post-its. The only material that can be used to make the invention is Post-its (no pen, tape, etc.). Explain to the group that after they make their invention, they will hand them to their partner without talking.

The partner receives the “invention” and respond enthusiastically, stating what he/she thinks it is and gushing about how it’s exactly what he/she needed. The maker has to refrain from “correcting” the recipient and explaining what it “really” is.

This game can be played seated around tables, or standing. I like to demo this game with a volunteer before asking people to play it. It’s fast and easy to demo, and serves as a jolt to get everyone’s attention.

2) I Got You a Gift

Have everyone stand up in a large circle. Tell everyone that there is an imaginary table in the center of the room piled high with gifts.

Pick someone to start off. He/she walks to the “table” and picks out a “gift” for the person on his or her left. The gift giver imagines the weight, texture, and shape of the gift and “endows” it with those qualities. The person receiving the gift has to “accept” the gift’s properties; that is, if someone is grunting and “carrying” something huge and heavy, the recipient has to accept the huge, heavy item.

The recipient then “opens” the gift and describes something consistent with the properties that the gift giver endowed onto the gift (heavy, light, hot, cold, etc.), followed by a hearty thank you. For example, if someone handed me a huge, heavy, imaginary box, I might open it and exclaim, “Wow, thank you, a Buddha statue for my garden! Just what I wanted!” The gift giver can’t correct the recipient and say what it “really” was.

Games to Get Energized for Prototyping

These are games I like to use when I need to get a team energized for a prototyping session. Prototyping takes a lot of stamina and energy, and these exercise help get people warmed up and in sync with each other.

1) Secret Handshake, Secret Code, Secret Dance Move

Ask everyone to stand up and start walking around the room. Yell “Stop” and tell people to turn to the person nearest them and partner up. Then give them 30 seconds to make up a secret handshake. Have them practice their secret handshake and tell them to remember it.

Then tell everyone to start walking around again, yell “Stop,” and have them find a new partner. This time they have 30 seconds make up a code word. Again, tell them to remember it.

Again, everyone walks around the room until you yell “Stop” and finds a new partner. This time they have 30 seconds to come up with a dance move.

Now have people walk around the room and mingle, and then tell them to run and find their handshake partner and do their handshake. Next have everyone find their code word partner. And lastly, have everyone find their dance move partner and do their dance move.

My favorite part about this game is that many hours or days later, people will still do their secret handshake, code word, or dance move when they see their partner.

2) Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament

Starting in pairs, people play rock, paper, scissors. Make sure you demonstrate how you like to play (after three counts or “on three”). The winner moves on and the loser follows the winner, becoming his or her “biggest fan.” Just as with the failure bow, when someone loses, they react with enthusiasm. All the losers following their latest winner/champion, and in a couple of minutes, there should be only two people left playing against each other, with huge “crowds” of fans cheering them on.

Conclusion

The key to using any kind of game or warm-up in a meeting or workshop is to read the mood, energy, and vibe of the group, and be willing to change it up on-the-fly. If you try one of these and it’s not working, do the “failure bow” and move on.