Step-by-Step Instructions
This quick team-building activity transforms a simple card-sorting challenge into an exciting race against time. Change Up encourages groups to strategize, communicate, and work together to improve their performance with each round. Corporate trainers and teachers value how this simple team-building activity naturally develops leadership, planning skills, and non-verbal communication while engaging every participant. The combination of competition, strategy, and measured improvement makes it perfect for workshops, classrooms, or conference energisers.
Change Up – Quick Team-Building Activity
- Randomly distribute one card (from a deck of cards) face down to every person in your group.
- Do not look at, or show your card to anyone else.
- When you say “GO,” instruct your group to flip their cards over and, as quickly as possible, form one straight line according to the numerical order of the cards, aces high, regardless of suit.
- Using a stopwatch, time this first attempt.
- Before a new round starts, the group is entitled to plan their next attempt.
- When ready, the group must turn their cards face down again, and mingle with others swapping cards one for one until you say “STOP.”
- Announce “GO” to start the next round, and record the time.
- Repeat the process for up to five rounds, and record the fastest time.
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Hi there Mark, played this game today as part of a disc training.. It is one of my favorite activities, . It worked so beautifully to bring out the issues that this client is dealing with. This game is portable, easy to lead, and really presents amazing opportunities for learning and growth.
Thank you for sharing it here
This is wonderful to hear. I love it just as much, and use it frequently with groups to explore issues of planning, systems and coordination.
Hi Mark! Played this again today. I love it! Played 3 rounds with numeric sort continuous improvement then goal setting. The shift to alphabetic sort was brilliant. I challenged them to meet or beat their previous record. After the first attemt, they slowed down, defined the problem, arranged the cards in order for a visual, and after a couple of tries set a new record.
I wanted to share something I learned. I really thought I had shuffled well… yet I ended up with 3 eights – and that was the lowest number I dealt. I did redeal before the 2nd set of tries, just looking for a bit more diversity. Lesson for me is to take a look at the cards prior to dealing them.
Thanks for a great activity.
So cool to hear Jen, well done. In regards to randomness of the cards, getting 3 x 8s is pretty bizarre, but I tend to stick to the way the cards are dealt. Kinda like life, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with taking a peek at them before you distribute. For me, this would be hard to do because I literally fan out all of the cards, and ask each person to randomly take one at a time.
Hey Mark, I love the sound of this activity. I’m wondering what your thoughts might be if I were to use a full deck and brun four teams of 8 to 10 at a time. I’m thinking you could follow the same general flow, except the switching of cards could either be within the mini team or within the whole team.
What do you think?
Jen, yes, I think you could set up the activity this way. My only concern would be that thru the lens of ‘continuous improvement’ it would be best for each group to manage the same set of cards each time because they would then have a consistent benchmark. Have fun, and let us know how it goes 🙂