Best Board Games for Team Building

[eaglesc]

Hi all,

I'm introducing Pandemic (the board game) to the kids this evening. One team member has played before, for most it will be new. It's been out-of-stock everywhere for a few months, but is again available. It will be interesting to see what comes from this exercise. Also considering SpaceAlert for a future date.

In this context I really favor the "us against the game" format which rewards collaboration.

Are there other inherently collaborative games people have found useful for team building?

[dvz]

Not a board game but my seasoned kids enjoy introducing rookies to our crash course in programming. One kid gets blindfolded and is instructed to move around in a backyard obstacle course while stopping to pick up and then move various objects. If the "robot" hears conflicting instructions being shouted, s/he will spin in circles until the kids realize only one voice can instruct. HTH

[liwalson]

Love that activity, DVZ! I will try with my team.

[SuperTeams]

I like this kiddy activity, I an thinking to apply it with my team.

[hicktownmom]

DVZ,
We did something similar to your idea, but I had the kids write a "program" for the robot first. They were given a starting point and a goal. They were allowed to use only move blocks and had to include settings (turn 90 degrees left, move straight 4 steps). They wrote this all on a Program Page that listed steps in order with the block and settings.

It worked well. We noticed a few challenges...not everyone steps the same. It's hard to repeat. Some said to move forward by "tiles" which we had on the floor. This highlighted the importance of a constant for repeat-ability.

I think we may use this technique to introduce more programming aspects. We could use the "Wait For" blocks (touch is obvious, by clapping for sound, or making lines on the floor with tape for light). The kinesthetic aspect of having the kids moving around the room also helps with the wiggles.