The Human Knot Icebreaker.

The Human Knot Icebreaker is a good icebreaker for teambuilding, communication, and problem solving. Participants will learn to work together, in close physical proximity. The goal is to figure out how to untangle the human knot without letting go of hands.

This activity is great for seven or more. If you have more than 15 people, break them into groups of 7-10.

Materials required: None. This is a good icebreaker for a large room, or outdoors.

The Set-up:
Form groups of 5-10 people each. Have each group stand shoulder to shoulder, in a circle, facing towards each other. Ask everyone to lift their left hand and reach across to take the hand of someone standing across the circle. Next, have everyone lift their right hand and reach across to take the hand of another person standing across the circle. Make sure that no one is holding hands with someone standing directly beside the person. And be sure everyone is holding a different person's hand, in each hand.

Play the Human Knot Game/Activity
The groups must communicate and figure out how to untangle the knot, forming a circle of people, without ever letting go of any hands.

To make a game of this activity, two or more groups can play competitively, or a single group can try to untangle in a limited amount of time. If any group member lets go of a hand and breaks the chain, then that person must wear a blindfold for the remainder of the game.

This game typically takes 15-30 minutes to complete.

When you are done, you might ask some debrief questions, such as

How well did you group work together?
What strategies did your group use?
How did it feel to untangle the knot?”

Variations
To increase the difficulty level, you could blindfold some of the players or require that the game be played silently (no talking).

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