The Body of Words Game

Body of Words is a great way to get people to relax and have fun at a team retreat and learn how to plan, think creatively, and cooperate. This is a simple, fun game that gets everyone involved physically.

The objective is for your team to create letters and words with their bodies alone. Find a wide open area without any obstacles.

Divide participants into teams of 4-8 people. Each team chooses one team leader.

Write down a bunch of words with the one letter less than as the number of people in each team (i.e. if there are 5 people per team, pick words like “book”, “cats”, etc.) on index cards. Pick a word at random.

Each team then has to make the word with their bodies alone. Each team member can contort his/her shape to form a letter, which can then form words. The team leaders can direct their teams.

Set a time limit of 5-7 minute for each word. The team that makes the word the fastest wins.

In each round, ask the team to choose a different leader.

One of the challenges of organizing team retreats is getting people to loosen up. A physical activity that engages the entire team is a good way to get people to relax.

Picking a leader and collaborating to create different letters also helps build leadership, planning and cooperation.

The topics of this publication: interactions, integration, leadership, planning, cooperation, collaboration