The Solid or Liquid or Gas Game
The Solid or Liquid or Gas game is a fantastic and fun observation and lateral thinking exercise for large groups. It is excellent for energizing the team and for those groups that love a mental challenge.
Invite your group to sit in a circle, close enough so everyone can see and hear each other. Each person’s task is to identify the ‘key’ which unlocks the secret to the game.
Announce that you will point variously at different people in the circle, and your group is challenged to predict which of three positions these people represent: Solid or Liquid or Gas
To start, point to a random person and ask your group to predict which one of these positions this person represents. Here’s the key: Observe the position of the person’s feet.
- Solid means that both feet are on the floor
- Gas means that both feet are off the floor
- Liquid means one foot is on the floor and the other is not
Allow for several suggestions from the group before you reveal the correct answer. Repeat this ‘point and guess’ process multiple times soliciting responses from your group every time.
As each person makes an attempt to uncover the key, congratulate those who get it, and encourage those who do not. Continue to offer more and more obvious clues until everyone has identified the key and can predict the outcome many times in a row.
Moment of Reflection
- How fast did you work out what was going on?
- How did it feel to be one of the last to ‘get it?’
- How did it feel once you got it? What did you say to yourself?
- What strategies did you use to keep engaged to eventually solve the problem?
- When was the last time you felt like this? Was there a positive outcome?
The topics of this publication: lateral thinking, observation skills, adaptation, adaptability skills
