This is a quick fun game that gets everyone in a group working together to control the one pen, trying to write or draw something in a coordinated way.

How to do it

This game is great because it helps your group to get creative, as well as encouraging them to use their communication skills with each other. Get a regular pen/marker and some string. Cut as many strings as there are people in the group. Position the pen in the middle of a large piece of paper, and tie one end of each piece of string to the middle of the pen, in such a way that when everyone each pulls a string, it forms a star-like shape.

Get each person to grab a string and pull simultaneously (still with the paper under the pen). Now, the group should agree on something fairly simple to draw (or a short phrase to write), and then they must communicate and work together to draw that thing (or write that phrase). It’s always interesting even to see at what point they realise that someone has to be in charge of holding the paper still!

Variations

This activity can be a good lesson in quality versus speed. You can try splitting your group into 2 teams, and get them to draw the object. Be mindful of not telling them the objective. Most people will assume it’s a race, and optimise for speed rather than quality/accuracy.