Nine Lives

Purpose/ Focus: Introduce
Materials: One CrowdCubes© Shape Set (nine cubes) per team
Grouping: 4-6 Participants Per Team (the bigger, the better)
Overview: An energetic team dice game that builds competition/anticipation with each round.

Facilitation Process:

  • Ask the larger group to get into teams of 4-6 people.
  • Ask each team to secure one CrowdCubes© Shape Set (circle, squares, or octagons).
  • Ask the teams of 4-6 to find a space in the room as their playing area.
    • Leave at least a few feet between groups for playing comfort.
  • Describe the rules of the exercise:
    • Tell teams that their goal is to be the fastest and best CrowdCubes© rollers on the planet.
    • Each group is to roll all nine of the CrowdCubes© as fast as possible to achieve a sequence of desired results.
      • During the first round, all teams are required to roll until all CrowdCubes© display a “one.
      • Once one CrowdCube© has shown a “one” they will stop rolling that particular CrowdCube© and continue to roll for “ones” on all the remaining CrowdCubes©.
      • As soon as their team has “ones” showing on all nine CrowdCubes©, they will yell “ONESIES” to signify a stoppage in play.
      • The team that yells “ONESIES” first is the winner of that round.
      • For the second round, the winning team (the one that yelled “ONESIES”) will move onto trying to roll “twos” on all nine of their CrowdCubes©, while the remaining teams must restart their attempt to roll roll nine “ones”.
      • Whichever team is successful first will yell either “ONESIES” or “TWOSIES”, depending on which number they were rolling for, signifying a stoppage in play.
      • The third round begins with each team rolling for their respective numbers. That number is determined based on what they have successfully rolled to that point.
      • This process continues with “ONESIES”, “TWOSIES”, “THREESIES”, “FOURSIES”, “FIVESIES”, and eventually “SIXIES” until one team moves all the way up the numerical ladder.
      • The team who makes it all the way to “SIXIES” first is the ultimate winner.

Tips for Success, Troubleshooting or Modifications:

  • One more challenging iteration of this exercise is to play as described above, but when teams roll their CrowdCubes© and get a successful number (i.e. a “one” a “two”, etc.), they must stack all nine CrowdCubes© into a tower – one CrowdCube© on top of the other.
    • In order to be “the winner” of the round, once the nine CrowdCubes© are stacked one CrowdCube© on top of the other, the tower must remain free-standing long enough for the team to sing one verse of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
    • When done singing, the team can then yell “ONESIES”, “TWOSIES”, “THREESIES”, or whatever number they were working on rolling and stacking.

Trait Theory Debrief – What Type of Person Makes a Good Leader?

  • What specific traits emerged in your peers today that supported the overall function and success of the group? Some examples might be integrity, empathy, assertiveness, sound decision-making skills, likability, etc.

Behavioral Theory Debrief – What Does a Good Leader Do?

  • At what moments did you notice autocratic leadership at play? Remember, these moments arise when people make decisions without consulting their teams. This style of leadership is considered appropriate when decisions need to be made quickly, when there’s no need for input, and when team agreement isn’t necessary for a successful outcome. If used, did this style work for the given situation?
  • At what moments did you notice democratic leadership at play? Democratic leadership allows the team to provide input before making a decision, although the degree of input can vary from leader to leader. This style is important when team agreement matters, but it can be difficult to manage when there are lots of different perspectives and ideas. If used, did this style work for the given situation?
  • At what moments did you notice laissez-faire leadership at play? Laissez-faire leaders don’t interfere; they allow people within the team to make many of the decisions. This works well when the team is highly capable, is motivated, and doesn’t need close supervision. However, this behavior can arise because the leader is lazy or distracted; and this is where this style of leadership can fail. If used, did this style work for the given situation?

NOTE: Nine Lives is one of many dice games that can be played with multiple dice. This particular game could be played with any kind of die, and not just the CrowdCubes dice. The other games included with CrowdCubes need the unique die in the CrowdCubes set.