Silent Line-Up, free and nothing to download
Silent Line-Up is a classic group activity turned into a timed challenge: the phone gives a criterion and the group has to get in line in order without saying a word, using only gestures. It might be by birthday, from January to December, by the time you got up this morning, by the first letter of your first name or by how far you traveled to get here. When the group thinks they've got it, they tap "Done!" and check: from first to last, each person says their answer out loud. In "Secret numbers" mode, the phone is passed from hand to hand and gives each person a different number from 1 to 100, or from 1 to 999 to make it harder; without talking, you line up from lowest to highest and the phone shows the right order. Every round you nail adds to the team streak. It works just as well on the first day of class, in a training session or at a company event, because every criterion is neutral: nothing about age, height or anything that puts someone on the spot.
Tips and variations
- Agree beforehand which end of the line is the start, for example the end by the door.
- Fingers for counting, pointing at a watch or drawing in the air are fine, but no writing and no showing your phone.
- Start with two minutes and drop to one once the group gets the hang of it.