Some people find blindfold activities way too challenging, some find them extremely fun. We’ve talked to a few fellows that are really passionate about these games and discovered one that’s about to make your game nights epic. ‘Perfect square’ is a must-try, not only because it’s easy to explain and play, but also because it fosters some valuable skills and abilities.
Stick with us to learn more!
Players and purposes
The best thing about the ‘Perfect square’ game is that your number of players can go (almost) as high as possible.
- The minimum required consists of 4 players (the 4 corners of the square, of course).
- The recommended number of players is 8.
- Still, you can play this game with 12, 16, 20, or 30 – so feel free to use it if you’re a teacher and you’re looking for a leadership activity for your students. The experienced ones say that the maximum number of players should be 36. Not one soul more, or you’ll turn it into a mess. However, if you feel like challenging yourself or the ones around you, feel free to test it. In case you want to give it a try and play with 36 participants or more, go for one of the ‘Perfect square’ variations. More on that later in this article.
The purpose of this game is for the players to create a perfect square using a rope while wearing blindfolds.
Setting and materials
Ideally, you should play the ‘Perfect Square’ game as an outdoor team building activity. Still, it works out just as fine as an indoor game, if your players are not that many and you have enough room for them all. Make sure there are no obstacles in the established playing area.
The essentials for ‘Perfect square’ are:
- Blindfolds – each player should have one
- Rope – tie the ends together. Grab at least 5m of rope if you have more than 4 players.
How to play the ‘Perfect square’ game?
Easy peasy lemon squeezy. We’ve already stated the goal of the game: the players need to form a perfect square while blindfolded. To do that, they must:
- Be arranged in a circle, to begin with.
- Next, have them put their blindfolds on.
- Then, ask them to grab the rope sitting in front of them on the floor.
- Now, they must work together to form a square without seeing.
- The activity ends when the players believe they have formed a ‘perfect square’. Only then can they take off their blindfolds and check out the final result.
If you still have time on the clock, you may run the activity as many times as you like to give the team a chance to improve their performance.
Variations of the ‘Perfect square’ game
- You can make it a bit more challenging, by asking the players to form a different shape. A pentagon or a star would be a lot more difficult than creating a square.
- You can also set a time limit. Not really a ‘minute to win it’ game for teens, but you can turn it into a 5-minute challenge to test your players’ sharpness.
- Another drag would be to ask your players to remain silent during the entire activity. Of course, we can’t guarantee you that they’ll be able to refrain from the laughter, but still, you can try!
Skills and abilities
The ‘Perfect square’ game is meant to put your squad through a wild ride that will show them the importance of planning, communication, and leadership. This activity is going to make them feel the heat of success or failure, and spark some epic conversations. Here are some of the skills and abilities tackled while playing the ‘Perfect square’ game:
- Leadership – It’s amazing how much we can learn about ourselves and others when we put a team together. Sometimes, the leader doesn’t change even when it’s not helping the team. That’s just like life. Like when your friend always picks the restaurant even though they have no clue what good food is. Or when your boss won’t let anyone else lead the project, even though they’re in over their heads. Sound familiar yet? Let’s laugh it off and keep learning!
- Communication and cooperation – So, picture this – you’re all wearing funky eyeshades and are trying to talk to each other. It’s gonna be pretty tough since you rely so much on visual cues. You might even talk over each other and get frustrated. But here’s the kicker – you didn’t plan ahead, so now you have to figure it out with the blindfolds on! It’s gonna take some real teamwork and effort, but we promise that you’re going to learn so much from it. Trust us, after you finish this team building activity, you are going to have some great discussions and really delve into the importance of communication.
- Problem-solving skills – How will you plan and strategize? Will you jump right in or take a more methodical approach? The process the group uses to create the solution will be super important because experiential activities show us what we do, not just what we know. Trust us, the way you operate and solve problems in this activity will be just like how we handle things in real life. Get your problem-solving hats on and give it your all!
