Birthday Boggle
Line up by birthday WITHOUT TALKING - silent collaboration challenge that's surprisingly fun.
5-10 min
8-100 people
medium
None needed
About This Game
Birthday Boggle challenges participants to line up in chronological order by birthday (month and day only, not year!) - but they can't talk. Only gestures, hand signals, and creativity allowed. This creates instant collaboration, laughter, and a fun way to learn birthdays.
Objectives
- Practice non-verbal communication
- Learn teammates birthdays
- Build collaboration skills
- Create playful energy
How to Run This Game
Facilitator Script:
"Here's your challenge: Line up by birthday - January through December - WITHOUT TALKING! Use gestures, hand signals, fingers to show your month and day. No words, no mouthing words, just creativity! You have 5 minutes. Go!"
Actions:
- Explain: month and day only (not year)
- Emphasize: NO TALKING
- Clarify: gestures, hand signals OK
- Start timer
Tips:
- • Define the start of the line: "January starts here!"
- • Large group: split into 2-3 lines
Facilitator Script:
"[Stay silent and observe. Give time warnings at 3 min, 1 min, 30 sec]"
Actions:
- Watch the chaos unfold
- Give time warnings
- Resist urge to help or talk
- Enjoy the creativity
Tips:
- • Common signals: hold up fingers for month/day
- • Watch for natural leaders emerging
- • Lots of gesturing and laughter is good
- • Let them struggle - that's the fun
Facilitator Script:
"Time! NOW you can talk. Starting from January, say your birthday out loud. Let's see how well you did!"
Actions:
- Go down the line - each person says birthday
- Celebrate when they got it right
- Laugh at any mistakes
- Notice birthday twins
Tips:
- • Most groups get 80-90% correct
- • Celebrate the effort
- • Note any birthday twins or clusters
Facilitator Tips
- Quick 5-10 minute activity
- Works with groups of 10-100+
- No materials needed
- Great for orientation, team meetings, conferences
- Follow up: celebrate birthdays throughout the year
Common Challenges & Solutions
Variations & Adaptations
Line up by height, still silent
Line up by shoe size without talking
teams have used this game