Minefield
Blindfolded partners navigate obstacle course using only verbal guidance from teammates. Classic trust-building exercise emphasizing communication clarity, active listening, and vulnerability.
15-30 min
4-40 people
medium
props
About This Game
Minefield is a powerful trust and communication exercise that creates immediate, visceral learning about teamwork fundamentals. The setup is deceptively simple: scatter objects (cones, balls, cups, paper) across a defined space to create an "obstacle course" or "minefield." Participants pair up - one person blindfolded, the other as guide. The blindfolded person must navigate from one end of the minefield to the other without touching any objects, relying solely on verbal directions from their partner who stands at the finish line. The challenge: multiple pairs go simultaneously, so the space fills with competing voices, wrong names being called, and general chaos. This forces guides to be extremely specific and clear, and blindfolded partners to tune into their guide's voice amidst noise. What makes this exercise profound: the blindfolded person experiences genuine vulnerability - giving up control and trusting another's guidance creates real emotional connection. The guide discovers how hard clear communication is - what seems obvious to them ("go left!" - but from whose perspective?) fails without context and specificity. Both roles surface workplace dynamics around trust, clarity, patience, and followership. Debrief reveals insights about giving/receiving instructions, trusting teammates with high stakes, staying calm under confusion, and the difference between hearing and truly listening. The physical, experiential nature creates memorable learning that sticks far more than lecture-based communication training. Minefield works across cultures and languages (can use gesture variations), scales to large groups (multiple lanes), and typically generates laughter and bonding even while teaching serious lessons.
Objectives
- Build trust between team members through vulnerable, high-stakes partner collaboration
- Practice giving clear, specific, context-rich verbal instructions under pressure
- Develop active listening skills and ability to filter signal from noise in chaotic environment
- Experience perspective-taking: recognizing your "obvious" may not be obvious to others
- Reflect on workplace parallels: unclear instructions, trust gaps, information overload
- Create bonding through shared vulnerability, physical challenge, and humor
How to Run This Game
Facilitator Script:
"Welcome to the Minefield! Here's the challenge: You'll work in pairs. One person will be blindfolded and needs to walk from this start line to that finish line without touching any of these objects on the floor. Your partner will stand at the finish line and guide you using only their voice - no touching, no stepping into the minefield. The catch? Multiple pairs will go at once, so it'll be noisy and chaotic. Clear communication and trust are essential. Let me show you the setup."
Actions:
- Before participants arrive, scatter 15-30 objects across floor space (cones, balls, cups, crumpled paper, etc.) - create challenging but navigable path
- Mark clear start and finish lines (tape or rope)
- Explain rules: blindfolded person crosses minefield, guide stays at finish line, only verbal communication, touching object means return to start
- Demonstrate briefly if helpful, showing good vs. poor instructions
- Form pairs (consider pairing people who don't usually work closely together)
Tips:
- • Space objects irregularly - not in straight rows - for more challenging navigation
- • Use variety of object sizes and shapes to add complexity
- • For very large groups, create 2-3 parallel lanes to reduce wait time
- • Safety first: clear space of anything sharp or dangerous, ensure floor isn't slippery
- • Have extra blindfolds ready (bandanas, sleep masks, or ask people to close eyes)
- • Consider playing soft background music to increase difficulty (harder to hear guide)
Facilitator Script:
"Pair up with someone you don't work with every day if possible. Decide who will be blindfolded first and who will be guide. Guides, you'll stand here at the finish line. Blindfolded partners, you'll start here. Remember: guides can only use words - be specific! Blindfolded folks, really listen for your partner's voice. You have 2 minutes to strategize together before we start."
Actions:
- Form pairs intentionally or let people partner up
- Have pairs decide roles (or assign: taller/shorter, older/younger to avoid hesitation)
- Give pairs 1-2 minutes to discuss strategy together
- Position guides at finish line, blindfolded partners at start line
- Apply blindfolds securely but comfortably
- Do final safety check: "Can you see anything? If you feel unsafe, just stop and say so."
Tips:
- • Partner people who don't normally work together to build new relationships
- • For established teams with trust issues, this can be diagnostic - watch who struggles
- • Emphasize: "This is about trust - guides, your partner is depending on you!"
- • Remind guides they cannot step into minefield or touch their partner
- • For virtual adaptation: guide a partner through a home task (build something, find object) via video
- • Have a "spotter" (facilitator or volunteer) near blindfolded people to catch if they stumble
Facilitator Script:
"Alright, blindfolds on! Guides, get ready. Blindfolded partners, listen only for your guide's voice. On my count: 3, 2, 1, GO! [As they navigate] Remember, if you touch an object, your guide will call out and you return to start! Keep going until everyone crosses!"
Actions:
- Ensure all blindfolds are secure
- Start all pairs simultaneously (this creates the communication challenge)
- Monitor for safety - stay alert to catch anyone off-balance
- When someone touches object, call it out: "[Name], you hit a cone - back to start!"
- Encourage guides whose partners are struggling: "Stay calm, keep guiding!"
- Continue until all blindfolded partners cross (or set 5-min time limit)
- Celebrate successes: applaud when pairs complete the crossing
Tips:
- • The chaos of multiple voices is intentional - it teaches filtering and focus
- • Watch for guides who get frustrated - note for debrief discussion
- • Notice which pairs strategized better - specific language, established signals
- • Common guide mistakes: using ambiguous directions ("go left" - from whose left?), saying too much, not accounting for partner's orientation
- • Blindfolded people often hesitate, freeze, or move very slowly - this is normal vulnerability response
- • Take mental notes of interesting dynamics for debrief
- • If someone is really stuck, you can pause and coach: "Guide, try telling them how many steps and which direction from their current position"
Facilitator Script:
"Excellent work! Now let's switch. Blindfolded folks, you're now the guides. Guides, you're now blindfolded. Before we start, take 1 minute to discuss: What will you do differently based on what you just experienced?"
Actions:
- Have partners switch roles
- Reset any knocked-over objects in the minefield
- Optional: rearrange objects to create new paths (increases difficulty)
- Give pairs 1 minute to discuss lessons learned and new strategy
- Repeat round 2 using same process as round 1
- Celebrate completions
Tips:
- • Round 2 is typically faster as people apply lessons learned
- • Watch for improved communication techniques - more specific directions, clearer pacing
- • Notice if role reversal reveals anything about power dynamics or communication styles
- • Some people are much better as guide vs. blindfolded or vice versa - worth discussing
- • If time is tight, skip round 2, but switching roles provides richer experience
- • Alternative: have pairs compete to cross fastest (but emphasize safety over speed)
Facilitator Script:
"Take off your blindfolds and gather around. That was intense! Let's reflect. [To blindfolded people] What was it like being blindfolded? What made you trust or doubt your guide? [To guides] What made giving directions harder than you expected? [To all] Where do we see this in our work - unclear instructions, noisy environments, needing to trust others? What will you take from this experience?"
Actions:
- Gather group in circle or seated together
- Start with feelings: "How did it feel to be blindfolded? To guide someone?"
- Explore communication: "What directions worked best? What caused confusion?"
- Discuss trust: "How did it feel to surrender control? To be responsible for someone?"
- Connect to workplace: "Where do we navigate 'minefields' at work? When do we need this kind of trust and communication?"
- Close with appreciations: "Thank your partner for trusting/guiding you!"
Tips:
- • This debrief is critical - don't rush it! The learning happens here.
- • Key themes to draw out: specificity in communication (directions must be from blindfolded person's perspective), trust requires vulnerability, calm tone helps under stress, listening in noise requires focus
- • Useful prompts: "What instructions were most helpful?", "Guides, what surprised you about this role?", "When do we give instructions at work without checking if they're clear?"
- • Workplace parallels: onboarding new employees (blindfolded = new person), cross-functional projects (navigating unfamiliar territory), delegating (trusting others to execute your guidance)
- • Acknowledge emotions: "It's okay if this felt uncomfortable - vulnerability is hard but necessary for trust"
- • End positively: "You all showed courage and teamwork. Let's bring this trust and clarity to our daily work."
Facilitator Tips
- Set up minefield before session starts to maximize activity time
- Use soft objects only (no glass, sharp items, or anything that could cause injury)
- Have at least one "safety spotter" per 3-4 pairs to catch anyone who stumbles
- The debrief is where the magic happens - allocate real time for reflection and connection to work
- For remote teams: have guide talk partner through building something at home (LEGO, origami) without partner looking
- Take photos during activity - blindfolded people navigating is visually memorable for team culture
- This exercise can reveal trust issues in established teams - be prepared for sensitive conversations
- Emphasize learning over winning - it's not about crossing fastest, it's about communication and trust
- Watch for teachable moments during the activity itself to highlight in debrief
Common Challenges & Solutions
Variations & Adaptations
Blindfolded person cannot speak at all - only guide talks. Increases difficulty and emphasizes guide's responsibility to give clear, complete instructions without feedback loop.
Each blindfolded person has 2-3 guides who must coordinate their instructions (only one speaks at a time by tapping next person). Adds teamwork layer for guides.
Once pairs complete successfully, do a timed round where pairs race to cross fastest. Adds pressure and excitement, tests communication under urgency.
Use themed objects related to your work (in tech: "bugs," "legacy code," "production incidents"). During debrief, connect each obstacle to real work challenges.
teams have used this game