Win All You Can Game (The Game of Life) (Troop Activity)Time Allowed : 60 minutes
Learning Objectives
This is an application session designed to reinforce the learning points about leadership that were introduced in earlier sessions, including living the values, stages of team development, and teamwork. It will help participants realize the importance of ethical leadership and servant leadership, use of the Golden Rule, the Scout Oath, and the Scout Law as guides for leading one’s self first, and then leading others. It demonstrates the feelings and actions of people who feel betrayed, and it demonstrates that no one wins unless everyone wins.
Note: This session is a game—and only a game, but it can have a powerful and long-lasting impact. People learn by doing. They experience situations and then process how they feel about it. They generalize how this experience fits into everything else they know and come to conclusions, usually on their own, about the game’s learning points. Yes, there can be emotion and hurt in this game. It is better to come to grips with what ethical leadership is (and is not) in a game than it is to learn in real life. A lot of the lessons we learn in life are learned from our mistakes or the mistakes of others, and those mistakes can be painful.
Select the facilitator carefully. Bring in a guest facilitator if you don’t have the right person on your staff.
The key to the game is the debriefing. During the game, some learners are taken down to the depths of despair. The debriefing needs to carefully bring them back up, with a new understanding about leadership and life and the role they can play in each. The cracker barrel that follows should be a feel-good event, a celebration about trust, truth, honesty, promise-keeping, and loyalty. Don’t allow it to be a wake. Rather, it is a happy fellowship taking place among a group that has a new appreciation for the values that are central to Scouting, just as those values are also central to leadership and to living life itself.
Materials Needed
• Large signs, saying The Game of Life and Win All You Can!
• Two 6-by-6 inch cards for each group (one picturing the Wood Badge ax and log on both the front and the back of a bright green card; the other picturing the Wood Badge beads on both the front and the back of a bright red card)
• Handouts (one per participant), printed with the scoring system on one side and the game rules on the other side
• Scoreboards (one for every four groups, see appendix)
• Markers
• Pocket calculators for each group (optional)
Recommended Facility Layout
Troop meeting area (see note on floor plan setup)
Delivery Method
The game is presented by a lead facilitator. In addition, a scorekeeper is assigned to every four groups. If necessary, staff members may be used to comprise additional groups. The total number of groups playing the game must be divisible by four.
References
• Order of the Arrow, National Leadership Seminar (syllabus),
Presentation ProcedureSetup of the Game
To play this game there must be a minimum of four groups, and the total number of groups in the game must be divisible by 4 (that is, 4, 8,12, etc.). Each patrol should be a group. Additional groups may need to be created from among the staff so that the total number of groups is divisible by four.
The groups are further clustered into larger groups, with four small groups (patrols) in each one. Each of these larger groups has a facilitator/scorekeeper and a scoreboard on which to tally the scores for the four groups in that cluster.
The lead facilitator directs the entire game and the debriefing that follows.
Presumably, the game will take place in the troop meeting room and the patrols can be at their usual tables, depending on the number of additional groups to be added to the game. It will be helpful to disperse the staff facilitators and scoreboards around the room and have the smaller groups in each larger cluster be reasonably close to the groups they are serving. Some movement and separation of tables may be appropriate beyond the normal room setup.
Note for staff members playing the game: The senior patrol leader and troop guides should have no active part in the game other than the senior patrol leader leading the group in reciting the Scout Law before round 10. Troop guides need to be watching their patrols for signs of intense feelings. When necessary, staff members form groups and play the game with participants. Staff members should know of their involvement in advance and have their group name and cheer predetermined. If more than one staff group is required, scatter them so there is only one staff group in each large cluster.
Staff behavior during the game should be passive rather than active. Staff members can participate but should not generate ideas during conferencing. Live the Scouting values. Don’t coerce anyone participating to lie or cheat.
Always be honest and ethical. Cast votes according to your commitments.
Also, don’t disclose any knowledge of the game or the learning points the game is intended to illuminate. It is up to the participants to figure out those on their own or to come to understand them during the debriefing. The game, and this session, will teach itself when properly presented and debriefed. That is not to say this session does not require a strong facilitator to present it; it simply means that, when the facilitator presents and leads the game correctly, participants figure out most of the learning points on their own, and the facilitator’s role is primarily to lead the conversation to bring them out.
Play the game all the way through, even when people appear down or outraged by what is happening, or even when it appears the patrols understand it. As the stakes of the game are raised, patrols often change the way they play.
Occasionally someone in a group may remember having played this game previously. If so, that is fine. Let them know that this particular version of the game has been specifically adapted for Wood Badge. Experience indicates that individuals who know the game will have no more influence on their group or on the game itself than those who have never played.
Playing the Game
At the beginning of the game, the facilitator announces the name of the game:
The Game of Life. “The objective of the game is to win all you can!” The facilitator should repeat this often and with great enthusiasm, and should ask the participants to repeat the name of the game and its objective often throughout the game.
Show the rules and scoring system on a flip chart and distribute the handout, one to each participant. Review the scoring and the rules (detailed below). If there are questions about the rules, facilitators should not provide other information except to remind groups constantly that the objective is to “win all you can!”
To begin, ask each group for their name and to develop a group cheer, if they don’t already have one. Ask groups to start performing them right away. Don’t give them much time. As performances begin, react to those you like and those you don’t. Chastise any groups that are slow to perform in a friendly, teasing way. Keep it light—and fun.
The key at this stage is to create a high energy level. Think of yourself as a cheerleader at a campfire. Work to create enthusiasm.
You are seeking strong group identity and you’re building a sense of competition between groups. This can be a fairly chaotic time. It is the last session on the second night (or the last night of the first weekend) of the course and participants are ready for fun. They have just finished the Wood Badge Game Show session, and this session will seem, at first, to build on that.
The Rules
1. Each group will choose a name, preferably one that is unique and clever. (Patrols can use their patrol names.)
2. Each group should be able to perform a cheer, yell, or song to express its enthusiasm for participating in The Game of Life.
3. Once the game begins, participants may talk only with members of their own group—no exceptions.
4. One member of each group should be designated to hold up one of the group’s cards (the vote) when instructed to do so during each round of the game.
5. Points are awarded to groups according to the score sheet. Decisions of the facilitators are final.
6. Win all you can!
Explain the Scoring
It is so simple that some people won’t believe it. To determine scoring, each group decides to hold up (cast a vote with) one of the team’s cards, either the red “ax and log” card or the green “beads” card. The lead facilitator counts to three. On three, the designated leader of each group must hold up the card the group has selected. Based on the vote, the facilitators/scorekeepers record the scores within each cluster of four groups. That completes a round.
In total, 10 rounds are played. Scores are reviewed and groups encouraged to perform their cheers after rounds three, six, and nine. The lead facilitator should call on each scorekeeper to report and comment on the scores of each group. Guides should report the scores and comment like a TV sports commentator.
Point values are doubled for rounds four, five, and six.
For round four and for the remainder of the game, groups are permitted to send one representative from their group to confer with representatives of the other three groups in their cluster before the vote for that round. Allow a few minutes for conferencing and a few minutes for the conferees to discuss the conference with their groups before voting.
Note: This conferencing dimension of the game should not be revealed to participants until it comes up in the course of the game. Only one conferee per group is allowed to conference with representatives of other groups. Except for the conferees, no talking is permitted between groups.
Point values are multiplied by five for rounds seven, eight, and nine.
Conferencing continues in each round. Usually some element of lying and betrayal has begun among the groups during these rounds. Enthusiasm for the cheers and the scores begins to wane and may be snuffed out altogether. While continuing to encourage a display of spirit, the facilitator should acknowledge this waning enthusiasm to the entire group and wonder out loud, naively, what is happening. Don’t ask for or invite any debriefing or conversation at that point, however. That should only occur at the end of round 10.
After round seven or eight, the facilitator may want to remind participants of Scouting’s values all of which are clearly posted on the walls of the meeting room from earlier sessions of the Wood Badge course, and have been the focus of much of the course so far.
Before playing the final round (round 10), the facilitator invites the senior patrol leader, who has not been playing the game, to come forward to lead the troop in reciting the Scout Law. Point values are multiplied by 10 for this round. This is a final chance to win. One final conference is held for round 10, votes are taken, final scores are tallied, and the scorekeeper makes a final report after the round.
Note: It is possible (and occasionally it happens) that some group will figure out in conference that the only way for everyone to win is for all groups to hold up “beads” cards. If that occurs, great. But don’t react. Just keep playing the game.
The Debriefing
Begin the debriefing by talking with the teams that lost “big.” Ask them to describe what happened and how they feel. Move from group to group, from those with the lowest scores to those with the highest. You are trying to find someone on a losing team who expresses the learning points of the game. If you find such a comment, pursue it for further understanding and elaboration. Take time for every losing team to talk.
Note: Sometimes the facilitator will become aware during the game that an individual or team has figured out the learning points. If that is the case, don’t go to them right away during the debriefing. Talk with others first. Save those who have figured it out for last, if possible. Deal with what happened and feelings first. Then move to lessons learned—the learning points from playing the game.
Point out how to win the game; that is, by everyone voting all “beads” all the time.
Be alert for people who feel emotionally hurt by the game and the betrayal of people in their group or in other groups. If you come across them in the debriefing discussion, acknowledge their feelings and move the discussion to other people to continue the debriefing. After the session you’ll need to come back to those who were deeply affected by the game and talk with them to help them bring a positive closure to the experience.
Be alert. This is a powerful game and can trigger strong emotions. There is a fine line between “anger” and “danger.” Participants are often shocked to realize that such a simple game can become so complex and so revealing. Most participants easily recognize the comparison between life and The Game of Life.
The debriefing allows the facilitator to drive home important points about leaders and leadership, having to do with trust, honesty, teams, and teamwork. The you in “win all you can!” is all of us. No one wins unless everyone wins.
All of these things and the feelings people have about their participation in the game need to be covered and discussed by the facilitator during the debriefing. Each game is always unique and unpredictable—so is the debriefing. The facilitator will have to adjust the discussion and cover the learning points somewhat differently for each game, on the fly, using what actually happens in each particular game to validate the learning points.
When the participants have voiced their opinions and feelings, move to the learning points below to close the session.
Sometimes, to reduce emotions and tension, the facilitator may want to take personal responsibility for setting up the players to bring out the worst in them during the game. That is certainly preferable to allowing any blame to continue beyond or after the playing of game.
This game, properly played and presented by the facilitator, will practically debrief itself, with most of the learning points expressed by the participants in their own words. Don’t force it, just let it happen, and allow participants to make of it what they will.
The Learning Points
The Game of Life is truly fascinating. In the game, people may behave in much the same way that people do in real life. Some are honest. Some cheat. Some start out the right way but change, or are changed by others. Some carry a grudge. Some plot and plan to get even. Tempers are aroused and feelings hurt when people are betrayed.
All of us carry these potentials around with us, and all of us are sometimes guilty of acting on them. We’re not perfect. We’re all students of The Game of Life, just as we are students learning about leadership in this Wood Badge course.
The game was just a game—a mirror, if you will—to help us see ourselves and our imperfections a little more clearly. That way we can do something about them. If we choose to do so, we can improve and grow personally.
Trust is so important, it is included as the first point of the Scout Law.
Trust actually has to do with four separate values: honesty, integrity, promise-keeping, and loyalty. They all come into play in The Game of Life, in real life and in the art of leadership.
• Honesty. There are two kinds of honesty: honesty in communication and honesty in conduct. Honesty in communication requires a good-faith intent
to be truthful, accurate, straightforward, and fair in all communication so that people are not misled or deceived. Honesty in conduct prohibits cheating, fraud, subterfuge, and trickery to acquire anything of value.
• Integrity. Integrity is about consistency between principle and practice. It requires us to “walk our talk” and to make decisions consistent with our values, especially our ethical values.
• Promise-keeping. A promise or other commitment creates a legitimate basis for another person to rely upon us. Once given, it imposes the responsibility of making all reasonable efforts to fulfill it. It is an absolutely critical aspect of trustworthiness.
• Loyalty. Loyalty implies a special responsibility to promote and protect the interests of certain persons or organizations. It is a duty that extends beyond the normal obligation of concern for others.
When a leader is unable to demonstrate all of these values through his actions, people lose confidence. They stop trusting. Without the trust of those they are leading, leaders cannot lead for very long.
Trust is virtually impossible to regain once it is lost. No one wins The Game of Life unless everyone wins. The you in “win all you can!” is all of us. For a leader, winning all you can” should mean that everyone needs to win. Those who win at the expense of others are not really winners, nor are they effective leaders.
Groups fall apart (and leaders are ousted) when people are betrayed. Sometimes leaders even betray those they lead. Sometimes groups betray other groups to achieve an objective.
Participants in this game (and leaders in real life) need to think through who the
“ ,, . .you is in win all you can!” Effective leaders walk the talk; they put loyalty to others, and to the team, first. They live the meaning of the Scout Oath and Law.
As leaders in Scouting, and as leaders in our families, our workplaces, and our communities, we have a tremendous responsibility and a dilemma. The responsibility is to constantly set the very best possible example and to be the role model in everything we do, say, and are. The problem is, we are not perfect. We are flawed human beings, just like everyone else on the planet. Sometimes the temptations we face in The Game of Life get to us, and we do things we realize, in hindsight, that we should not have done.
The dilemma we face is between our responsibility to those we serve as leaders— thinking about what is best for them, for the group, for the team—and of “winning all we can” for ourselves.
As leaders in Scouting, there is only one way for us to face that dilemma, and that is to put others first—the group, the team, those we lead. In a sense, the leader is actually the servant of those he leads.
The Scout Oath puts it simply: To help other people at all times. The best leaders know this. They know who the YOU is in “Win All You Can!”
To close the session, form a closing circle, repeat the Scout Oath and Law under the leadership of the senior patrol leader, and sing “On My Honor.”
