Guess Who? Hosts and Guests: The Ultimate Team-Building Game!

What is Hosts and Guests?

Hosts and Guests is a captivating team-building activity that takes social interaction to the next level. It's more than just a game. It's a journey of discovery where players slip into the characters of hosts and guests. The fun lies in the thrill of guessing each other's identities, without letting your own character be divulged.

Players are divided into two groups - Hosts and Guests. Everyone is given a specific identity, known only to themselves. The guests have to mingle, ask questions, and gather clues about who the hosts might be. Similarly, the hosts also interact and pick up hints about the guests' identities. The aim is to guess each other's characters before your own is discovered).

As an icebreaker, Hosts and Guests promotes social interaction, communication, and sporting spirit, making sure everyone is engaged and invested. It's an exciting way to get teams to know and understand each other on a whole new level while having a ton of fun.

Materials needed for Hosts and Guests

Hosts and Guests requires no materials or tools to play. Just bring yourself and a few others and you'll have a great time!

How to play Hosts and Guests

• Gather participants: Bring together a group of participants to play the Hosts and Guests icebreaker activity. The group can be of any size.
• Assign roles: Designate some participants as hosts and others as guests. The number of hosts and guests can be determined based on the group size and your preference.
• Explain the rules: Briefly explain the rules of the game to all participants. Let them know that the hosts will be responsible for engaging the guests and making them feel welcome.
• Start the activity: Once everyone understands the rules, start the activity by giving hosts a few minutes to prepare for the guests' arrival.
• Guests arrive: Invite the guests to enter the room or designated area where the activity is taking place. The hosts should warmly welcome and interact with the guests.
• Rotate roles: After a certain amount of time, announce that the roles will switch. Guests become hosts, and hosts become guests. This will allow everyone to experience both sides of the activity.
• Continue playing: Repeat steps 4-6 multiple times, allowing participants to engage with different people and experience various roles.
• Wrap up the activity: Once everyone has had the chance to play both roles, conclude the activity by gathering the participants together for a group discussion. Encourage them to share any interesting experiences or insights gained during the game.

Benefits of Hosts and Guests

Icebreakers and team-building activities are fundamental in creating an amicable work environment, encouraging trust, communication, and mutual understanding between team members. They are pivotal in promoting cooperation and improving team performance. When it comes to the Hosts and Guests activity, it's an immersive game that serves as both an icebreaker and a team-building activity.

While icebreakers foster understanding and familiarity within the team, Hosts and Guests takes it a step further. It brings team members together in a fun and challenging environment, enabling them to work together, enhancing their communication, and ultimately reinforcing bonds. It supports team performance by promoting active participation and engagement.

Some of the benefits of Hosts and Guests include:

• Boosts Communication: The activity encourages players to interact and ask questions, enhancing their communication skills.
• Breaks the Ice: It helps to break down barriers within the group, making everyone more comfortable with each other.
• Stimulates the brain: The guessing game requires players to think, assess and make calculated assumptions, stimulating cognitive agility.
• Encourages bonding: The game promotes team bonding and cooperation, as players work together to figure out identities.
• Fun and entertaining: Above all, it's a great source of entertainment that makes team-building exciting and enjoyable.

Why we like Hosts and Guests

We love Hosts and Guests because it's not just a typical team-building game, it’s an experience. It’s a platform for team members to let their guard down, immerse themselves in a different character, and interact freely with each other. It's amazing to see how quickly it breaks down the barriers and helps team members warm up to each other. The thrill of the guessing game adds an exciting edge, making it really engaging. Plus, it's a great way to inject some fun and laughter into the team, making it an activity everyone looks forward to.

Reflection questions for Hosts and Guests

In the Hosts and Guests activity, reflection questions play a crucial role in deepening the learning experience and building a stronger team. After guessing each other's identities, players can use these questions to better understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors during the game.

These questions are not just focused on the game as a whole, but also on the different roles players took on, whether a host or a guest. This helps shed light on how different roles are perceived and the variations in attitudes and behaviors depending on these roles.

Through these reflection questions, individuals have the opportunity to express their experiences, while the team gets to learn more about each other and explore new strategies for future games.

1. What strategies did you use to guess the identities? - This question is used to encourage participants to share their thought processes and approaches to solving problems.
2. How did you feel about being a host or a guest? - This question helps explore feelings and attitudes towards different roles in a team.
3. What would you do differently if you played the game again? - This question provokes thoughts about adaptation and learning from past actions.
4. Did this activity help improve your communication skills? - This question is designed to check if the game is fulfilling one of its key purposes – enhancing communication.
5. What did you learn about your teammates throughout this game? - This question is meant to stimulate discussion about person-to-person interactions and team dynamics.

Which skills does Hosts and Guests build?

• Imagination - Imagination skills are super helpful for icebreakers and team building because they allow people to think creatively and come up with unique ideas, making the activities more engaging and fun for everyone involved!
• Communication - Communication skills are essential for icebreakers and team building because they facilitate effective and open dialogue, allowing team members to connect and understand each other better, which leads to improved collaboration and problem-solving.
• Listening - Listening skills in icebreakers and team building promote effective communication, understanding, and empathy among participants, fostering a positive and cohesive team dynamic.
• Role-playing - Role-playing skills can help break the ice and build a stronger team by encouraging people to step out of their comfort zones and engage in interactive scenarios, allowing for improved communication, empathy, and problem-solving abilities.

Tips for inclusivity

Everyone should feel welcome during the Hosts and Guests activity. Having a diverse mix of identities enhances the game, making it more entertaining and educational. It teaches players to appreciate others' unique characteristics and spreads an atmosphere of inclusion.

• Ensure that everyone has a chance to play both the role of a host and a guest. Rotating roles gives everyone equal playtime.
• Reword or remove some character identities if they might cause discomfort or offend someone. It's all about having fun, not causing distress.
• Encourage players to respect each other's guesses and identities. Avoid making fun or offensive comments about the characters or the guesses.
• Ensure that the game environment is friendly and safe. The goal is for everyone to feel comfortable, accepted, and able to participate fully.
• Accommodate all ability levels. If someone has a hard time understanding the game, pair them up with someone who is more experienced. Knowledge sharing is a great way to foster an inclusive environment.