Unleash Your Inner Detective: Find the Sneaky Werewolf and Save the Day!

What is Werewolf?

Werewolf is an incredibly fun and engaging team-building activity. It's a social deduction game where players take on different roles, mainly divided into two groups: the villagers and the werewolves. The objective of the game is to identify and eliminate the werewolves living in disguise as fellow villagers.

The game plays out through a series of 'days' and 'nights', decided by the facilitator. During the night, the werewolves secretly pick a villager to eliminate. During the day, the surviving players discuss who among them could be the werewolf, and vote to eliminate someone. The game continues until either all the werewolves have been eliminated, or the werewolves outnumber the villagers.

The Werewolf game requires strategic thinking, communication and analysis, and it's a great way to develop and enhance these skills while creating a fun, playful atmosphere.

Materials needed for Werewolf

• 1 Werewolf game set (Includes role cards)

How to play Werewolf

• Gather the players: Get all the participants together and explain the game to them.
• Assign roles: Randomly assign each player a role - either a werewolf or a villager. Make sure to keep the roles secret!
• Nighttime: Tell everyone it's nighttime. Ask everyone to close their eyes. This is when the werewolves will select a villager to eliminate.
• Werewolves choose: Instruct the werewolves to open their eyes and silently agree on a villager to eliminate. After they've made their decision, they should close their eyes again.
• Daytime: Tell everyone it's daytime and that a villager has been killed by the werewolves. Have the eliminated villager reveal their role, but not the identity of the werewolves.
• Discussion and voting: Give everyone a chance to discuss who they think the werewolves are. After the discussion, hold a vote to choose someone to eliminate. The person with the most votes will be 'killed' and their role revealed.
• Repeat: Repeat the nighttime, daytime, and discussion/voting steps until either all the werewolves are eliminated or they outnumber the villagers.
• Werewolves win: If the werewolves eliminate all the villagers, they win!
• Villagers win: If the villagers eliminate all the werewolves, they win!
• Have fun!: Remember, the most important part is to have fun and enjoy the game with your friends!

Benefits of Werewolf

Icebreakers and team-building activities like Werewolf are instrumental in creating a positive, cohesive, and productive workplace. These exercises help break down barriers between team members and foster a sense of camaraderie.

In the case of Werewolf, not only do players get to know each other better, but the nature of the game requires team members to work collectively to identify the werewolves. This encourages strong communication and collaboration, two skills crucial in any team environment. Plus, it's a lot of fun, which definitely makes for a happier team!

Some of the benefits of Werewolf include:

• The game enhances critical thinking and analytical skills.
• It promotes teamwork and helps build strong bonds among team members.
• Werewolf enables players to develop their communication skills.
• It's an excellent way of learning to respect and value each team member's opinion.
• Playing Werewolf can also help reduce stress and facilitate a happier, more relaxed environment.

Why we like Werewolf

We absolutely love Werewolf because it's more than just a game - it's a tool for enhancing collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills. The dynamic nature of the game, with its ever-changing circumstances, keeps everyone on their toes and engaged throughout. It's an easy way to create lasting bonds among team members while developing important skills. On top of all that, it's super entertaining and a great way to add some fun to the work environment.

Reflection questions for Werewolf

Reflection questions after the Werewolf activity can be a valuable tool to help participants draw connections between the game mechanics and their overall team dynamics. By asking targeted questions, you can guide the team members to reflect on how they made decisions in the game, their communication skills, and their ability to handle pressure.

These reflection questions shouldn't just focus on the result of the game, but rather on the process. This provides everyone a unique opportunity to acknowledge their strengths, pinpoint areas for improvement, and develop ideas on how to better collaborate in future team scenarios.

1. Did you initially suspect the werewolf correctly? - This question helps get a sense of how well team members trusted their instincts.
2. How did you communicate your suspicion publicly without becoming a target? - This query is aimed at understanding how members navigate sensitive circumstances in a group context.
3. What methods did you use to determine who the werewolf was? - This question guides team members to think about their problem-solving strategies.
4. How did you react when you found out your suspicions were wrong/right? - This is intended to dwell into team members' emotional responses in the face of unexpected outcomes.
5. What does your performance in the game teach you about your decision-making skills under pressure? - The purpose of this question is to make members self-reflect on their pressure management skills.

Which skills does Werewolf build?

• Deception - Deception skills can be super helpful in icebreakers and team building because it adds an element of fun and challenge, making people more engaged and likely to bond. It also encourages creativity and critical thinking, as participants have to think on their feet and strategize within the game.
• Deduction - Deduction skills can be a huge advantage in icebreakers and team building activities. They help you observe and understand people better, making it easier to connect and build relationships with others.
• 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.
• Strategy - Having strong strategy skills can enhance icebreakers and team building activities by allowing you to plan effective strategies, analyze different approaches, and guide your team towards common goals, fostering collaboration and problem-solving.

Tips for inclusivity

Making the Werewolf activity inclusive is the key to truly enjoyable and fruitful experiences. When everyone feels welcome, acknowledged, and comfortable, it enhances the team-building aspect of the game. Different perspectives enrich the gameplay and guessing game, while also introducing players to different ways of thinking. Resulting in enriching experiences and tighter bonds among team members.

• Encourage everyone to participate: Make sure everyone feels comfortable speaking up during discussions. It's not fun when only a few people dominate the conversation.
• Clarify the rules: Ensure all participants understand how to play the game before beginning. This will make sure no one feels lost or left out because they don't understand how to participate.
• Make it about more than winning: While the goal might be to find the werewolf, the real win should be making sure everyone has a good time. This less competitive focus can help people feel more included.
• Vary the roles: Give everyone a chance to experience different roles. This will ensure all players are actively engaged and feel a part of the game, regardless of their skill level.
• Handle disputes calmly: Sometimes disputes can occur over game decisions. Facilitate these conversations in a calm and respectful way, ensuring all voices are heard.