Group games are a great way to help break the ice and create lots of laughter around a room. Whether you’re playing with children or adults, you’ll find the icebreaker game, Human Spelling an ideal game to play. Discover why below.
Features of the Human Spelling Game
| ★ Game Name | Human Spelling |
| ★ Group size | small and medium |
| ★ Age | any (6+) |
| ★ Type | stationary |
| ★ Skill | acting / memory / erudition |
| ★ Place | outdoor or indoor |
| ★ Time | up to 5 – 15 min |
| ★ Preparation | no |
| ★ Materials | watch or phone |
The aim of the Game
The goal behind Human Spelling is to have the players spell a word using their bodies. They must move and sway their entire body to make up the alphabets while their group tries to figure out the word. While the mechanics may sound simple, it’s a tough game to execute but leads to a lot of laughter because of how silly everyone will look.
Ideal Group Size and Age
Human Spelling is ideally played around groups of 6 to 12 people. You’re always welcome to add more players into the mix, but you’ll want to be able to separate all the players into equal groups. The game can be played by anyone aged 6 and up.
Preparation and Materials
To prepare for Human Spelling, you’ll need a watch or phone to keep time and a list of words beforehand. Do provide ample space for your players to move around and supervise children in case they fall.
How to play Human Spelling
Start by putting your players into groups. To make Human Spelling the ideal icebreaker game, you should assign the groups instead of allowing your players to choose their teammates. This allows everyone to mingle and forge new friendships as they work together to win. Once all your groups have gotten acquainted with their teammates, it’s time to play Human Spelling.
Step 1: Ask for a volunteer from every group and show them a word from your word list. They’re not allowed to tell their team the word directly and must spell it with their bodies instead.
Step 2: The first team that guesses the correct word gets them a point. Once a team guesses the word, they can then switch volunteers for the second word. This allows everyone to spell the word and guess.
Step 3: The first team that reaches 10 points or has the most points at the end of a time period will win the game. To help make the game easier, you may provide your players with some clues. For example, if the word is “cake” then you could tell them that it’s a 4-lettered dessert.
Alternative ways to play Human Spelling
To add more variations to the way you play Human Spelling, you may consider these alternatives:
- Include a theme: Instead of playing with random words, you can introduce a theme to your group of players. For example, the words can be solely related to Christmas or Halloween, depending on the type of party you’re throwing.
- Form a sentence: To make the game more difficult, you could have your players form a sentence with the word that has been spelled. For instance, once they have guessed that the word is “cake” then they must make a sentence such as, “It’s time to eat cake.” Many people find it hard to form sentences on a whim, so this will add a layer of excitement to your game.