Team Building Activity: Sabotage

Category: Games & Activities
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Overview

This is an excellent team-building activity that highlights the importance of trust between team members—without using the clichéd trust fall. It’s designed to spark conversation, reveal assumptions, and demonstrate how easily suspicion can undermine team effectiveness.

Setup and Materials

• Split the group into teams of 4 or 5 participants.
• One complete deck of playing cards for each team.
• Blank index cards, one per participant.
• Printout or display of a specific layout image (e.g., pyramid or grid of cards).

Directions

1. Shuffle each team’s card deck thoroughly.
2. Tell participants you will distribute index cards and that one person in each group may receive a card with a small “X” on the back designating them as a secret saboteur whose mission is to secretly sabotage the task.
3. Pass out blank index cards to each participant—none of which actually contain an “X.”
4. Reveal the image of the required card layout and explain that the winning team is the one who arranges the layout fastest.
5. Give groups 3 minutes to strategize, then begin the activity.
6. Observe confusion, accusations, and behavioral dynamics as the task progresses.

Debrief & Discussion

• Reveal that none of the cards had an “X” and there were no saboteurs.
• Facilitate a discussion:
  • How did it feel working in a group with the belief that someone was trying to sabotage the task?
  • Did you have any suspects? What behaviors led you to believe that?
  • What does this say about how easily trust can break down in teams?
  • How can suspicion or lack of trust affect team collaboration and performance?

Alternative Activity 1: Silent Minefield

Create a grid with markers on the floor. Assign one member of each team to be blindfolded while the rest direct them across the grid without stepping on any ‘mines’ (marked tiles). However, communication must be non-verbal (e.g., clapping, tapping, foot signals). Debrief to explore trust, clarity, and decoding under pressure.

Alternative Activity 2: The Misinformation Brief

Give each team a short written brief with a simple goal (e.g., build a tower). Secretly give one team member slightly incorrect instructions or misleading info (e.g., wrong measurements). Let the task unfold. Afterwards, explore how mixed messages and misalignment can harm team effectiveness—and the importance of verifying assumptions.

Related Training Material Package

Enhance your sessions with the Team Building Training Material Package.