No.160
Whisper Relay
Japanese name: 伝言ゲーム
Materials
- A written short message
- A clock or timer
How to play
- Line up in groups of 4–6. The facilitator shows each group's first person the same short sentence, such as “A cat wearing red shoes goes for a walk.”
- On the signal, the first person whispers it to the next person once only. Keep it quiet enough that other groups and people farther along the line cannot hear. Do not press your mouth against anyone's ear.
- Each listener passes on what they heard. Nobody in the middle may return to the first person to check the original.
- The last person says the sentence aloud. Compare it with the original and enjoy how the words changed. Change the first person and try about three messages.
Ways to adapt
Preschool children: one word. Younger primary school children: a short sentence. Older primary school children: a sentence containing two pieces of information. Avoid words that are difficult to pronounce.