Empires

Directions

Players write down a famous person on a piece of paper and folds it up. They are to do this so no-one else knows who they have chosen.

The facilitator collects the pieces of paper in, then they read the names out. Depending on group, you may want to read these names out more than once. Once the game has begun - the names are NOT to be read out again. It is up to the players to remember what names have been read out.

After the names have been read out, nominate a player to start the game. Player A asks player B if they are [insert a name that has been read out]. If player A guesses right, then player B joins player A's empire. If player A is wrong, then player B gets control of the game and gets the chance to build their empire.

The game gets slightly complex here. If player A has an empire, another player (player C) can go after player A's entire empire. To do this, player C must guess who player A is, as player A is the head of the group. If player C is correct, player A and all of their empire joins player C's empire.

Once a player joins an empire, they can not be separated from it, only the head of the empire can be guessed.

Players in an empire can confer between themselves - however, it is up to the head of the empire to make the statement and ask the other player. (This is were communication comes in, as players will forget the famous people, so collectively they can work out who is left.)

The game continues until one player has all the other players in their empire.

Alternatives

Instead of having famous people, why not choose a job, or item of food?

Tips for running this activity online

• Brief the exercise though keep it simple at this stage - this activity becomes much more clear when playing.
• Once you’ve decided on your topic (celebrities, favourite bands, fictional characters) have each participant DM you their choice in Slack.
• Read out all the names to the group. Depending on skill level, read these out a second time so people can remember them.
• When facilitating full group discussion, we’d recommend that participants use non-verbal means to indicate they’d like to speak. You can use tools like Zoom’s nonverbal feedback tools, a reaction emoji, or just have people put their hands up. The facilitator can then invite that person to talk.
• Encourage participants to talk and discuss in the side chat - the fun of this game comes from accusing and discussing who is who!
• Delineate which empire players belong by using Zoom icons, by raising a hand when asked which empire they belong to, or by having each user change the background based on their empire.