When we simplified the 2014 Church diary, we dropped the September North/South half-church celebration meeting. However, in our typical wanting-it-both-ways manner, we encouraged Regions to arrange something that would bring folks together. I hinted to the Warwickshire and Leicester leaders that a joint event at Coventry Jesus Centre may nicely fit the bill. They weren't up for anything as 'set-piece', and decided just to mix up households for something on the Saturday afternoon and evening.
I had a vested interest, because it was a weekend that Mary and I were due to be in Coventry. And every visit to Kings House is drawing nearer to our final one when the Church closes it down. We took Steven and Jamie in tow. Folks from Spingfield trickled in after lunch. It turned out that most of the guys had gone for some hairy overnight adventure to celebrate Caleb's birthday. The weather was indifferent, so not an ideal day for activities outdoors.
James was in charge of divertisements, and launched us into a game of 'Empires'. I hesitate to explain the rules exactly. It starts with everyone conceiving an alias and the MC sticking up the choices (must be unique) on post-it notes without leaking any real identities. The youngest in the room kicks off the questions. "Mary, are you Florence Nightingale?" If "No", then Mary takes over the questioning. If "Yes", then Mary joins the questioner's empire (and is basically exempted from any further active part in the game). If you're lucky enough to guess the identity of someone who already has a budding empire, then they all come over into yours. To keep the questioning moving, the MC should allow about 15 seconds for thought. So you're best to line up a couple of next potential questions/candidates. The typical final outcome is that one person scoops the whole room, and is declared the undisputed winner.
It's intriguing at several levels. First, who do you choose as your alias. The younger children just tended to opt for fictional characters - say, Harry Potter or Postman Pat. The older folks tended to opt for someone they thought would be universally recognised, so there wasn't an obvious traceable link. It didn't always work because of the generational assumption: like, Reginald Bosanquet. Reginald Bosanquet??? Ah, almost before colour television. The devious picked someone less commonplace - Nicolas Cage, Angela Merkel. But equally the field of interest may give you away. Justin Bieber won, with Alexander Fleming proving resistant, and Xerxes baffling several early questioners.
It was the most effective icebreaker I've ever met. When you've exhausted asking your friends (and mostly guessing wrongly), you're driven to propositioning folks you've never seen or spoken to before. And risking exposing your impressions of them! Then, for the highly competitive, there are subtle tactics, like asking someone if they are your alias, so folks are put off the scent. At least, that's how we played it. Next time I think I fancy Jessica Ennis.
I had a vested interest, because it was a weekend that Mary and I were due to be in Coventry. And every visit to Kings House is drawing nearer to our final one when the Church closes it down. We took Steven and Jamie in tow. Folks from Spingfield trickled in after lunch. It turned out that most of the guys had gone for some hairy overnight adventure to celebrate Caleb's birthday. The weather was indifferent, so not an ideal day for activities outdoors.
James was in charge of divertisements, and launched us into a game of 'Empires'. I hesitate to explain the rules exactly. It starts with everyone conceiving an alias and the MC sticking up the choices (must be unique) on post-it notes without leaking any real identities. The youngest in the room kicks off the questions. "Mary, are you Florence Nightingale?" If "No", then Mary takes over the questioning. If "Yes", then Mary joins the questioner's empire (and is basically exempted from any further active part in the game). If you're lucky enough to guess the identity of someone who already has a budding empire, then they all come over into yours. To keep the questioning moving, the MC should allow about 15 seconds for thought. So you're best to line up a couple of next potential questions/candidates. The typical final outcome is that one person scoops the whole room, and is declared the undisputed winner.
It's intriguing at several levels. First, who do you choose as your alias. The younger children just tended to opt for fictional characters - say, Harry Potter or Postman Pat. The older folks tended to opt for someone they thought would be universally recognised, so there wasn't an obvious traceable link. It didn't always work because of the generational assumption: like, Reginald Bosanquet. Reginald Bosanquet??? Ah, almost before colour television. The devious picked someone less commonplace - Nicolas Cage, Angela Merkel. But equally the field of interest may give you away. Justin Bieber won, with Alexander Fleming proving resistant, and Xerxes baffling several early questioners.
It was the most effective icebreaker I've ever met. When you've exhausted asking your friends (and mostly guessing wrongly), you're driven to propositioning folks you've never seen or spoken to before. And risking exposing your impressions of them! Then, for the highly competitive, there are subtle tactics, like asking someone if they are your alias, so folks are put off the scent. At least, that's how we played it. Next time I think I fancy Jessica Ennis.
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