Count & Move
Count to thirty. Except some numbers aren't numbers any more.
The group counts upward, but multiples of three become a clap and multiples of five become a jump. Fifteen is both. Everyone fails somewhere in the twenties and the failure is the funny part. Three minutes, no props, and it takes a room from half-asleep to fully present faster than anything else here.
Split into two groups. Count together, one number each. Whenever you hit a multiple of 10, everyone dances. You have 60 seconds. Highest count wins!
You have three minutes and need attention back in the room — the classic mid-afternoon slump where people are physically present and mentally elsewhere.
Props: None
Run this when…
If none of these is your room, pick another.Three minutes to sharpen a drifting room
A quick reset between two heavy sessions
Any size of group, including a very large one
How to run it
Written to be glanced at mid-room, not memorised.
- Stand in a circle if you can, or just have everyone stand where they are.
- Count around the group, one number each, starting at one.
- Add rule one: anything divisible by three is a clap, not a word.
- Run it once to about twenty so it settles.
- Add rule two: anything divisible by five is a jump.
- Fifteen is a clap and a jump. Let them find that out.
- Speed up. When someone slips, restart at one and enjoy the groan.
- Advanced: swap the rules over — three becomes the jump, five becomes the clap.
Running it well
Only the host sees these. Participants never do.
- Restarting at one is what makes it, so do not go soft on it — the groan is the energy you came for.
- Aim to get to thirty. Beyond that it is repetitive rather than harder.
- With more than forty people, do not go round the circle — point at people at random. Everyone has to stay ready.
- Swapping the rules at the end is worth it. People who had it mastered fall apart, which resets the hierarchy.
Watch out for
Space, safety and the traps worth knowing before you start.
- Jumping does not suit every room or every floor. Offer a hands-up instead and take it yourself once so it is clearly normal.
- Nobody should be made to perform alone — if one person keeps breaking it, switch to random pointing.
Seated version
“Everybody stand up” is not a neutral instruction. Offer this alongside, not instead.
Clap stays a clap; jump becomes both hands in the air. Loses nothing.
Variations
For the second time you run it with the same group.
- Replace the actions with a word from the session's own vocabulary.
- Two circles racing to thirty.
Run it yourself
Free for thirty days, no card. Put it on the projector and step through it — nobody in the room needs a phone.
Start freeAlready have an account? Sign in
- Where
- Needs a room
- Props
- None
- Big screen
- Required
- Teams
- Individual only