Draw It Behind
Somebody draws a shape on your back. You draw what you felt on theirs.
People stand in lines facing away from the screen. Only the person at the back of each line turns to see a shape, then draws it with a finger on the back in front, and it travels up the line to the front, where it gets drawn for real. What arrives is never what was sent, and the line watching its own game of telephone go wrong is the funny part.
Line up in sixes, all facing away from the screen. Only the back of each line turns round to see the shape. They draw it with one finger on the back in front of them, and it travels up the line. The front person draws it for everyone. One go each, no talking.
Before anything about instructions, handovers or how detail gets lost — and when a room is happy with light contact.
Props: Something to draw the final shape on — a flipchart or a whiteboard
Run this when…
If none of these is your room, pick another.Before a session on briefs, handovers or specifications
A group who work in a chain and pass work along
Any room that will enjoy watching a message degrade
How to run it
Written to be glanced at mid-room, not memorised.
- Split into lines of six to eight, everyone facing away from the screen.
- Say once that anybody who would rather not be touched stands at the front of a line and draws instead.
- The back of each line turns and looks at the shape on screen for ten seconds. Everyone else faces forward.
- They draw it with a finger on the back in front. One go, no talking, no repeats.
- It travels up to the front person, who draws it on the flipchart.
- The screen shows the original to compare. Round two is a harder shape, and a race.
Running it well
Only the host sees these. Participants never do.
- The first shape is always a simple one — a star, a house, a fish. They degrade beautifully; anything complicated turns into noise by the second person.
- Because everyone faces away from the screen, only the back of each line can see the shape — check the lines are turned before the first shape appears.
- Racing the lines on the second, harder shape doubles the energy and gives you a winner, which the first round deliberately does not have.
Watch out for
Space, safety and the traps worth knowing before you start.
- This one involves touching a colleague's back. Say clearly before you start that anyone who would rather not can take the front position and draw instead, and make it an easy, unremarkable choice.
- Keep it to the upper back, over clothing, with a single finger. Say that once, plainly.
Seated version
“Everybody stand up” is not a neutral instruction. Offer this alongside, not instead.
Lines of chairs all facing the same way work perfectly. Nobody stands at any point.
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.
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- Where
- Needs a room
- Props
- Something to draw the final shape on — a flipchart or a whiteboard
- Big screen
- Required
- Teams
- Individual only