Card Games for Developing Teams

Citation

Mann, S. (2001), "Card Games for Developing Teams", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 88-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2001.22.2.88.6

This is a great idea, but it is a little confusing to work out what is what and which bits and pieces you need. Provided in the main kit (at £165) is a spiral bound A5 book (86 pages) which explains how each of the 30 games work. The games are grouped into discussion games, sorting and assessing, acting, artistic, implementing and “other” games and each includes a learning objective, explanatory summary, approximate running time, directions for play, variations and debriefing questions (all in the book). All the games makes use of the “Developing teams” cards, two identical packs of which are provided in the main kit. Some games require extra materials and these are also supplied (e.g. an A2 game board).

Now, here is the confusing part. The pack of cards can also be used for three simple games without the book for £35. A total of 52 cards are provided, each with titles such as “share a common mission”, “focus on key goals”, and “understand role in organization”. Below the title is an illustration and a short paragraph describing that particular characteristic of effective teams, as well as a question or two for the game‐player. The 52 cards are also divided into four sections (I told you it was confusing!) that each covers an essential area of team development: unity, communication, support and performance.

The games themselves are obviously all very similar variations on the same theme – the pack of cards. I cannot help but be impressed that 30 different ways of using the cards have been identified, but, at the end of the day, they are still the same cards so there is little point using more than a couple of games with the same group of people (or the boredom factor will start to rise). Thus, I cannot see a huge benefit in purchasing the manual, except that there is a greater range and type of games to choose from. But, the cards on their own with instructions for the three games are good value and a great taster for the rest of the set.