Teamwork can be frustrating, especially if you think you can solve the problem quicker yourself! Every team member has to balance the desire to do things their own way with the need to access a wider range of skills and knowledge. Every team leader needs to understand team member behaviour. Are ideas being built up or knocked down? Is the team accessing all the skills available to it by engaging everyone in the process?

• A card based logic puzzle for groups of 8-12 members.
• It comes with cards for two groups.
• Needs between 45 and 90 minutes depending on the group dynamics and the outcome required.
  

Jonathon Strangeways is dead! The information required to solve the mystery is dispersed amongst the project team. Will they work together to discover the facts? Do they take the time to evaluate each other's ideas? How well do they communicate?

• A card based problem solving exercise for groups of between 6-12 members.
• It comes with cards for two groups.
• Needs between 45 and 90 minutes including discussion time.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link; so too is a team. To succeed in this task every member of the team must undestand what is being done and why. If the team is unable to achieve this then their differences will be exposed and they will fail. If the exercise is used with an appointed leader then failure will result in simulated dismissal.

• A card based exercise for groups of 5-9 members.
• It comes with cards for two groups
• Needs about 75 minutes including discussion time

Information is scattered amongst the group so that everybody knows something but nobody knows the whole picture. What is the objective? How can each team member contribute to achieving success? Has the team leader got the skill to open a fruitful discussion? Will the team be encouraged to present their ideas effectively?

• A card based exercise for groups of 6-12 members.
• It comes with cards for two groups.
• Needs between 45 and 90 minutes including discussion time.
  

You have limited information, a single clue. Each action you take will reveal further information, but at a cost. How effective is your group at working together to create a common understanding, developing a plan and most critically making time to review progress and evaluate performance?

• A unique puzzle for groups of between 3-6 members. 
• It comes with two sets of materials.
• Needs between 30 and 90 minutes for decision making and communication. For examining performance and developing a review process it will need up to 2 hours. 
  

Two parties are pitched against each other in a situation where only one can win.  Can the parties break out of the traditional adversarial approach to problem solving and find a mutually beneficial solution?

• A card-based exercise for a single group of 5-12 members.
• It comes with materials for three groups
• Needs one hour.

‘Adversity is a fact of life. It can’t be controlled. What we can control is how we react to it’. So how good are your teams’ problem-solving skills? Can you be sure they will make robust decisions in difficult times? Do their actions support your company objectives?

The Team Builder’s Toolkit offers an effective seven stage problem-solving process, highlighting potential pitfalls and exploring strategies for avoiding them. Players gain experience of how to improve team performance at each stage of the process, and learn how to foster a working climate which is conducive to problem-solving. The package encourages self-analysis and open debate, and has been developed to pull your team together and maximise its effectiveness.

· A portfolio of games and activities
· Materials for up to two groups of 3-6 members each
· Needs between one and two hours per activity
· Suitable as the basis of a series of workshops, or as the foundation for a 2 day course