Overview - Group Survival Scenario Exercise
- A classic group communication and decision making exercise, with
many variations.
- Works for a wide variety of ages and purposes, indoors or outdoors.
- There are two classic types of "paper & pencil" group survival scenarios
(selecting equipment and selecting people). In each case:
- Provide instructions & hand out materials
- Set a time limit (~15-30 minutes)
- Let the group go - answer questions, watch, & observe!
- Debrief
Scenario Type 1:
Choose Survival Equipment
Your plane crashed...your group needs to choose the 12 most useful
items to survive...
Choose / rank
equipment items in terms of their relative survival value:
- Participants choose/rank the items individually
- Discuss choices/rankings in small group and come to a group
consensus
- Score answers against "expert" opinion
- Possible scenarios:
- Lost at sea or island survival (shipwreck)
- Desert (plane crash)
- Space or Moon
Scenario Type 2:
People Survival Scenario (Who will be saved?)
A nuclear bomb has been dropped...a radiation-free shelter is
available, but can only take 6 people; choose who will survive...
Choose / rank people in terms of who will get to live or die
in situations with limited survival resources:
- Participants role play characters (a bit like a Murder Mystery)
-
 Can lead to high emotions;
people get intensely engaged, particularly when choosing who will
survive, and none of
the decisions are easy.
- No right answers - any so-called "correct" answers are based on
debatable values (e.g., ageism, sexism, racism)
- Highlights individual's dispositions, group processes and decision making
- Possible scenarios:
- Nuclear war shelter
- Oxygen dwindling (space, moon, mars)
- Lifeboat / Sinking ship (sea)
Variations
- Appoint a time keeper in each group and encourage them to be the
person who monitors the progress of the group towards achieving
consensus within the time frame.
- To emphasise individual versus group decision making, split the session into
three parts:
- Individuals make their own selections first, on paper
(5-10 minutes)
- Groups (or sub-groups) then discuss and create a group
decision
- Compare individual and group performances, e.g.,:
- For equipment scenarios, group decisions are usually more
accurate than individual answers, helping to illustrate the
importance of collaborative group decision-making.
- For people scenarios, score individuals according to how close the group's decision was
to their own selections of who is to live and die (an indicator of
each person's influence over the group).
Possible Debrief Questions
- How were decisions made?
- Who influenced the decisions and how?
- How could better decisions have been made?
- How was conflict managed?
- How did people feel about the decisions?
- How satisfied was each person with the decision (ask each
participant to rate his / her satisfaction out of 10, then obtain a
group average and compare / discuss with other groups' satisfaction
levels)
- What have you learnt about the functioning of this group?
- How would you do the activity differently if you were asked to do it again?
- What situations at work/home/school do you think are like this exercise?
Caveman meets Modern Camper by Frik, 2003 |
Equipment
- Scenario briefing
(1 per group)
- List of items/people
(1 per person)
- Expert list
(number optional)
- Free downloads listed below
Summary
- A classic group communication & decision making exercise.
People get intensely engaged because the "survival stakes" are high and none of
the decisions are easy. Works for a wide variety of ages and
purposes, indoors or outdoors.
Group Size
Time
- Total ~45-100 mins
- 5-10 minutes briefing
- 15-30 minutes exercise time
- 5-10 minutes scoring (for select equipment scenarios)
- 20-30 minutes debrief &
discussion
Survival Scenarios (free)
Choose Equipment Scenarios
-
Plane Crash & Winter Survival Simulation Game
(classic rank 15 survival items exercise)
-
Lost at Sea [.pdf]
(classic 2 page summary guide - p.1 is the activity list of items; p.2 has the
answers)
-
Lost at Sea [.pdf]
(more detailed Lost at Sea description plus with generic theory
and debriefing material)
-
Lost at Sea [.pdf]
(a third version, with medium-level detail)
- Survival on the Moon
(classic survival in space exercise)
Choose People Scenarios
Complex Scenarios
-
Wilderness Survival
(involves 12 multiple choice questions about what to do
in survival situations; work individually and then in groups, receiving
points for good decisions)
-
Island Survival
(indepth, elaborate scenario and scoring for longer
scenario exercise; well explained for school settings)
- Westward Ho!
Survival Scenarios (kits)
Related Links
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