For items relating to popular education for union democracy, including blog entries, etc.
I learned this from my friend Jon Ander Musatadi, a young cooperative entrepreneur from Euskadi.
The Joker asks participants to think about the biggest problem they face in their work and write it on a piece of paper.
Then, in groups, the participants come up with two solutions: the best solution and the worst. The worst solution is like a nightmare scenario.
The game Loud & Proud is designed to played as a rapid-fire competitive matching game. http://store.toolboxfored.org/loud-proud/
It can also be played:
The card game Buffalo, by Mary Flanagan, is designed to be played as a rapid-fire competition between players. (http://www.tiltfactor.org/game/buffalo/)
It can also be played:
Play the game "Which would you rather be?" (have, do, see, eat...)
Do it first for fun, making the questions challenging, surreal, random, etc.
Then do it thematically: which would you rather be: a boss or a worker? A capitalist or a cooperativist? The questions should be real, not rhetorical or testing people's adherence to a political line.
In pairs, one person is the Engineer the other is the Robot. The engineer gives the robot instructions. The robot does exactly what z is instructed to do, if possible in the spirit of "yes, and...". It is okay for the robot to fail to perform an action -- that requires the engineer to adapt the instruction. This will be most interesting if the instructions are creative: write a poem, pretend to eat ice cream, explain the meaning of life...
Variations:
Sound shiritori, joker is judge of sound match, uses silent way to help people find the right sound.
Play --> Ace (or eight...)
No words ending in -ing.
Can combine with sound color chart that shows letter combinations per sound, but point is more to get people to stop thinking visually (letters) and think aurally instead.
For centuries board games have been used for entertainment, propaganda, and education. Monopoly was based on the Landlord Game, which was designed by followers of Henry George to education people about Land Rent and the single tax. Coopoly is designed to teach the challenges of running a worker cooperative. Some Japanese sugoroku games present bildungsromans or cautionary tales.
Excellent guide to instructions for games:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gv1WqLwVWeagmJiWVuvOeXHbTA4MEpXGV2yV...
Work & Education, Past and Future Sugoroku Process Notes
http://marshmallowchallenge.com
Great collaborative activity. Instead of the explicatory spin that Tom Wujec gives it, just ask participants the Jacotot questions: What did you see? What do you think of it? What can you make of it? There is a lot to see, so taking time with the first question (always a good idea) is especially important. I think it would pair well with Broken Squares, the Marshmallow game coming first.
I found this site while looking for a good write-up of the Marshmallow Challenge. I haven't had time to go through the games yet, but will. Seems like some of them could be useful -- like SWOT, which found its way into the Troublemaker's Handbook back in the day.
Standing in a circle, a group of five to ten people. The joker hands the first player an index card with a word on it (or an object or picture). Player 1 has to ask Player 2 a question based on that word. Player two answers, then does the same for Player 3, etc.
