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How big is a "team?"

Jun 04 |09:27

People often ask us, what's the right number of people to have on a team in one of your team building games?

We sometimes suspect they're also asking, what's the right size for ANY team?

The answer is: whatever works best for YOU. Our team-building events are designed to help YOUR team work better together by having fun. Who are we to say how big your team should be?

And with respect to our events: Our games are very scalable. For example, Search Party has been played by teams ranging from one to over twenty (yes, one... some teams just roll that way), with total participants ranging in size from two to six hundred.

Some games work better with larger groups. For some it's a purely financial reason. For example, Search Party at the Kennedy School or in Forest Grove require food and beverage service (which, by the way, can be a big plus - feeding your team) that are based on 20 or more people.

Other games, like Alias and Alibi or Freewheel, have logistical considerations that make them more suitable for larger groups. Alias and Alibi involves intense immersion including interaction with Secret Agents that make somewhat larger teams and groups work best for that game (hence the 20 person minimum). Freewheel, our bike-build-for-charity game, is best for groups of 35 or more. But we've done it for groups numbering in the hundreds. (Often, in fact.)

What's right for your team? Give us a call. We'll talk about it in a no-nonsense, frank matter, without sales pressure. We want your team to have the right experience - which might just be our least-expensive game.

That works for our team.

On Memorial Day, remember those who still serve

May 28 |07:22

This Memorial Day, take a step away from your BBQ grill for a moment and give thanks to the team who have preserved your freedom to relax and take this day off.

Not just your right to do it, but the opportunity.

And not just those who have fallen in past wars - although of course they are due all of our honor and thanks.

Remember, too, that men and women continue to venture into harm's way to serve our country and defend our way of life.

Including men and women of the Oregon National Guard, who continue to serve in Afghanistan.

This Memorial Day, our team salutes those who have served, and those who continue to serve.

We urge you to remember those still on active duty.

In honor of those still serving, Run Brain Run will offer its Operation Care Kit team building exercise at a special price off. Book by Friday, June 1 at 5 PM and you pay only $30 per person (minimum $750).

You build the care kits. We'll ship them free.

The soldiers will appreciate it more than you know.

What happens in a Search Party/scavenger hunt game?

May 21 |07:07

We get a lot of questions from you about our games. Some of them come up more frequently than others. Here's one that comes up a lot.

"What happens in your Search Party game? Is it like a scavenger hunt?"

Yes, it is very much like a scavenger hunt. Only it's way more fun.

The games vary by location and by which options you choose to include, but in the basic game, here's what happens:

1. Icebreaker and Intro - We start by getting people divvied up into teams with an icebreaker that gets people moving around and having fun right away. It takes just a few minutes and guarantees laughter.
2. Three or more team challenges - typically something that involves everyone, helps bond the team and create team identity... intermixed with:
3. Searching for answers to clues - cleverly worded clues and riddles that test your powers of observation in the environment, then
4. Return to the point of origin for scoring your team's efforts and find out the "true" answers, and
5. Announce winners, award "extremely valuable" prizes, and wrap it up.

Trial size packaging for team building

May 14 |07:51

Flight restrictions as well as convenience have spawned a whole separate line of product packaging for many companies. The under-3.5-ounce package for shampoos, conditioners and other lotions now occupies its own aisle in many grocery and department stores rather than the corner bin of the toothpaste aisle.

It's not only a convenience for traveling, but also for trying new products. Don't want to invest in a 24-oz bottle of the latest cleaner or mouthwash? Throw a buck or two at the pocket-sized container. Pretty low-risk investing, right?

You can do it with team building, too.

A full-on team outing can run you hundreds if not thousands, depending on the size of your team and the vendor/product combination. It's a great value if it works, but how will you know unless you try it?

So, try it.

Run Brain Run offers Scavenger Hunt Search Party games for individuals to try out, either just for their own fun or as a scout for the future office party. Nearly identical to our Search Party games for teams, they provide a very low-cost way of investigating whether it's a good fit for your team.

The events occur each month. They cost only $25 per person - or, if you poke around the Run Brain Run "Public Playdates" web page (there's one for both Seattle and Portland), you can find the tricky-slicky signup form for a discount code to get it down to $12.

Here's Seattle's schedule:

Seattle Art Museum

First Thursdays monthly, 11 AM
Upcoming games: June 7, July 5, August 2

Pike Place Market

First Saturdays monthly, 11AM
Upcoming games: June 2, July 7, August 4

Seattle Central Library

Third Saturdays monthly, 11 AM
Upcoming games: May 19, June 16, August 18

Here's Portland's:

Pearl District

First Thursdays, Spring thru Fall, 6 PM
Upcoming games: June 7, July 5, August 2

Central Library

First Saturdays monthly, 11AM
Upcoming games: June 2, July 7, August 4

Pioneer Courthouse Square

Third Saturdays monthly, 11 AM
Upcoming games: May 19, June 16, August 18

How about we take it outside?

May 07 |07:26

Sometimes all your team really needs is a change of scenery and a little bit of fun.

That means:

1) getting them out of the office,

2) doing something really different.

With sunshine and temperatures in the 70's projected as far as the weather forecasters are willing to predict, an outdoor scavenger hunt (or charitable fund-raiser, or immersion spy game) seems like it would fit the bill just perfectly.

In Seattle, you could get a game like those arranged for your team by the end of the week in: