Win As Much As You Can the Red and White Game

WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN – THE RED AND WHITE GAME

There are two goals to this exercise: 1. Explore the impact of trust and betrayals of trust on communication. 2. Dramatize the importance of cooperation in achieving group goals.

10-15 minutes for set up and instructions 45-60 minutes for the exercise 40-50 minutes for discussion

General Set-up

Divide the group into partnerships of two people each; then group partnerships into clusters of three or four partnerships. If necessary to make the numbers work, a partnership can consist of three people, however, all clusters must contain the same number of partnerships. Having the group divided into partnerships and clusters prior to the start of the exercise will speed up the process.

Where possible, partnerships should be made up of people from the same function, branch, or level of the organization. Clusters should be composed of partnerships from different areas if possible.

Partners should sit next to one another, and far enough away from other partnerships in their cluster to allow for private discussions. Ensure that each partnership has a copy of the tally sheet appropriate for the number of partnerships in the clusters. Post a large sign [“WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN”] in a place visible to all participants.

Instructions to Participants

[NOTE: These instructions may be read to participants if you wish. The key is to ensure that the rules are clarified. As the game is being played, make several reminders that the goal of the game is to WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. During the course of the game, participants may ask whether WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN refers to the partnership or the cluster. Only respond by stating that the goal of the game is to win as much as you can.]

You and your partner have been placed in a cluster with two or three other partnerships [ensure that everyone knows who is in their partnership and which partnerships are in their cluster]. The goal of this game is to WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. You are to keep that goal in mind throughout the exercise. There are three rules for this game:  Each partnership must agree on a single choice for each round. The partnership is simply deciding whether to vote red or vote white based on the Tally Sheet information. The colors of the chips have no meaning other than to distinguish them.  You are not to discuss anything with the other partnerships in your cluster unless you are given specific permission to do so. This means no verbal or non-verbal communication.  You must ensure that the other partnerships in your cluster do not know your partnership’s choice [red or white] until you are instructed to reveal your chip.

Please take a few minutes to look at your Tally Sheet [allow 2-3 minutes]. Now take a couple of minutes to share your understanding of the Tally Sheet with your partner. [NOTE: it is not necessary that the participants, in fact, have a clear understanding of the Tally Sheet, only that they have looked at it. Scoring will become clear as the rounds of the game are played.]

Conducting the Game

Let’s begin with round one.

a. Please take a minute to discuss your choice for this round with your partner. [NOTE: it is OK to allow a little extra time for discussion in this first round. However, it is important to ensure that participants are only communicating with their partners and not with others in their cluster.] b. End of discussion time! Is everyone prepared to reveal their vote? On the count of three, reveal the chip your partnership has chosen. One, two, three, reveal…. [NOTE: There will probably be comments as the votes are revealed. Remind participants that they can only communicate with their partners at this time.] c. Please take a minute to mark your Tally Sheet indicating your partnership’s vote, the cluster pattern, payoff, and balance. [You may use one cluster to demonstrate the scoring process or assist with marking the Tally Sheet and scoring as needed.]

[Conduct rounds two and three in the same manner as round one.]

Round four is a bonus round. Payoffs for this round will be multiplied by three. Before you discuss your choice for this round with your partner, I am going to allow you to discuss the game with the other members of your cluster. After the group discussion, you and your partner will have one minute to decide whether to vote red or white.

a. You now have three minutes for discussion in your cluster. b. End of discussion time! Now, please take a minute to discuss your choice for this round with your partner. c. End of discussion time! Is everyone prepared to reveal their vote? On the count of three, reveal the chip your partnership has chosen. One, two, three, reveal…. [NOTE: There will undoubtedly be comments as the votes are revealed in this round if partnerships feel betrayed. Remind participants that they can only communicate with their partners at this time.] d. Please take a minute to mark your Tally Sheet indicating your partnership’s vote, the cluster pattern, payoff, and balance.

[Conduct rounds five, six, and seven like rounds one through three. Conduct round eight like round four, except the bonus value is five times the payoff. Conduct round nine like rounds one through three. Conduct round ten like round four, except the bonus value is ten times the payoff. Remind participants throughout this process that the goal of the game is to WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. Also ensure that partnerships only communicate with others in their clusters during the bonus rounds.] Discussion

After the tenth round, ask each partnership to share its ending balance. Post the balances for each cluster together, and compute a net cluster score. [NOTE: this will probably draw comments, especially if participants asked whether WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN referred to the partnership or the cluster.] Ask the participants if not defining YOU in the goal made a difference to them. Would they have voted differently if told that YOU = cluster? Would they have voted differently if told that YOU = partnership? Since the points are based on the pattern of votes in the cluster, it does not really matter whether WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN refers to the cluster or the partnership. The partnership’s score is dependent on the votes of the other partnerships. Voting red does not guarantee a win. A win is only guaranteed through cooperation with the other partnerships in voting white – the win-win solution.

Discuss the dynamics of competition in the game.  What types of things were discussed within the clusters during round four? [Common topics include the “sacrificing” of partnerships to allow one to raise its score. Sometimes a partnership that has more points than the others in the cluster will offer to “sacrifice” to allow others to catch up with them. If a partnership is behind, there is overwhelming temptation for that partnership to convince everyone else to cooperate and choose white, while they “defect” and choose red. The win-win situation of everyone choosing white is usually discussed during round four.]  How were the discussions during rounds eight and ten different from the discussion in round four? [Discussions during rounds eight and ten are based on how partnerships voted following the discussion in round four.]

Discuss the effect of trust and betrayals of trust on the playing of the game and cluster discussions.  Some people trust others implicitly. Sometimes you have to build or earn a person’s trust. How long does it take to build trust?  How long does it take to betray or destroy trust? [the tenth of a second that it takes to reveal a red chip]  Once a partnership felt betrayed, was continued betrayal inevitable?  How is communication impacted by trust or the lack of it?  How long does it take to re-establish trust?  What can be done to re-establish trust and obtain cooperation?

If this game is being used to focus on leadership and communication, continue with the following:  How important is communication in leadership?  How does this game relate to your ability to lead?  Are communication and cooperation dependent on trust?  How can you as a leader instill trust amongst your people?  How should you as a leader respond if you feel betrayed? TALLY SHEET – WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

For ten successive rounds your partnership will choose to vote either red or white. Your partnership must agree on a single choice [red or white] for each round. Keep your choice hidden until directed to reveal it in each round. Each round’s score depends on the pattern of votes in your cluster. Partners can talk to each other, but not to other members of the cluster unless permission is given to do so.

Payoff Schedule CLUSTER PATTERN PAYOFF FOR EACH RED PAYOFF FOR EACH WHITE VOTE VOTE 4 RED votes LOSE 1 point N/A 3 RED votes, 1 WHITE vote WIN 1 point LOSE 3 points 2 RED votes, 2 WHITE votes WIN 2 points LOSE 2 points 1 RED vote, 3 WHITE votes WIN 3 points LOSE 1 point 4 WHITE votes N/A WIN 1 point

Score Card ROUND YOUR VOTE CLUSTER PATTERN PAYOFF BALANCE (circle one)

1 Red White ____ RED ____ WHITE

Bonus 4 Red White ____ RED ____ WHITE Payoff X3

Bonus 10 Red White ____ RED ____ WHITE Payoff X10 TALLY SHEET – WIN AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

For ten successive rounds your partnership will choose to vote either red or white. Your partnership must agree on a single choice [red or white] for each round. Keep your choice hidden until directed to reveal it in each round. Each round’s score depends on the pattern of votes in your cluster. Partners can talk to each other, but not to other members of the cluster unless permission is given to do so.

Payoff Schedule CLUSTER PATTERN PAYOFF FOR EACH RED PAYOFF FOR EACH WHITE VOTE VOTE 3 RED votes LOSE 1 point N/A 2 RED votes, 1 WHITE vote WIN 1 point LOSE 2 points 1 RED votes, 2 WHITE votes WIN 2 points LOSE 1 point 3 WHITE votes N/A WIN 1 point

Score Card ROUND YOUR VOTE CLUSTER PATTERN PAYOFF BALANCE (circle one)