Minefield
Minefield is a trust and communication exercise in which a blindfolded person crosses an area scattered with objects, guided only by the spoken directions of a sighted partner who stays outside the boundary. Partners then swap roles and reflect on what it takes to give clear instructions and to rely on someone else's. It is a long-standing adventure-education activity; its originator is not established.
Facilitation script
- 1
Set the frame: explain the task, the boundary, the touch rule, the stop word and that blindfolds are optional. Form pairs.
4 min - 2
Planning time: pairs agree on their words and signals.
3 min - 3
First crossings: all walkers start together while you spot from inside the area.
7 min - 4
Swap roles. Give one minute to adjust the system, then run the second crossings.
8 min - 5
Optional extra attempt with a rearranged field for pairs who want to beat their touch count.
5 min - 6
Debrief: what helped you trust your guide, which instructions worked, what the noise did, and what the team will take into daily work.
10 min
Tips
Stand inside the area yourself as a spotter and agree one word, such as "freeze", that stops everyone immediately.
Do not fix a communication system for the pairs; the planning time and the first failed attempt are where the learning comes from.
In the debrief, ask walkers and guides separately first, because the two roles experience the same crossing very differently.
Common pitfalls
Using hard or sharp objects, or running it on uneven ground, which turns a trust exercise into an injury risk
Treating the blindfold as compulsory, so people who are uncomfortable either comply under group pressure or are exposed by refusing
Leaving the area unspotted while several blindfolded people move at once, which leads to collisions between walkers
Running pairs one at a time to keep things tidy, which removes the cross-talk that makes clear communication hard and leaves most of the group waiting
Cutting the debrief when time runs short, so participants remember a fun obstacle course and take nothing back to how they brief each other
Variations
Team version: one walker is guided by the whole team, or several guides each control one direction. Restricted language: guides may only use a fixed number of words, or no numbers. Relay: each pair must collect a specific object on the way. Change the layout between attempts so memory does not replace listening. Remote adaptation: one person shares a simple maze on screen and draws or moves a cursor with eyes closed while a partner gives directions; this keeps the communication task but loses the physical trust element.
Where it fits
When to use it
On a team day, when you want an experience of depending on a colleague that can be debriefed in concrete terms
In communication or leadership training, to make the gap between what a guide means and what a walker hears visible
With pairs who will work closely together, such as new tandems, mentor and mentee, or handover partners
When a team complains about unclear instructions or noisy channels and needs a shared reference experience
Outdoors or in a large empty room, with at least 20 minutes and time for a proper debrief
When not to use it
Trust in the team is already damaged or there is open conflict; asking people to be blindfolded in front of colleagues they distrust can deepen the problem, so start with a conversation format such as Trust Battery
Participants have balance, mobility, vision or anxiety conditions that make blindfolded walking unsafe or distressing and no adapted role is available
The floor is uneven, wet or cluttered with hard furniture, or the space is too small for the number of pairs
You have less than 20 minutes; without role swap and debrief it is only a game, and Helium Stick gives a quicker shared challenge
The audience would find a war-related name or theme inappropriate; rename it Pathfinder or choose Blind Square
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Minefield?▾
Minefield is a pairs exercise for trust and communication. One partner is blindfolded and has to cross an area full of soft objects without touching any of them, while the other stands outside and guides with words only. The partners then swap roles and the group reflects on the experience.
What does the Minefield activity teach?▾
It shows how precise an instruction has to be when the listener cannot see what the speaker sees, and how much a shared vocabulary agreed in advance helps. It also gives people a physical experience of relying on a colleague, and of being responsible for one. With several pairs working at once it demonstrates how noise crowds out even good instructions.
How do you keep Minefield safe?▾
Use only soft, light objects on a flat, dry surface, and keep hard furniture out of the area. Make blindfolds optional, agree a stop word that freezes everyone, and stay inside the field as a spotter. Ask walkers to move slowly with hands slightly raised in front of them.
How many people can take part in Minefield?▾
A 5 by 5 metre field comfortably holds four to seven walkers at once, so 8 to 15 people is the ideal size; it also works with as few as six. For groups of up to 20, enlarge the field, set up a second one, or have several pairs wait and observe before their turn.
What are good debrief questions for Minefield?▾
Ask walkers what made it easier or harder to trust the voice guiding them, and ask guides which instructions worked and which were misunderstood. Then ask how pairs changed their system between attempts and where the same patterns show up in handovers, briefings or remote work.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Adventure education (traditional; originator unknown), as described by playmeo.