Names Stock Market
Names Stock Market is a noisy trading game for learning names, in which everyone writes their first name on five cards, the cards are shuffled and dealt, and players swap cards blind until someone holds five with the same name. The constant calling and trading means every name in the room is read and heard many times. The activity is published by playmeo.
Facilitation script
- 1
Distribute five cards and a pen per person; everyone writes their first name on each card in large letters.
2 min - 2
Collect, shuffle and deal five cards face-down to each person.
2 min - 3
Explain the aim and the trading rules, and demonstrate one trade with a volunteer.
2 min - 4
Open the market and let trading run until someone calls a full set.
4 min - 5
Winner finds the person whose name they collected; everyone returns the cards they hold to their owners.
2 min - 6
Optional second game with reshuffled cards.
3 min
Tips
Run it after a first round of introductions, not as the very first activity; the game reinforces names people have heard once, it does not introduce them.
Ask for large capital letters, because cards are read in a hurry.
When two people share a first name, have them add an initial so the sets stay distinct.
Common pitfalls
Using it as the very first activity, so players collect names with no faces attached and remember nothing afterwards
Shuffling poorly, which leaves cards with the same name clustered and ends the game in seconds
Not demonstrating a trade, so people show their cards or negotiate for specific names and the blind-trading mechanic collapses
Ending at the winner's shout without matching the name to its owner, which wastes the one moment the whole group is paying attention to a name
Ignoring duplicate first names, so two players believe they hold a full set of different people and the result is disputed
Variations
Find the owner: when the game ends, everyone returns each card in their hand to the person named on it, which adds a second round of name-to-face matching. Team finish: play until three people have a full set. For groups above 30, split into two markets so sets can still be completed in reasonable time. For fewer than ten people, use three or four cards each. playmeo also publishes a sibling activity that trades values instead of names.
Where it fits
When to use it
On the first morning of a multi-day training, after a quick name round, when 15 to 30 people need to fix each other's names
When a new group is polite and quiet and you want everyone moving and talking within a minute
With mixed teams from different departments who know some names but not all
When you have index cards to hand and ten spare minutes before the first content block
As a second name activity later in the day, to refresh names that have already slipped
When not to use it
The group is smaller than about ten; names are learned faster with Name Game around a circle
People already know each other well; pick an activity that reveals something new, such as Two Truths and a Lie
The room is small, echoing or next to other sessions; simultaneous shouting will be unpleasant, so use Crossword Names
Participants include people with hearing difficulties or sensory sensitivities for whom a loud trading floor is stressful
You want people to learn something about each other beyond the name; Trading Cards or Human Bingo carry more personal content
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Names Stock Market?▾
Names Stock Market is a name-learning game played like a trading floor. Each person writes their first name on five cards, the cards are shuffled and dealt, and players swap cards without showing them until someone holds five cards with the same name. It takes 10 to 15 minutes for 10 to 30 people.
What are the trading rules?▾
Everyone trades at once. A trade is always an equal swap of one, two or three cards, and the cards stay face-down so neither side knows what they are getting. Players find partners by calling out how many cards they want to exchange.
Does the game really help people learn names?▾
It helps with repetition: every player reads names off their cards dozens of times. It does little to connect a name to a face on its own, so add a step at the end where cards are returned to the people named on them, and run it after a first introduction round.
What materials do you need for Names Stock Market?▾
Five blank index cards per person and enough pens. Cards should be the same size and colour so they cannot be told apart from the back. For 20 people that is 100 cards, so count before the session.
How is it different from Trading Cards?▾
Trading Cards, from Gamestorming, has each person design one card with a self-portrait and a fact about themselves, which is then passed around and discussed. Names Stock Market is a fast competitive swap with only names on the cards. The first builds conversation, the second builds energy and name recall.
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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 playmeo.