- To test how well teams perform when working under pressure
- To test teams’ understanding of a complex task
- To practise organisational and time-management skills
- To highlight the value of teams interacting and sharing data with other teams (in cooperation, not rivalry)
- To test teams’ approach to problem-solving (lateral thinking)
- 4 team version also available here
Ideally suited to:
Any training where the objective is to have fun and learn some critical lessons about teamwork and collaboration. Ideal for conferences.
To taste freedom, teams must discover the vital lock combination that releases the door. The lock combination is made up of a number of digits. Each team must find ONE of those digits so that when used together in the right order they unlock the chains.
Teams find the crucial digits by solving 8 problems. BUT - they are not all straightforward - it’s very easy to go wrong if you are not organised and paying full attention.
To ensure they solve the problems correctly, teams need to work with each other rather than competing. Wrong answers incur time penalties. Two such penalties, for example, reduce the time available from the original 60 minutes to just 50 minutes. It’s a race against time - but more haste often means less speed!
A correct solution to a problem earns teams a letter of the alphabet (although only the FIRST team with the right answer gets the letter). There are eight letters available which, when put in order with other letters teams already have at the start, spell out who locked them in the room. Teams need to know who locked them in before they can escape.
Teams’ objectives are: find the combination, discover who locked them in and build a tower that meets certain criteria or, in the virtual version, instead of building a tower, teams must solve The Courtyard Problem.
- Divide the group into ten teams of 3-6 participants and set the scene, explaining that the doors to the room are 'locked and chained' (for classrooms, posters showing locked doors are provided to stick on the doors - the doors to the room are not actually locked).
- Issue the Team Briefs (and team resources for the classroom version), announce they have 60 minutes to escape.
- Observe but do not get involved - except to stand by to receive teams’ answers to the problems.
- If the solution is correct, issue that team with a letter of the alphabet. If incorrect issue a 5 minute penalty to the whole group.
- At the deadline ask each team to announce their ‘digit’ that together make up the combination. Ask “Who locked you in?” and measure team towers.
- If ALL the criteria are met, within the deadline, then teams have achieved their objective and you can release the chains on the doors! They are FREE!
- Lead a debrief on the key lessons that were thrown into relief. Lots of issues to address! It's very straightforward to run a session.
Full guidance supplied in the Trainer’s Notes.
Hard & Digital Copy
- ☑️ Hard copy pack supplied (Tennis Ball x1 needed)
- ☑️ PDFs & PowerPoint supplied
Digital Copy
- ☑️ PDFs & PowerPoint supplied
- ❌You will need to source: Tape Measure x1, A4 Card (white x10 sheets, colour x10 sheets), Paper Drinking Straws (approx. 250), Fibre Pens (x1 red, x1 black), Sticky Tape x10, Rulers x10 & Tennis Ball x1
Full Contents
- Trainer’s Notes
- Trainer’s PowerPoint
- Trainer's Checklists
- Team Briefs
- Optional Assessment Form
- ‘Locks & Chains’ Door Posters
- Resources: Tape Measure x1, A4 Card (white x10 sheets, colour x10 sheets), Paper Drinking Straws (approx. 250), Fibre Pens (x1 red, x1 black), Sticky Tape x10, Rulers x10 & Tennis Ball x1
This activity is for face-to-face and virtual classroom use. The digital files are supplied via the Northgate Trainerhub.
This Northgate Training activity comes with a five-year licence for repeat use with up to 60 participants at a time, for use by Trainers based at one licence-holding site.
All Trainers physically based at the same office location can access the Northgate resources during the five-year term, including the digital resources supplied on the Trainerhub via your own site-specific Trainer Dashboard. If you have Trainers based at other locations, and/or remote workers, who would like to access and use the Northgate resources, we can advise further depending on your requirements.
For further information on our licence terms please view the Northgate Licence Agreement.
To use with more than 60 or for multiple site licences please contact us for a quote.
