Remember how you used to play games as a kid? You’d spin the dial … maybe spin it again if you didn’t get a good flick, then wait with excitement to see where it lands. If no one was looking, maybe you’d give the spinner another whirl – at least you thought no one was looking.
Well, the spinning experience never gets old! Furthermore, you don’t have to go to a casino to find one of those super fun devices. Grown-ups can enjoy the same excitement they remember from times gone by when playing learning games at work, in meetings, and more. Try a handful of these activities to put your spinning prize wheel to good use!
The first thing to consider is how you’ll be using your spinning prize wheel. Do you intend to use if for Conferences? Learning? Marketing? Employee Engagement? Your answer to this question will help you weigh the 5 Ss: the size, space, number of sections, swapping prizes, and sizzle:
Deciding what to put on the wheel is the biggest decision you’ll have. But at least it’s a fun challenge. Consider these tips:
Once you’ve decided WHAT goes on the wheel, it’s fairly easy to transfer those ideas onto a wheel. If you have a dry-erase wheel, well, that’s self-explanatory–just write on the wheel. For template-style prize wheels, template software is readily available from the manufacturer, and available for download after you’ve made your purchase.
Game Board Advancer: Spin to generate the number of spaces to advance on a game board. For this use, you might number the sections from 1 to 6 and then include one or two spaces that say “Back one space” or “Advance 2 spaces.”
Award Game Points: Spin to determine how many points the next question will be worth. Using this method, you can either have players advance this number of spaces on a game board, or simply tally the number of points each team accumulates. For added fun, label one section “Double the points of your next spin.”
Select Questions: When playing a question-and-answer game, spin to select which category of questions to ask each group. The spinner determines the topic from which the question will be asked. If the team responds correctly, points are added to their tally. If they respond incorrectly, points will be deducted. To add additional excitement, add either a “Bonus” question category – valued at double point value – or “Lose a turn.” Another variation is to add “Pass” cards. Simply hand out 2 “Pass” cards to each team. If a team decides to use one of these cards, they do not have to respond to the question and risk losing points. Instead, they can choose a competing team to pass along the question. The receiving team will have points awarded or deducted, depending on the quality of their response.
Select Contestants: Spin to select a player or a team to answer a question or complete a task. Simply assign numbers to each participating member or team.
Time Selector: Spin to select the amount of time teams have to complete a task or the amount of minutes of the next class break.
Select a Letter: Spin to select a letter from the alphabet.
Random Choices: Choose anything at random, for instance:
Pick a topic: Create a spinner with six of your own topics for discussion. Have participants spin the wheel to select which topic you’ll open for discussion. Alternatively, prepare a set of 10 to 12 questions for each topic. Then, divide the group into teams and let each team spin the wheel to determine which question category they must answer. If they respond correctly they get to advance 1 space on the board or receive a designated number of chips or points. If they respond incorrectly, this completes their turn. Consider “upping the ante” by designating a number of points for each question, depending on its difficulty.
Scenario Creator: This application requires 3 spinners. For spinner 1, prepare a range of ‘subjects’ such as: customer, manager, client, etc. For spinner 2, prepare a range of ‘issues’ such as: invoice, performance appraisal, delivery date, progress report, co-worker, etc. On spinner 3, prepare a range of ‘actions’ such as: did not get approval, was never told about…, received incorrect data, lost the report, etc. Then have a team spin each of the 3 spinners to select and report on their random scenario.
With so many fun uses for prize wheels, what are you waiting for? Find your perfect game spinner at Trainers Warehouse!
Want to Improve Class Participation? Start by Knowing Your Goals