WEB Leader Handbook
Name Ball Scramble (10 minutes)
Name Ball Scramble
pg 1 of 2
Why THIS Name Activity?
Intro: “Names are important and the first step to getting to know
someone, so now we are going to play an activity to get to
know each other’s names.”
Set Up & Rules
1.Group sits on the floor in a circle. The WEB Leader, holding a tape
ball, says their name and passes the tape ball to the person on the
right; that person says their name and then passes the tape ball to the next person.
2.When the tape ball gets back to the Leader, the Leader repeats this process with the paper ball except
this time the paper ball is passed to the left.
3. Next, the Leader passes the tape ball to the right again, this time saying their name AND the name of
the person the tape ball is being passed to.
4.When the tape ball gets back to the Leader, the Leader repeats this process with the paper ball, this
time passing to the left.
5. Now the Leader passes both the tape and the paper balls at the same time reminding the group they get
to say their name and their neighbor’s name. Do this around the circle one time. Remember: tape goes
to the right and paper goes to the left.
6.When the tape and paper balls get to the Leader, the Leader holds on to them and explains:
a. “While we are passing the tape and paper balls, if you hear me yell ‘Stop!’, everyone stops what
they are doing; if you are holding either the tape ball or the paper ball, it’s your chance to say
your name and the name of the person on your right and your left.”
b. If you hear me yell ‘Scramble!’ everyone gets to jump up, find another spot in the circle and
quickly sit down; if you are holding either the tape ball or the paper ball at that time, just hold on
to it until everyone’s in a new spot and it’s time to pass them again.”
c. “If you hear me yell ‘Gotcha’, the group stops passing and the people with the tape and paper
balls get the chance to say the names of everyone in the group.” Make sure the group celebrates
those who try this!
d. “Throughout this whole activity , you always have two permissions:
i. you have permission to not know someone’s name and
ii. You also have permission at anytime to ask someone’s name
...continued on next page
©2017 - the boomerang project
WEB Leader Handbook 5
WEB Leader Handbook
Name
Scramble
Name?
What’s
In aBall
pg 2 of 2
Name Ball Scramble (continued)
7. Before continuing the activity bring out the other tape ball and paper ball. The Leader keeps
one paper ball and gives the other three to people throughout the circle. When you say “GO!”, everyone starts passing the tape balls and paper balls in the direction they
should go…tape goes right, paper goes left.
8.Round One will last about 2-3 minutes and during that time the Leader will do the following
commands, with about 30 seconds in between each command. Make sure that one or both of
the WEB Leaders always has a tape or paper ball during ‘stop’ and ‘gotcha’.
a. Stop b. Scramble c. Stop d. Scramble
e. Gotcha
9.After the “Gotcha!” is completed, tell the group you are going to challenge them by asking
them to remove their nametags.
10. Play Round Two for 1-2 minutes doing these commands, with about 30 seconds in between each:
What’s Important!
a. Scramble b. Stop c. Gotcha
11. Remember, as the Leader, you have to have a tape
or paper ball in the second “Gotcha” so that you
can go first in saying everyone’s names.
12. After you have completed the “Gotcha”, ask if any
one else would like to say all the group members’
names.
Outro:
“Now that we’ve started to learn each other’s names, we’re going to do an
activity that will reinforce the names and be a lot of fun.”
©2017 - the boomerang project
WEB Leader Handbook 6