Useful bits and interesting bobs, No. 5
Every other week I try to highlight an actual thing that might be helpful or interesting for DSL's. This week it's the game series 'Sussed?'*...
This game used to be one of our family favourites, and then one day I realised it could also be great to use at work. Great for getting people to open up and especially great as a getting-to-know-you exercise, which might be particularly helpful as school’s start to think about their transition plans for the summer term.
The way Sussed works is each player takes a card with various questions on them. You then take it in turns to read out your questions and the different options you have for answers, and the other players have to guess which option you’ll choose. You all write down your guesses, and then at the end of the game you take it in turns revealing all of your answers. So it’s basically a test of how well you know or can predict someone. Here are some examples of the sorts of questions you get:
Q What do I most wish I could do?
A Make things disappear
B Travel at super speed
C Turn back time
Q What am I most afraid of?
A Injections
B Germs
C Mice
Q What do I think is the best advice for dealing with stress?
A Believe in yourself
B Think positive thoughts
C Keep busy
There are actually lots of different editions of Sussed. Those first two questions are from the Yellow or ‘All Sorts’ version which is great for younger kids (purchase here). The last question is from the ‘Emotional Intelligence’ edition which is absolutely brilliant - although it can get a little deep - but it looks like they don’t make that one any more. It’s possibly been replaced by the Green edition, and is definitely more suitable for older children.
And how might you use it at work? In my experience a lot of ‘getting to know you’ sessions involve a worksheet and/or some pretty formulaic questions. They can often be a bit dry and some children can retreat into one word answers. I’m not saying that they’re bad or wrong, I’m just offering this as an alternative.
For starters, if you ask most kids at school if they want to play a game then they’ll at least be a bit more interested. But what’s really important about Sussed is it puts the adult and the child on an equal footing. You’re both playing the game together and both answering and asking questions, so it breaks down that dynamic where children can feel like they’re just having to talk about themselves. (Yes, I realise that most children actually love talking about themselves, but not all of them). As a rule of thumb, personally I’m pretty boundaried at work, but I recognise that a bit of controlled sharing can help to build mutual trust and develop relationships with those we work with.
A few other things that make Sussed particularly good as a game to use in schools is that:
It doesn’t take long (a two player game will last 5-10 minutes) and everyone finishes at the same time
You can play it with just two players or pretty large groups
The rules are very simple
The game doesn’t really work if people aren’t honest, which in my experience bizarrely makes children more likely to be
It can’t be dominated by individual players and the turn taking is very structured
Most importantly, it’s not that competitive and the scoring is all done at the end, so whilst you’re actually playing it’s nice and relaxed
Basically, it’s good because it’s nothing like Monopoly, which I’ve always thought should really be called FightInABox.
* All children are different. Something that might be suitable for some, might not be suitable for others. Other people might not rate this game or find it doesn’t work for them. And before sharing anything with actual human beings, I’d always recommend checking it out yourself first, to see if it’s a good fit for them.
If you’ve got any suggestions for my next ‘Useful Bits and Interesting Bobs’ segment then please do get in touch.
I’ll be back next Monday with another blog piece. Until then, on Sunday it will be five years since the first Covid lockdown started, so my challenge this week is to try and appreciate our ‘normal’ lives as much as possible (even when that’s going to the supermarket, or a particularly hectic playground duty!). Good luck with it…