This engaging group activity helps develop communication skills, perspective, and problem-solving skills. This game is based on the intriguing, wordless, picture books "Zoom" and "Re-Zoom" by Istvan Banyai which consist of 30 sequential "pictures within pictures.". The Re-Zoom narrative moves from an Egyptian hieroglyphic to a film set to an elephant ride to a billboard to a train.

To create the game from the book, separate the picture pages of the book into one-page sheets and laminate or place in clear plastic sleeves to protect them for prolonged usage.

Instructions

• Hand out one picture per person (make sure a continuous sequence is used).
• Explain that participants may only look at their pictures and must keep their pictures hidden from others.
• Encourage participants to study their picture, which contains vital information to help solve a problem.
• The challenge is for the group to sequence the pictures in the correct order without looking at one another's pictures.
• Participants will generally mill around talking to others to see whether their pictures have anything in common.
• Sometimes, leadership efforts will emerge to understand the overall story.
• When the group believes they have all the pictures in order (usually after ~15 minutes), they can turn them over for everyone to see.

Summary

A group tries to create a unified story from sequential pictures. The pictures are randomly ordered and handed out. Each person has a picture but cannot show it to others. Recreating the story's sequence requires patience, communication, and perspective-taking.

Equipment

Re-Zoom book by Istvan Banyai. This book is shipped intact. To create the game, the pages of the book need to be separated into one-page sheets, trimmed, and then can be laminated or placed in clear plastic sleeves - I have mine laminated

Facilitator's Notes

• Can be done indoors or outdoors.
• Once the challenge is finished, allow everyone to see the pictures and encourage participants to sort out any mistakes in the order (can be done on a table or the floor), then let everyone walk around view the pictures in sequence so they understand the full story.

Group Size

20 to 30 is ideal but can be done with fewer (see variations)

Time