Play recipe | the perfect duck

This is a great game for a short play session. Works best as appetizer for brainstorming, idea-storming, story refinement, look-ahead modelling, and similar sessions high in collaboration. The recipe also is a tasty introduction for any workshop.

Ingredients

• a set of LEGO ducks for every person (get them here)
• you can substitute the LEGO ducks for sets of 5-10 bricks that could also be used to build a duck, or another animal (your imagination is the limitation). Make sure that the sets are identical. The fact that every participant has the same bricks is a key part of the game. Having animal-like bricks, such as the right colour (yellow for ducks, green for turtles, etc.) and bricks with eyes help lower the barrier for first-time LEGO players.

First bake (build)

1. OK, everyone open their bags
2. Now, I want you to build a duck. Quack quack! You have 60 seconds.
3. Great! Now stand up and find a partner. Say: "Good morning/afternoon. How's your morning/afternoon?", and tell them how your duck is perfect.
4. Switch and listen to the other person tell you how their duck is perfect.

At this point, you can extend the game by having them find one or two more partners and repeat the same steps above. This allows them to meet more people, and gets more energy into the room.

Second bake (build)

1. Look at all those perfect ducks. Go ahead and have a seat again and take your duck apart. Be sure to snap a photo of your perfect duck before taking it apart.
2. Now I want you to build something that is not a duck. You have 60 seconds.
3. Perfect. Now stand up and find a new partner. Someone you haven't partnered with so far. Say: "Good morning/afternoon. How's your morning/afternoon?", and tell them a brief story about what you built.
4. Switch and listen to the other person tell you a story about their non-duck.

Here is one way to vary the second build.

1. Look at all those perfect ducks. Go ahead and have a seat again and take your duck apart. Be sure to snap a photo of your perfect duck before taking it apart.
2. Now I want you to build another duck. More quack quack. You have 60 seconds.
3. Perfect. Now stand up and find a new partner. Someone you haven't partnered with so far. Say: "Good morning/afternoon. How's your morning/afternoon?", and this time I want you to tell them how their duck is perfect.
4. Switch and listen to the other person tell you how your duck is perfect.

Cooling the cake. Or good ways to debrief.

• Go ahead and hold up your ducks (or non-ducks), did anyone build the same duck?
• No? Why do you think that is? Expect answers along the lines of "we are different", "we all think differently", "there were no requirements", "we all have different experiences with ducks". Accept them all with a "yes and what else?"
• So now that we are about to start ___________ (insert your collaborative undertaking here), how do you think building a duck might help us with __________?
• If I don't get 'deep enough' answers, I will add: "I like to think that the duck game illustrates our cognitive empathy. That we are able to empathize and value our differing ways of thinking." Sometimes I will add: "did anyone tell you what you had built was not a duck? No? When it comes to creativity and new ideas, our brains are actually hardwired to find fault with them before finding value in them (which is related to our survival mechanism). Meaning, in brainstorm sessions we are often very quick to shoot down new perspectives and different-thinking ideas. However... we just showed each other that it is possible to keep an open mind to new and 'wacky' duck builds. Let's carry that momentum into the brainstorming."

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Want to play more at work? Follow my Daily Ducks in your LinkedIn feed for more ideas.

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Hat tip to Stephen Walling, Denise Meyerson, and Jacqueline Lloyd Smith for inviting me into the world of LEGO ducks with their amazing book: "Strategic Play: The Creative Facilitator's Guide #2: What the Duck!" Get it on Amazon.