2B or Knot 2B:

Low prop problem solving activity from the book: Teambuilding Puzzles
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DIRECTIONS
(Taken directly from Teambuilding Puzzles) 2B or Knot 2B, shows an arrangement of four colorful pieces of rope or webbing that have been joined together by a fifth piece. This puzzle is presented in such a manner that it is not immediately obvious which rope is the one holding the other four together. The challenge for the group is to discover which rope is holding the other ropes together, and to achieve consensus on this selection, before touching any of the ropes.



APPLICATION
In addition to the visual problem solving skills required to successfully complete each of these activities, the highlight is often exploring the tools required to achieve consensus within a group. Pairing and sharing is a very powerful technique for ‘building consensus.’ So is the concept of pairing with a partner that doesn’t necessarily agree with you at the outset. Finally, the concept of making a decision and then being allowed to alter it when new information becomes available has been well received in corporate settings in relation to topics such as personal accountability and decision management.

Variations
In addition to the multi-colored version of 2B or Knot 2B shown in the figure above, these five ropes can also be constructed with striped ropes (for a greater degree of visual difficulty), or five ropes that are all the same color. The size of this activity can also be varied by making each rope much longer, say 100 feet (30 meters) in length, or much smaller, such as the size that would fit on a microscope slide. While a collection of five ropes is optimal for most groups, four ropes can be used for simplicity, and a greater number of ropes, 6 to 8, for a higher degree of
difficulty.

ACTIVITY CREDIT
Activities in the game world can be hard to tack as they get passed from one trainer to the next and adapted to meet various needs. We make every effort to post who we learned it from. The text and game come directly from Teambuilding Puzzles by Mike Anderson, Chris Cavert, Jim Cain & Tom Heck.

SUPPLIES
2B or Knot 2B requires five different colors of rope or tubular climbing webbing. Each rope segment should be about 10 feet (3 meters) in length.

SHOW MUSIC
Thanks to Matt and all the guys from Megaphone for the use of their music for the podcast.
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