Get the Fun Going! Easy Classroom Games You Can Play at School: Recreational Activities for the Whole Class

Six patients and medicine

Thought Experiment Consensus Game: “Six Patients and a Drug”

It presents the ultimate choice: help one critically ill patient or save five moderately ill patients.

There is only one dose of medicine; the critical patient needs the entire dose, whereas the moderate patients can all survive if it is divided among them.

The dilemma of valuing a single life versus prioritizing the many exposes one’s values.

Key discussion points include whether all lives are equal in weight or whether social roles should be considered.

It is important for the whole class to debate and work toward a single final decision, making this a thought-provoking theme that lets students experience the challenges of ethics and difficult choices.

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Poem of First Love

Consensus Game: First Love Poem — Episode 2: A Love Letter Six Years in the Making

It’s a theme that lets you reflect on romance while enjoying a story packed with the sweet-and-sour freshness and poignancy of first love.

By thinking about why she exchanged emails and why she sent those words, you can imagine the movements of a person’s heart.

When she seemed to be happily spending time with the boy like a friend, why did I give up on my feelings? Beneath that might lie a lack of confidence or the inner struggle of not being able to muster the courage.

By discussing it with classmates, you can relive the characters’ emotions and overlay them with what you would have done yourself—that’s the appeal.

It’s a topic that invites lively exchanges of opinions, with the bittersweetness of love and personal growth as its themes.

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Runaway Trolley and Workers

Thought Experiment Consensus Game: “Runaway Trolley and Workers”

A consensus game themed on a thought experiment proposed in 1967 by British philosopher Philippa Foot.

There are multiple workers on a railway track, and unless something is done, a major accident will occur; if you flip a switch, you sacrifice one person to save many lives.

Should you flip the switch, or leave things as they are? The key is first to consider the dilemma individually, then to reach a single conclusion as a group.

Because differences in positions and values become clear, it’s a compelling topic that sparks lively discussion.

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The Runaway Trolley, the Worker, and the Fat Man

Thought Experiment Consensus Game: The Runaway Trolley, the Workers, and the Fat Man

A further variation on the trolley problem is the scenario where you could stop the trolley by pushing a fat man standing beside the tracks.

If you push him, many lives would be saved, but you must make the decision to directly sacrifice that person.

The choices are simple, yet they question the value of life and the ethics of actions.

In group discussions, opinions tend to split between prioritizing outcomes and prioritizing the action itself, leading to heated debate.

It’s an idea that allows classmates to delve deeply into their individual values through discussion.

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Captain’s Decision

Consensus Game: Captain’s Decision — Rules Overview

Consensus is a word that means “agreement.” There are many possible situations, but in a consensus game you face a particular challenge.

In this case, while you’re at sea, visibility becomes poor, and by the time you spot another ship’s silhouette, a collision is already unavoidable.

As the captain, you must address the given items in the optimal order.

Your group discusses and decides that order.

At the end, you compare the model answer with your group’s answer and calculate the rank difference for each item.

The group with the lowest total difference wins.

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Invisible Invaders

Consensus Game: Invisible Invaders — Rules Explanation

This content discusses whether, in a situation where a virus is spreading, families should gather and stay at home or go to work to make a living.

The focus is on how to address the contradiction that prioritizing safety reduces income, while attending school or working in offices increases the risk of infection.

Each member has different positions and opinions—such as the desire to protect children and the elderly and the sense of responsibility to support the economy—leading to a clash of values.

Through speaking, participants not only express their own views but also develop the ability to understand others’ thinking.

If the discussion is held in class, it becomes a deeply educational theme that allows students to simulate the challenges faced by society as a whole.

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Let’s roll the dice and compose music!

Let’s try composing music while enjoying rhythm using the technique of ‘chance music’ discovered by John Cage.

What you’ll need are dice made from drawing paper, cardstock, or cardboard, a black pen, and staff paper or any paper for notes.

When you hear the word ‘compose,’ many people might feel anxious, thinking ‘That sounds hard’ or ‘I might not be able to do it,’ but this time the theme is completing it based on the numbers rolled on the dice, so you can try it casually! Moreover, it can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages—from infants and young children to elementary school students and adults—so please give it a try.