1. Thought Detective Case Files

Teaches: Automatic thoughts, assumptions and evidence testing.

You need: A short fictional case, evidence slips and paper.

How to Play

Give teams a case: “Two students look toward Noor and laugh as she enters class. Noor thinks, ‘They are laughing at me.’” Evidence slips might say the students were watching a video earlier, one glanced at Noor and nobody spoke to her. Teams sort evidence into supports the thought, challenges the thought and does not tell us enough.

They submit a case conclusion containing what is known, what remains uncertain and a balanced thought. Award points for using all evidence—not for producing the most positive answer.

Debrief: “Which detail felt like proof but was actually ambiguous?” “What would the next safe information-gathering step be?”

2. Coping Skills “Would You Rather?”

Teaches: Coping preferences and situational fit.

You need: Paired choices read aloud or written on cards.

How to Play

Ask members to choose between music or walking, talking or writing, cold water or paced breathing, solving now or taking a planned break. They move to a side, show one or two fingers or pass. A volunteer from each side earns a point for explaining when their option helps and when it might not.

Add a context—at school, late at night or during an argument—and allow everyone to switch. There is no overall winning coping skill.

Debrief: “Which choices changed with context?” “What makes a strategy usable rather than theoretically good?”

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3. Reframe Relay

Teaches: Balanced thinking without forced positivity.

You need: Automatic-thought scenarios.

How to Play

Teams respond to “I failed, so I’m stupid” in three legs. Player one validates the difficulty. Player two adds missing context. Player three offers a practical next step. A complete answer might be: “Failing feels awful. One mark cannot measure every ability. I can check which questions I misunderstood.”

Teams score one point for each element that is honest, believable and specific. “Everything will be fine” earns no point.

Debrief: “Which leg do people usually skip?” “Could the final thought be believed on a difficult day?”

4. Boundary Boss Battle

Teaches: Assertiveness, escalating responses and safety.

You need: Fictional boundary scenarios.

How to Play

Present a “boss” such as a friend repeatedly demanding a password. The team has three response powers: Gentle, Direct and Exit/Support. They must create exact wording for each level. Example: “I don’t share passwords”; “No. Stop asking”; “I’m ending this conversation and changing my login.”

The facilitator adds complications—“They call you dramatic”—and the team decides whether to repeat, escalate or exit. The group wins by protecting the boundary, not convincing the other person.

Debrief: “When is explaining useful?” “When does safety matter more than continuing the conversation?”

5. Emotion Pictionary: Context Edition

Teaches: Emotional vocabulary, context and body cues.

You need: Paper or a whiteboard.

How to Play

A player draws an emotion plus a situation without writing words. The team may guess only when they name their evidence: “I guessed overwhelmed because the person is surrounded by tasks.” Multiple answers can score because the same cues may indicate anxiety, frustration or exhaustion.

Bonus round: draw the emotion at intensity two and intensity eight. Members can draw, guess, timekeep or pass.

Debrief: “Which cues had several possible meanings?” “Why is checking more accurate than assuming?”

6. The Bad Advice Game

Teaches: Empathy and useful support.

You need: A fictional problem.

How to Play

Give teams 60 seconds to produce deliberately unhelpful advice for a teen panicking about a presentation: “Calm down,” “Just be confident,” or “Everyone gets nervous.” Keep it non-cruel. Teams then earn points by identifying what each phrase misses and repairing it.

A repaired response must include validation and a useful offer: “Presentations can feel brutal. Want to practise the opening or plan what to do if your mind goes blank?”

Debrief: “How can someone ask whether support, advice, distraction or space is wanted?”

7. Therapy Jenga With Real Choice

Teaches: Discussion, reflection and respectful boundaries.

You need: Jenga and six prompt categories assigned to colours or block positions.

How to Play

Use categories such as coping, strengths, relationships, emotions, fictional scenarios and wild cards. After removing a block, a player can answer personally, answer for a character, ask the group, exchange the prompt or pass. Passing still completes the turn.

Use concrete questions such as “What makes advice unhelpful?” rather than “Tell us your deepest fear.” If the tower falls, the group rebuilds rather than eliminating a player.

Debrief: “Which participation option reduced pressure?” “Which prompts led to useful discussion?”

Get our print ready Jenga activity

8. Coping Skills Tournament

Teaches: Evaluating coping strategies.

You need: A tournament bracket.

How to Play

Pair strategies in a bracket: music versus movement, distraction versus problem-solving, talking versus writing and grounding versus breathing. Before each match, reveal a situation. Teams argue which option is safer, accessible and more likely to help in that context.

A match may end with “different jobs” instead of one winner. For example, distraction may lower intensity first and problem-solving may follow later.

Debrief: “Which strategy lost because the timing was wrong?” “What belongs in your personal final four?”

9. Social Scenario Escape Room

Teaches: Perspective-taking and problem-solving.

You need: Four folded challenge papers hidden around the room.

How to Play

Use one case: “A friend has stopped replying after a misunderstanding.” Challenge one separates facts from assumptions. Challenge two creates three explanations. Challenge three generates response options and consequences. Challenge four selects a clear, non-accusatory message.

Completing each stage earns a clue to the next location. The final code is the group’s message plus a plan for no response.

Debrief: “Which step prevented an impulsive response?” “What remained outside the character’s control?”

10. Emotion Charades With Evidence

Teaches: Observing emotional signals without mind-reading.

You need: Emotion words whispered to volunteers.

How to Play

A volunteer acts an emotion using posture and movement. Guesses count only when paired with a clue: clenched hands, lowered eyes, pacing or leaning away. Accept several emotions when the evidence fits.

In the second round, the actor changes only the intensity. The group identifies what became more noticeable and what still could not be known.

Debrief: “What can body language suggest?” “What can it never prove?”

11. Values Auction

Teaches: Values, priorities and trade-offs.

You need: Pretend money and value cards.

How to Play

Give equal budgets and auction freedom, belonging, creativity, security, achievement, loyalty and fairness. Members may bid, save or observe. Add a surprise second round where players may trade one value or buy a new one.

Winning a card does not mean valuing it most; spending patterns simply open discussion. A non-competitive variation lets members allocate percentages privately.

Debrief: “Which values competed?” “How can two people share a value but choose different actions?”

12. Guess the Coping Skill

Teaches: Recognising different coping functions.

You need: No materials.

How to Play

A player describes a coping strategy without naming it, using three clues: what someone does, where it can be used and what job it performs. For walking: “It uses movement, can happen outside and may release restless energy.”

After guessing, the team identifies one situation where it fits and one where it might not. Award the point only after the fit discussion.

Debrief: “Which strategies regulate, distract, connect or solve?” “Why does knowing the job matter?”

13. Three Explanations Challenge

Teaches: Flexible thinking in ambiguous situations.

You need: Fictional scenarios.

How to Play

Read: “A friend reads your message but does not reply.” Teams have one minute to produce three explanations: one personal, one situational and one “not enough information.” Repeat with friends laughing across a room or a short teacher email.

Bonus points come from choosing a response that works under all three explanations, such as waiting, checking facts or asking neutrally.

Debrief: “What did the mind automatically add?” “Which action avoids treating an assumption as fact?”

14. Stress-Level Strategy Match

Teaches: Matching coping strategies to emotional intensity.

You need: A 0–10 line across the room.

How to Play

Read a developing scenario. Members place the fictional character on the stress line after each event. The facilitator calls a strategy—make a plan, ask for space, cold sensory input, challenge a thought or leave safely—and teams decide at which levels it is most usable.

Score points for explaining why. A complex worksheet may suit four but be impossible at nine.

Debrief: “What is the character’s earliest warning sign?” “Which strategy is preventative rather than emergency support?”

15. Support Menu Match-Up

Teaches: Communicating support preferences.

You need: Situation cards and support-option cards.

How to Play

Situations include failing a test, friendship conflict, sensory overload and being worried before an appointment. Support options include listen, offer ideas, help make a plan, sit nearby, distract, give space and check back later.

Teams match options to situations, but each match must include a question that checks the person’s preference: “Do you want help planning or do you want me to listen?”

Debrief: “Why might the same support help one person and irritate another?”

16. Mental Health Myth, Fact or It Depends?

Teaches: Psychoeducation and critical thinking.

You need: Accurate statements based on reliable information.

How to Play

Members vote using one, two or three fingers. Use statements such as “A coping skill must make you calm to be useful,” “Avoidance can give immediate relief and strengthen anxiety later,” and “Talking always helps.” Teams explain their reasoning before the facilitator clarifies.

Points are awarded for identifying missing context, not merely guessing correctly.

Debrief: “Which belief might stop someone seeking help?” “What made an answer depend on context?”

17. Communication Script Showdown

Teaches: Clear requests and assertive communication.

You need: Fictional complaints.

How to Play

Teams translate “You never leave me alone” or “You always ignore me” into observation, impact and request. Example: “When you repeat the question after I ask for a break, I become overwhelmed. Please give me 20 minutes and check back at 7:30.”

The facilitator plays a mildly difficult response. Teams may revise and replay. Score for clarity, realism and safety—not politeness alone.

Debrief: “What can the speaker control?” “When is ending the conversation appropriate?”

18. Tiny Goal Shrinking Game

Teaches: Task initiation and realistic goal-setting.

You need: Broad goal cards.

How to Play

Teams receive “finish the assignment,” “fix sleep” or “make new friends.” They have 90 seconds to keep shrinking the goal until the first action can begin in under two minutes. “Finish the assignment” becomes “open the document and type the heading.”

Add an obstacle card—low energy, no quiet space or forgotten password—and revise the step.

Debrief: “When does a small step feel helpful rather than patronising?” “What comes after the start?”

19. Strengths Evidence Hunt

Teaches: Identifying strengths through behaviour.

You need: Fictional action cards.

How to Play

Read actions such as returning after a difficult week, apologising without being prompted, learning a complex game or asking for a break before an argument escalates. Teams identify the hidden skills and cite their evidence.

Members can challenge vague labels. “Amazing” is not a skill; persistence, self-awareness, repair and pattern recognition are. Bonus point: name where that strength could help next.

Debrief: “Which ordinary actions contain overlooked skills?”

20. Social Media Caption Detective

Teaches: Comparison, assumptions and digital literacy.

You need: Fictional social-media posts.

How to Play

Describe a polished study desk, friendship photo or achievement post. Teams have two minutes to list what is visible and what remains unknown: editing, attempts, conflict, money, mood and what happened afterwards.

They write two captions: the viewer’s automatic story and a fuller caption that acknowledges uncertainty without attacking the poster.

Debrief: “When does the brain turn a highlight into evidence about an entire life?”

21. Group Problem-Solving Quest

Teaches: Collaborative problem-solving.

You need: Four challenge stations.

How to Play

Teams guide a fictional teen through four stages: define the problem without blame, separate controllable from uncontrollable, generate at least four options and choose a first step. At each station, the facilitator checks the answer before unlocking the next.

Add a twist near the end, such as transport falling through or the first message receiving no reply. Teams adapt rather than restart.

Debrief: “Which stage prevented a rushed solution?” “How did the group handle disagreement?”

22. Common Ground Countdown

Teaches: Cohesion, curiosity and consent.

You need: A three-minute timer.

How to Play

Small teams find ten shared preferences without using appearance, diagnoses or private history. Anyone may veto an item. After ten, teams identify two respectful differences and one assumption they had to check.

Points come from confirming the commonality with every member—not from speed alone.

Debrief: “What questions helped?” “How did the group respond when someone disagreed?”

23. One-Minute Regulation Arcade

Teaches: Comparing regulation strategies through experience.

You need: A timer and room to move.

How to Play

Create four one-minute “levels”: longer exhales, stretching, sensory scanning and rhythmic movement. Members choose which levels to attempt; observation is valid. After each, they vote helpful, neutral, irritating or inaccessible.

The group tries to build a four-option menu with at least one quiet, one movement, one sensory and one connection-based strategy. The goal is variety, not calmness.

Debrief: “Which level matched your energy?” “Which could be used discreetly?”

24. Keep, Change or Delete

Teaches: Evaluation, feedback and autonomy.

You need: Three signs or hand signals.

How to Play

Name a game, coping skill or group routine. Members vote Keep, Change or Delete. Keep voters identify its useful condition. Change voters must make a concrete alteration—shorter, private, less personal, clearer or differently timed. Delete voters explain what goal it failed to serve.

The facilitator awards the final point only by committing to one change for the next session.

Debrief: “Did the group’s feedback affect what will happen?”

25. Final-Level Takeaway

Teaches: Consolidation and session feedback.

You need: Four closing prompts.

How to Play

Members choose a final “quest”: name one useful idea, challenge one idea, choose one skill to test or suggest one group change. They may answer aloud, write anonymously or pass. A chosen skill earns completion only after the member identifies when and where it could be used.

There is no individual winner. The group completes the game when every person has made a choice—including choosing to pass—and the facilitator summarises the practical takeaways.

Debrief: “What is worth carrying into the next week?”