Leading games is an art. Especially when you are leading games for large groups. Especially for very large groups – like, say, 1000 people. An art that can set the tone for an entire day or weekend or weeklong conference – for just about any organization, profit or non, kids or grown-ups. An art that requires years to master and that only a master player can teach.
Unless you happen to have a copy of a book called The More the Merrier – an impressively extensive, well-organized, carefully detailed, and often minutely scripted facilitation guide to games and exercises for large groups.
The authors are all themselves master players – and their mastery, based on years of direct experience leading large groups, is deep enough to have been built on the wisdom of other master players, including some of the leading thinkers in experiential education and group facilitation, and, in some small part, those of the people who carried on the work of the New Games Foundation, which includes the mastery of in some other small part, mine.
So moved am I by my being actually quoted that I am in similar manner moved to quote from the people who quoted me:
“The More The Merrier means that more players are not an obstacle to play, but something to celebrate. In the ideal global picture, people who love to play will invite more people to play, and those players will include even more players. People laughing and playing together create an experience in common. Commonalities create connections, the invitation to further relationship. From relationship comes the possibility of understanding, acceptance, and even forgiveness. We don t propose that large group play is an answer to world peace, though it could be a kinesthetic catalyst to peace among groups of every size. The More The Merrier contain stories, theories, charts, guidance, and instruction, distilled from the experiences of the three authors, along with over 100 games and activities. Some will be new to you and some are classics converted from small group play to large. Similar to a smörgåsbord, we invite you to take some and leave some, and be satisfied in the end.”