diverge · Problem Solving · 20–40 min · 4-20 people · medium energy

Desert Island Intelligences

A survival simulation where teams must agree on a limited set of items or skills to survive on a deserted island. It highlights different thinking styles and forces the group to negotiate priorities.

When to use Desert Island Intelligences

To practice consensus-building and understand how different team members value resources.

What it solves

Difficulty reaching agreement or understanding different perspectives during project planning.

How to run Desert Island Intelligences, step by step

  1. Present a scenario where the team is stranded and can only keep 5 items from a list of 20 (2 minutes).
  2. Move participants into breakout groups of 3-5 to negotiate their top 5 list (10-15 minutes).
  3. Bring groups back to share their lists and the 'why' behind their choices (10 minutes).
  4. Facilitate a brief reflection on how the group handled disagreements.

Materials needed

  • List of 20 survival items
  • Breakout rooms
  • Timer

Facilitator tips

  • Look for 'hidden gems' in the logic—sometimes the most creative survival strategy comes from the quietest person.
  • Focus the debrief on the *process* of deciding, not the items themselves.

Common pitfalls

  • Getting bogged down in the 'realism' of the survival scenario
  • One dominant person making the list for the whole group

Variations

  • Zombie Apocalypse version for a more modern/pop-culture feel

Running it online or hybrid

Use breakout rooms for small group deliberation and a shared doc for the final list.

What it produces

A prioritized list of survival items and a rationale for each.

Origin

Adapted from ClickUp's Virtual Team Building Guide — source

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