Our range of unique
team building events
ENIGMA | ARENA | THE
SEARCH | THE QUEST
(Enigma, in-ig’ma, n. a statement with a hidden
meaning to be guessed: anything very obscure.)
all for one or one for all
or are these as but mirrors in the final twist?
Follow the text to find the
questions
and the route and the route
to find the meanings and the answers.
Put the right answers in the
right place
To find the right answers to put in the right place
to find the right place wherein lies victory.
At first
glance, Enigma appears to be our most competitive team building event – but
there can be a catch! Admittedly, we can
run it as a straight competition with a definite winner, but it can also be run
as a co-operative event in which no-one can win without there being an element
of negotiation. It is therefore extremely
adaptable, and can be used in a number of ways.
At the most basic level, it is simply a highly enjoyable team building
exercise that encourages team spirit and enhances communication. At the other extreme, it is a vehicle that
illustrates many work issues, particularly those associated with negative
competition and potentially destructive departmental or hierarchical rivalries.
Designed
for up to four teams, the objective of the task is to solve the Enigma, thus
locating “the booty”. This “booty” can
be anything you want – most commonly, it consists of bottles of champagne or a
“pot of jewels” which can be used as legal tender over the bar of a local
hostelry or hotel.
Despite
the fact that most of the day is spent outside, Enigma is not a particularly
strenuous team building event. The information
needed to solve the Enigma is obtained during a gentle “treasure hunt” walk of
no more than six miles, mostly along quiet lanes and footpaths. The Enigma itself and the route of the walk
can be made freely available, or can be obtained only by completing one or more
short “ice-breaker” tasks right at the start of the day. We have a wide number of suitable tasks, each
of which can be used to illustrate one or more work issues if required.
Although
Enigma is site specific (i.e. it can only be run from certain venues), we have
a number of sites throughout
FACT FILE
Enigma
Run from Various
venues within reasonable travelling distance of
Suitable for Teams
of between about 6 and 60 people.
Duration Full
day or longer; residential options available.
Effort Gently
physical.
Style Competitive
& co-operative options available.
Composed of strands of deadly poisoned rope
The merest touch of which will agonise
And force thee to abandon task and hope.
The whole team
must negotiate this Web
Within the merest twinkling of an eye;
This time to start when first attempt is made
And end when the last person hath passed by.
But think most
carefully before you start,
For when the whole team hath passed safely through
Each person must decide upon their fate…
More challenges await in pastures new
Of all our
team building events, Arena stands alone in that it involves large amounts of
adrenaline for only a modicum of physical effort. This is made possible by the venue – a superb
indoor climbing-centre and ropes course within easy travelling distance of the
M4 and M5 corridors.
Originally
designed for the management and technical teams of one of Wales’ premiere
theatres (hence the Shakespearian feel!), this team building event is suitable
for teams of up to about 30 people, there are full-day and half day options
available. The full day option involves
three phases, whilst the half-day option involves only the final phase. Phase one is an ice-breaker, as described in
the poem above. Having passed through
the web, the team must then complete Phase Two in order to gain the information
necessary to enable them to complete the main part of the day – the exact
nature of this phase depends largely upon the team building objectives, but
often involves some form of treasure hunt or orienteering task. Phase three – the main event – takes place in
the rope centre, where the team take part in a series of challenges subject to
a number of constraints. Challenges
include such things as abseiling, climbing, zip-wire, rope bridge, Commando
crawl, tightrope, net scramble, indoor caving, etc – all fairly exciting stuff,
so please note that (1) no-one is ever forced to do anything they do not want
to do, and (2) there are a number of easier (and more difficult!) options
available so that we can tailor the event to suit a very wide range of
abilities. We believe it is vital that everyone
in the team has an equally essential role to play.
For
further details including fees and availability, please contact the office on
01874 625111 or complete our online enquiry form.
FACT FILE
Arena
Run from Crickhowell,
on the A40 within easy travelling distance of
Suitable for Teams
of between about 5 and 30 people.
Duration Full
day & half-day options available.
Effort Minimal
effort but maximum adrenaline.
Style Highly
cooperative, although a competitive version is available.
Intelligence
sources confirm that no activists will be in the area today. With this in mind, we require you to undertake
a covert search. All relevant
information has been made available to you through a collection of briefing
cards, memos, and map extracts. Having
digested the information contained therein, you must deploy the members of your
team in the most appropriate way in order to gain all the necessary
information.
The Search takes place in the heart
of the Brecon Beacons, a magnificent area that is surprisingly easy to reach,
particularly from the M4 and M5 corridors and the South Wales Valleys. It is a complex task in which there are
several leadership opportunities, for in order to achieve the objective, the
team must split into a number of “project groups” based upon the abilities and
fitness levels of the participants. This
team building exercise is thus an excellent and highly enjoyable way of
illustrating the pros and cons of empowerment and ownership, and the resulting
effects on communication.
Each project group is given
responsibility for undertaking one or more assignments, these ranging from the
largely cerebral to the fairly strenuous.
By offering this range of assignments, we are able to cater for a wide
mix of abilities and fitness levels, maintaining interest and involving
everyone equally. Once the assignments
have been completed, the project groups reunite and share the information they
have gained. If they communicate
effectively, the information will lead them to their reward. This reward can be anything you like – most
commonly, it is bottles of wine or champagne, or tokens that can be used over
the bar of a local inn or hotel.
With larger groups, we can create
several teams and run this as a competitive event in which each team represents
a different agency, each of whom wishes to locate the cards first. It this way it becomes a race – but we can
add twists if necessary, such as making it impossible to find any reward unless
teams co-operate.
For further details
of how we can use this and other team building events to help your teams
achieve, please contact the office on 01874 625111 or complete our online enquiry form.
FACT FILE
The Search
Run from Brecon,
within easy travelling distance of Cardiff, Newport & Swansea, and readily
accessible from Bristol & Hereford.
Suitable for Teams
of between about 12 and 40 people.
Duration Full
day or longer. Several residential
options available.
Effort Project-group
options range from wholly
cerebral to noticeably strenuous.
Style Competitive
& non-competitive options available.
Upon this journey, drear and dark.
Solve the riddles; gain the clues,
Thy brains and brawn ye all must use.
Make no assumptions, hedge no bets.
Write all things down lest ye forget.
Enjoy thyselves and have a ball
For else there’s no reward at all!
Our original team building event, The Quest still remains a
firm favourite with many of our regular clients. This is because it is almost infinitely
adaptable. For example, there are five
distinct phases, each independently programmable and all with a range of
leadership opportunities. Additionally,
it is suitable for single as well as multiple teams, and with the latter it can
be run as either a competitive or a co-operative exercise – or even a mix!
The overall event involves a gentle but stunningly scenic
hill walk of between four and eight miles (the precise length depending on the
options chosen). Phase 1 is a short
indoor session during which the team must decode the brief. We can separate multiple teams at this juncture
to make it appear competitive, and can then tune later phases so that there can
be no progress without co-operation.
Alternatively, we can build in co-operation during this first phase, by
giving each team different chunks of information which do not make sense unless
shared. The combinations are virtually
endless.
Phase 2 sees the start of the purposeful journey, the exact
nature depending upon such factors as the training objectives, season, weather,
transport, and overall fitness. Then
comes crunch time – Phase 3 wakes people with a vengeance when the teams are
suddenly presented with a mass of complex information which must be used to
work out not only the advantages and disadvantages, but also the consequences
of a variety of options. With multiple
teams, this can be done either competitively or co-operatively. It is also at this stage that single teams
may decide to split, and multiple teams may choose to pool resources or swap
members.
No matter what the choices, everyone meets up for Phase 4. This usually involves a choice between a
fairly adventurous physical task and a more cerebral problem, the choice
enabling us to maintain everyone’s interest.
The final phase tends to be far more relaxed and all
downhill – often in more ways than one!
Having tasted success, many teams fail at this stage because of
over-confidence, or because they relax before the job is completed. The lessons are obvious!
For further information without obligation, or to explore
the ways in which we can help you address any current issues, please contact
the office on 01874 625111 or complete
our online enquiry form.
FACT FILE
The Quest
Run from Crickhowell,
on the A40 within easy travelling distance of Cardiff, Newport & Swansea, and
readily accessible from Hereford, Bristol and Birmingham.
Suitable for Teams
of between about 6 and 40 people.
Duration Full day or longer. Several residential options available.
Effort Moderately
strenuous but with easier options.
Style Competitive & co-operative options available.
Please contact the office for
the most up to date information on sites and availability.
Brief details of all our team building events
KWMA Training Home Page | Team Building Home Page
KWMA 74 Beacons Park BRECON Powys LD3 9BQ WALES UK
Tel/Fax +44 (0)1874 625111