Age: 10 to adult
Players: Whole Group
Time: 20+ minutes
Tags: #Concentration #Group Dynamics

A psychological but fun group dynamics game from Augusto Boal.

If you like “The Traitors”, you will love this game. I learnt it from Augusto Boal back in the nineties, but it’s definitely back in vogue!

Announce the name of the game: “There is only one liar”. The game is played twice, with everyone in a circle.

There should be no talking until the exercise is over. Explain that one person will be selected by a tap on the shoulder. Everybody closes their eyes. Slowly walk a couple of times around the whole circle, but DO NOT tap anybody! Ask the group to open their eyes. Tell them that they must look around and try to guess who was chosen. If this is done without talking, it will seem tense and dramatic… Ask each person to remember who they decided upon – but not to reveal it at this point.

Now for the second round. Everybody closes their eyes again and you walk around twice more – but this time you tap EVERYBODY once on the shoulder. Ask everyone to open their eyes and to look around once more. Of course, this time each person will think they were the only one chosen. The atmosphere will be even more tense, with people trying to pretend that they are “innocent”.

When everybody has finished looking around, tell them, on the count of three (without talking) to point at the person they think was chosen the first time. Everybody points (usually at everybody else). After a few dramatic moments, ask them to point at the person they think was chosen the second time. Of course, everyone will be “acting innocent” and randomly pointing, because they think they were the only one chosen!

Without revealing what you did, ask them to explain why they chose a particular person the first time. Was it the facial expression, their body language, the lack of eye-contact or something else?

Now, on a signal, ask them to put up their hand if they were touched in the first round. No-one will raise their hand. Ask them to to do the same for the second round. Everyone will raise their hands. The group discover that there is only one liar – the workshop leader! The sense of relief will be palpable.