Warm-ups
Mind Meld
Two players say a word simultaneously, then keep saying words suggested by both previous words until they land on the same one.
Also known as: Convergence, Vulcan Mind Meld
How to run it
- Two players face each other and count "one, two, three" together.
- On three, each says the first word that comes to mind — they will be unrelated.
- Count again, and each says a word suggested by the combination of the two previous words.
- Repeat until both say the same word at the same time.
- Swap in new players and start again.
What it teaches
Meeting in the middle rather than winning. Players who reach for the clever association never converge; players who say the obvious thing converge in two or three rounds.
Coaching notes
When a pair stalls for five rounds, ask them what word they were avoiding. It is almost always the obvious one, discarded for being boring.
Where it usually goes wrong. Treating it as a test of imagination rather than a test of agreement.
Related reading: yes, and.
See it played
We do not link individual videos we have not watched end to end, so this is a search rather than a recommendation: Mind Meld on YouTube. Quality varies enormously — prefer recordings from working theatres over tutorial channels.