# Paper Tower — Facilitator Run Sheet

> Folder: `paper-tower` · Category: communication · 3–5 per team · 30 min · offline · print props · assessment-type
> License: CC BY 4.0

Teams get twenty sheets of paper and one meter of tape. Twelve minutes later, the tallest tower that holds a book for ten seconds wins. The build is loud and fun — and it quietly records how the team plans, shares information and recovers when things lean.

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## Objectives

By the end of the activity, participants will have:

1. Watched their team's **planning behavior under time pressure** — who talks, who builds, who is silent.
2. Experienced the trade between **height and stability** — the same trade their projects make weekly.
3. Practiced one recovery move: **stop, diagnose, change one thing** — when the tower starts to lean.

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## Setup

**Space:** one table per team, two meters between tables (towers need judging room).

**Materials per team:**

| Item | Source |
|---|---|
| 20 × A4 sheets | any recycling bin — used paper is fine |
| 1 m × masking tape | one strip, pre-cut, on the table |
| 1 × builder card | `paper-tower-prop-cards.pdf` (card 1) |
| 1 × judge card | `paper-tower-prop-cards.pdf` (card 2) |
| 1 × timing card | `paper-tower-prop-cards.pdf` (card 3) — for you |

**Forbidden:** scissors, rulers, extra tape, phone towers. Hands only. Paper may be torn, folded, rolled, crushed — not cut.

**Grouping rule:** teams of 3–5. Mix departments if the group allows — the debrief question "what did you assume about your teammates?" only works across silos.

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## Minute-by-minute script

| Time | Phase | Facilitator does | Participants do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Frame | "Twenty sheets, one meter of tape, twelve minutes of building. The tallest tower that holds this book for ten seconds wins. No scissors — hands only." | Take cards, form teams |
| 2–5 | Silent planning | "For three minutes: plan on paper. No building, no tape." | Teams sketch and argue on paper |
| 5–17 | Build (12 min) | Float. At minute 10 announce: "two minutes left." Do not help with structure | Build, test, tear down, rebuild |
| 17–20 | The book test | Each team places the book on top, counts to ten out loud. Judge card scores each tower | Watch other towers fail or hold |
| 20–23 | Self-score | "Score your own team on the judge card — including the arguments." | Teams self-score honestly |
| 23–30 | Bridge to debrief | "Keep the towers standing until after the debrief — they are the data." | Towers stay up |

Then run the debrief — see `paper-tower-debrief.md`.

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## Known failure modes & rescues

1. **One engineer, four spectators.** The loudest builder takes over; others hold tape. Rescue: at minute 8, freeze the room: "hands off — everyone names one thing the tower needs next." Then build resumes.
2. **The team builds a column and hopes.** No folding, no triangles — a rolled sheet stands alone. Rescue: none needed. The collapse is the debrief's best exhibit. Restart is allowed inside the 12 minutes.
3. **Silent planning was skipped.** Someone starts rolling paper at minute three. Rescue: enforce it gently — "planning is a round too." The contrast between planned and un-planned towers is the lesson.

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## Variations

- **Mid-build rule change:** at minute 10, announce the book test for the first time. Teams that over-invested in height now scramble for stability — exactly like a requirement change.
- **Online:** teams build at home with identical kits (10 sheets + 1 m tape, mailed or self-supplied); measuring happens on camera with a household book.
- **Assessment-type:** run the pre-measure before teams form, and the post-measure right after the debrief — see `paper-tower-assessment.json`. The interesting number is the delta, not the score.

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## Props in this folder

- `paper-tower-prop-cards.pdf` — poker print-ready: builder / judge / timing cards
- `paper-tower-guide.md` — this run sheet
- `paper-tower-debrief.md` — 8 debrief questions, 3 failure modes
- `paper-tower-assessment.json` — pre/post measure preset
- `paper-tower-paper-form.pdf` — the A4 answer sheet: the measure as a print-and-fill form
- `paper-tower-workbook.pdf` — participant workbook: the idea in plain words, guided items, notes and action pages
- `paper-tower-slide-deck.pdf` — the slide deck for teaching or projecting
- `paper-tower-slide-deck.html` — the same deck for any browser, speaker notes on N
- `paper-tower-license.md` — what you may do with all of this, in plain language
- `paper-tower-activity-poster.pdf` — The whole activity on one wall (A3): meta, run of show, debrief questions, watch-outs.
- `paper-tower-start-here.md` — one page, thirty seconds, then print and go
- `SKILL.md` — machine-readable manifest for AI agents
- `paper-tower-run-sheet.pdf` — the print edition: this run sheet + the debrief sheet, bound as one A4 PDF

## Agent version

Every file in this folder has a stable public URL — an AI agent can fetch the props, the debrief and this run sheet with three curl commands (see `SKILL.md`). The build itself needs no screen: paper, tape, and a book to test with.