I want to share a game with you.
This game will reveal something surprising. It’s something nice for ice-breaking with some newly-met friends, and a great way to reconnect with your long known friends.
To make the game work, promise me, don’t scroll to the bottom through all the text to get straight to the results. Deal?
Are you ready?
The Game
I want you to think of three animals right now. The first three animals that come to your mind, what are they?
These animals can be any kind.
Just one condition, make sure you do know about these animals in reality; and that they are not make-up things, for example, no Mickey Mouse.
They don’t have to be your favorite animals. But of course, they don’t have to be the ones you hate.
They don’t have to be pets. They can be big ones, or small ones.
Let’s work on the first animal together.
What is it? Does it walk, fly or swim?
What is its habitat like?
How would you describe it? Clever? Reliable? Hard-working? Amiable? Courageous? Dangerous?…
Got your first one yet?
Okay, let’s get to the second animal.
So what’s it this time? Is it one of the mammals, reptiles, birds or amphibians?
Where does it live?
And the nature of it, wild or easily tamed?
How does it interact with its same species? Does it tend to live in a group or alone? …
The second one’s ready?
Let’s get to the last animal.
I know it’s getting harder when it comes to the third one. But don’t worry, I’m still with you. So what’s it for the last one?
Does it live under the sea, high above somewhere or on the ground?
What is it good at? Hunting? Protection? Learning? Escaping?…
What does it like doing? Relaxing? Having fun?…
If you’re still playing along with me, I think you’ve already got the three animals in your mind. And the next step will be fun.
If you haven’t got your three animals, I’ll wait a bit. Just don’t scroll to the next part yet.
Once you get to the next part, you’ll never ever be able to enjoy this game again. There’s no turning back, trust me. So, please have the three animals in your mind ready first!
I’m waiting….
….
… yea still waiting….
….
Ready? Good. Let’s get to the next part.
….
….
….
The animals that come to your mind and the order of these animals can reveal a little about you:
- The first animal that comes to your mind represents how you think others see you.
- The second animal reveals how others actually see you.
- The third animal represents the kind of person you really are.
I played the game with others and their results surprised me and themselves.
I played this game with a fellow editor and the barista of the coffee shop downstairs and these are what they told me about.
▲ The three animals that came to my fellow editor Emily’s mind were dolphin, seal, and pig.
To Emily, a dolphin is smart, playful and agile; a seal is watchful, careful, playful and likes to stay within their social groups; while a pig is cute, smart, and loves eating and sleeping. She found it especially true that she loved eating and sleeping like a pig. I also found it true that she’s a careful person who pays attention to details.
▲ The three animals that the barista Ryan chose were lion, tiger, and sheep.
Ryan is the barista downstairs, we recognize each other as I always go there to buy muffins but we’d never really talked much. I just came across him during a time when he was less busy and so I played this game with him.
To Ryan, a lion is strong and charismatic as it’s always seen as the king of forest; a tiger is brave and competitive; while a sheep is pure, gentle and loves to follow the crowd. He was really surprised about the results and he also found it unbelievable that he’s like a sheep. He didn’t believe all of these but we did have a great laugh over his choices and we shared our thoughts about how he really took the risk to be brave like a tiger to become a barista instead of following the crowd to get an office job.
How you describe these animals is how you and others perceive you. You can probably connect these animals’ nature with your own life somehow, right?
Remember, the Game is all about connecting with someone.
The above things are not all correct. There’s no research or studies as evidence to prove that these animals are representing your personalities. But as I said, this is a game, a game that I’ve heard about for many years. And a game is supposed to be fun, and it’s supposed to be fun to play with others.
As you play along though, you feel like the game really seems to be reflecting some parts of your thoughts, and some bits of who you are.
Imagine playing this game with someone, you’ll only need a few minutes to get to know more about them. As you play this game with others, you guys get to discuss about your aspirations, interests and hobbies. It’s a great opportunity to understand a person’s character in a delightful way. You’ll probably be remembered as a witty person who can dig into some deep and meaningful topics starting with an interesting game.
A bonus tip: this game is good for ice-breaking, but don’t forget about the basic greetings and introduction before trying this game. Just at least make sure you guys will play the game under a casual and relaxing atmosphere first.
In case you forget about the details of this game, save this article now so you can make use of this game the next time you’re getting to know someone!
