How to Play the Human Knot Game

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Last Updated: November 10, 2022 References

The Human Knot game has been long used as a team-building exercise and a fun way of breaking the ice with new groups of people. This is a great game for when you're babysitting or leading camp activities, and all it requires are willing players and an open space! Depending on the number of people in your group and the complexity of the human knot you make, this exciting problem solving game will usually take around 15 to 20 minutes.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Setting up to Play the Game

1
Gather a group to play. As the saying goes, the more the merrier, and this is certainly true when playing the Human Knot game! If you're supervising this game with young children, you may find smaller groups are more manageable and the knots formed less complicated. The ideal number of players for this game is 8 - 20, though you can play with as few as four people.^{[1]
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- If you want to give this game a try but don't have camp mates or a babysitting group to play with, you might invite your neighbors to play. You could even invite your friends to play with you in the park and encourage others in the park to join in.
2
Explain the rules. You and your friends will circle up and join your hands together to form a human knot out of your arms. The goal of the game is to untangle yourselves without letting go of the hands you are holding. After untangling, you will be standing once again in a regular circle, without any joined hands in the middle.^{[2]
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- You can always add goals to create your own version of the Human Knot game. For example, if you and your friends want a challenge or to race the clock, you could set a timer on your cell phone as a time limit.^{[3]
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3
Knot all players together by joining hands. Circle up with the rest of the players so that each person is standing closely to the next. Player will to have to reach across the circle to form your human knot, so with large groups of people you may have to scrunch together tightly.^{[4]
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Research source} After you're in your circle, reach out and hold hands with two different people in the circle, excluding the two people to either side of you. Each left hand should hold a left hand, and each right hand a right.
- Although it's against the rules to let go of the hands you are holding while playing the game, you may have to readjust your grip at some point. You'll likely have to bend and twist to untangle. Readjusting your grip is perfectly acceptable for players to be more comfortable while playing.^{[5]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Playing the Game

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Inspect the knot you have formed. Communicate with the other players in your Human Knot to figure out where to begin untangling. If you are supervising younger children, you may need to encourage them to do this. There may be an easy part of the knot that comes undone quickly, which will free up more slack for others in the knot.^{[6]
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- Especially when working with children, but also when playing with your friends, you'll want to be sure that everyone is gentle when untangling. Pulling or yanking too hard might hurt someone!
- In the beginning, the knot will be tight and thick with many crossed arms. You and your group might want to take a step backwards, if possible. This way you have a better perspective of the Human Knot.
2
Maneuver around other players. You and the other players should be ready to bend, twist, and move in any way that is required for untangling your knot. You may find you or others need to duck under the hands of other players, step over a pair of hands, or do similar moves to untangle your knot.^{[7]
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Research source} Since this game requires some measure of flexibility, you may want to consider stretching first.
- While playing, you should always try to be respectful of the boundaries of others. If you find yourself in an uncomfortable position with another player, you might ask if other players can help you out by untangling a different part of the knot.
3
Form a circle by untangling your knot. You'll notice, as your knot becomes untangled, that a circle will start to form. Some people may end up facing the inside of the circle, some the outside, but by the time you've finished untangling, you should have an unbroken circle of joined hands. Congratulations! You've untangled the Human Knot!
- In some cases, you may have done your job of knotting together too well! This means you won't always be able to unravel your knot, in which case, you can break apart and try again.^{[8]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Adding Variations to the Game

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Play the game with a director. This is an excellent variation for smaller groups where you can rotate between players to have different people directing the Human Knot. To play this variation, one of the players should leave the room or turn away from other players as they get tangled together. Then, players can only move in the way they are instructed by the director.^{[9]
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- You might have fun adding a prop to set the knot director apart from other players. For example, you might give the knot director a play megaphone, a special hat, or a badge.
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Use the Human Knot to learn names. Ice breakers often help you to learn the names of those you are playing with. You can add this challenge to the Human Knot as well! All you need to do is add a rule that states players can only talk to other players by saying that player's name, first.^{[10]
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- To encourage players to use names, you might institute a minor penalty for those who don't use first names. Every time a name isn't used, players might agree that rule breakers have to do five push ups after the game is finished, or you could have players that don't use names help you set up for the next activity.
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Add limitations to players or the field of play. You should exercise caution when using this kind of variation. Since the limbs of players will be tangled together, it's easy to fall down or lose balance, which could potentially hurt somebody.^{[11]
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Research source} However, older kids and adults might find the Human Knot more challenging with:
- Every other player blindfolded. This way, players who aren't blindfolded have to help direct those who are, which encourages teamwork even more.
- Course obstacles. Uneven terrain can make keeping your balance while unknotting very difficult, but you should be careful about tripping hazards. Young kids might have a blast playing the Human Knot game in a bounce house.
4
Have a human knot unraveling race. With large groups especially, you may find you need to break into groups to play the Human Knot game effectively. If this is the case for your group, you can add a competitive challenge by having both teams try to unravel faster than the other.^{[12]
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Warnings

If you have any sprains or injuries, you might want to pass on playing the Human Knot. The bending and twisting usually required to untangle the knot could make your injury worse.

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This ice-breaker is a very close contact game. This might not be the right game if you or your friends are claustrophobic, uncomfortable with physical contact, or self-conscious.

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Sometimes it can be very hard to separate the human knot. In some cases, you'll have made a Gordian Human Knot, which is a knot that can't be unraveled!^{[13]
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