The Tricksters

The Tricksters format is ideal for conferences, away days, and evening socials, and it works beautifully as part of a larger agenda where you want people connecting quickly. 

If you want a team building activity that’s smart, social, and seriously fun, choose The Tricksters. The experience blends suspense, problem-solving, and playful misdirection into a single arc that people remember.

Your guests arrive to an atmosphere of intrigue set by our professional host. From the opening brief, it’s clear that success will demand sharp minds, steady nerves, and strong collaboration under time pressure. The premise is simple and compelling: at the start of the event, guests are split into teams, and each participant receives a sealed envelope secretly assigning them as either a Loyalist, focused on team success, or a Trickster, intent on staying undetected long enough to tilt the outcome.

Teams then compete head-to-head across a sequence of fast-paced challenges designed to test mental agility and light physical coordination, while hidden Tricksters try to muddy plans, seed doubt, and slow progress without getting caught.

Gold coins are on the line, and the team with the fattest purse claims the win. Across four to eight rounds, the pace builds through logic puzzles, tabletop problem-solvers, lockbox combinations, and team activities. Every activity session lasts five to fifteen minutes to keep energy high and roles rotating, so different strengths can shine.

The twist sits at the heart of the fun. Hidden among the teams are the Tricksters, who have their own agenda. They’ll try to quietly sabotage, nudge decisions astray, and gain advantage while the rest of the table pushes for clarity and speed. Tricksters may waste seconds, misplace a piece, propose a suspiciously complicated plan, or steer the group toward a dead end that looks plausible at first glance. Loyalists must spot patterns of behaviour, challenge inconsistencies, and keep the workstream transparent so facts crowd out rumours.

Clear communication, calm leadership, and measured scepticism become the best tools for finding the Tricksters — the trouble is, it might be a guest’s best friend or line manager!

Depending on timings, teams will hold a “round table” after the third activity to discuss who they think is the Trickster in their midst. Guests compare notes, voice suspicions, and vote in an attempt to expose the person they believe to be the Trickster.

Our lively host keeps everything fair and engaging, adjusting the tempo to suit your agenda — whether that’s a punchy ninety-minute conference energiser, a compact dinner show threaded between courses, or a deeper three-hour standalone session for richer strategy. Groups of seven to eight per table work brilliantly, but the format scales for larger teams and multi-table rooms.

Treacherously good fun, available in both indoor and outdoor formats.