Players: 6 or more, in small teams
Time: 10 minutes
You need: Paper and a pen for each team
Ages: 12 and above
Type: Office games and icebreakers

Who it suits and when to play

Common Ground suits six or more people in small teams of three or four, especially colleagues or classmates who have worked side by side without really talking. In ten minutes, each team must find things that all its members share. It works at offsites, on the first day of a course and at family gatherings where two sides are meeting.

How to play

Make teams of three to five people who do not know one another well.
Give five minutes to list things that every member of the team shares.
Obvious things are not allowed: "we all work here", "we all have hair".
Each team reads out its list. The longest list wins, and the most unusual shared thing gets a cheer.

Tips and variations

Examples of good finds: all of us have slept on a train's upper berth, all of us dislike brinjal, all of us have a younger sister.

Common problems and how to fix them

Teams list obvious things, such as "we all have phones". Ban anything visible and anything about work. The best answers surprise the room.
One person in a team is left out of every item. An item counts only if every single member of the team shares it.
Teams finish at different times. Fix the time, not the number of items. The longest list at the bell wins.

More office games and icebreakers

Need fair teams or someone to go first? Use the team maker. See all 45 games.