What is Pulse?

Pulse splits a group into two teams, each holding hands in a long human chain with a chair and a small object waiting at the far end. A referee flips a coin where only the front two players can see it — heads means squeeze, and that squeeze relays hand to hand down the entire line until someone grabs the object.

It works because the whole line is playing blind. Eyes closed, faces down, silent — nobody but the front two players knows a flip even happened, so the squeeze arrives as pure surprise for everyone else in the chain. That surprise is what turns a hand relay into a full-body reaction test, forty to eighty people at a time.

It's built for a room big enough for two long lines — forty to eighty people, with space to spare. Skip it for a small meeting or a video call; a hand-squeeze relay needs actual hands and a line long enough that the back can't feel what the front just did. It also assumes everyone's comfortable holding a stranger's hand and grabbing quickly under pressure — worth a quick check before you run it, and the tips below cover a softer object and a slower pass for groups where that's not a given.

The rules

Split into two equal teams and have each team hold hands to form a human chain.
Put a chair with a small object — a tennis ball works — at the end of each line.
Only the front two players watch you flip the coin; everyone else closes their eyes, faces down, and stays silent.
Heads means squeeze — the front two players squeeze the next hand in line, and it relays all the way down the chain.
Grab the object on a real heads and the team scores; grab it on a false alarm and the point goes to the other team.
First team to reach the target score wins.

Before you start

Group size: 40–80 participants. Split into two teams of equal size — pairing people off or counting off both work, as long as the two chains end up the same length.
A room long enough for two chains. You need space for two human chains to stretch out, a chair and small object waiting at the end of each one, and room up front for you to referee.
Materials: a coin, two chairs, two small objects. One coin for the flip, plus a chair and a small object — a tennis ball, a bean bag, anything grabbable — at the end of each line.
Set the target score. The original rules play to 10 points. Keep that or pick a different target if your group is short on time.

How to run it

Form two teams 2–3 min
Split the group into two equal teams — pairing off or counting off both work. Each team lines up facing the same direction and holds hands to form a human chain.
Set up the playing area 1–2 min
Place a chair with a small object on it at the end of each line, and take your spot at the front as referee.
Lay down the silence rule 1 min
Everyone closes their eyes, faces down, and stays quiet — except the two players at the front of each line, who keep watching you for the coin.
Flip and pass the pulse 10–15 min
Flip a coin and show it only to the front two players. On heads, they squeeze the next hand in line, and the squeeze relays all the way down the chain toward the chair. On tails, wait a few seconds and flip again.
Score, then play to the target 2–5 min
Whichever team grabs the object on a real heads scores a point; a false grab hands the point to the other team instead. Keep flipping until one team reaches the target you set.

← nobody breathes until the squeeze arrives.

Facilitator tips

Swap in a softer objectA tennis ball rewards a quick, strong grab. A soft ball, bean bag, or ribbon works just as well and levels things out for players with different grip strength or mobility.

Let some players pass on a delayIf someone needs a beat longer to feel and relay the squeeze, let them pass it slightly later instead of instantly — the chain still moves, just not at the same speed for everyone.

Demo it with a few people firstRun one short round with two or three players from each team before the real game starts. Faster than explaining the rules twice.

Why it works

Reflexes without a visual cuePlayers react to a hand squeeze with their eyes closed — there's nothing to watch for, only touch. That's a more honest reaction-time test than any game where you can see the signal coming.

One slow hand costs the whole lineThe squeeze has to travel through every person in the chain to reach the chair. A single fumble anywhere along the line — not just at the front — decides the round, so everyone has a real stake in their pass.

HELLO, MY NAME ISJon

"I love running this one with big groups — the silence right before the squeeze is where all the tension lives. Everyone's eyes are closed, hands are ready, and the whole team has to move together the second the flip goes their way."

Jon Zajac · Founder & Chief Icebreaker

Reflection questions

A couple of these after the game turns a hand-squeeze relay into an actual conversation about how the team moved together.

What was it like playing Pulse?Gets people naming the specific moment — the wait, the squeeze, the grab — instead of a general answer.
How did you communicate with your team without talking?Every pass here is hand pressure, not words — this surfaces how much coordination actually happened without anyone saying a thing.
What did you do to pass the pulse quickly and accurately?A problem-solving question — most answers turn out to be about attention, not speed.
Did being at the front of the line feel like pressure or excitement?Names the two people who actually saw the coin — worth asking directly, since their experience was different from everyone else's.
What did you learn about yourself or your team during the game?The open-ended closer — let people take it wherever the game actually went for them.