How to play Connect the Dots

The idea

People in a room put their names on a shared board. They walk around, talk to each other in person and uncover what they have in common: a sport, a country, a pet, a past employer, an unusual place they both visited. Every discovery is recorded as a labeled line between two names. After half an hour the room has built a picture of itself: a human network.

Example topics: play tennis, grew up in the same country, previously worked at the same company, have dogs, play an instrument, began as software engineers.

For players

1. Open the join link or scan the QR code shown on the big screen, or open this site and enter the 6-digit game code.
2. Choose your name from the list and confirm. You only do this once.
3. Find a colleague, have a real conversation and discover something you share.
4. Tap Add connection, choose the person and the topic (or add a new topic) and save. The line appears on the big screen within a couple of seconds.
5. Made a mistake? Delete the connection (either of the two people can do it). You will be asked to confirm.

You only see your own connections on your phone. The whole network is shown on the big screen.

The three rounds

The facilitator runs the rounds out loud; the timer on the screen counts the time (30 minutes by default).

Bonus challenges

• Find someone who has lived in three countries.
• Find someone with a hobby you have never heard of.
• Find someone who changed industries.
• Find an experience you share with five or more colleagues.

Rules and conditions of play

• Talk in person. The point of the game is the conversation. Add a connection only after you really found something in common.
• Be truthful and kind. Add only connections that are true and that both people are comfortable with. Either person can delete a connection.
• Keep topics friendly and professional. No health, religion, politics, sexuality or other sensitive private details, and nothing offensive or discriminatory. The facilitator can remove topics and connections.
• No personal data in topics. A topic is a general theme ("Play chess"), not a statement about a private person's secrets.
• Use it fairly. One phone, one person. Do not guess other games' codes and do not overload or attack the service (see the terms of service).
• Free, as is. The game is provided without support or warranty. Results are kept only for a limited time, so export what you want to keep.
• Your data. The privacy policy explains what is stored. The facilitator of your game is responsible for the participant list and is your first contact for questions about it.

For facilitators

Before the event

1. Open the facilitator page and sign in with a personal or work Microsoft account.
2. Create a game. It gets a 6-digit code and stays open for 3 days (you can extend it).
3. Add the participants: upload a text file with one name per line (save it as UTF-8) or paste the names. Duplicates are skipped. You can add or remove people at any time.
4. Add starter topics, or press "Add example topics". Players can add their own during the game.
5. Optionally set a short link (for example one you made with a link shortener), your own rules text and whether names are shown on the big screen.

During the event

1. Open the Timer screen on the projector. It shows the countdown, the rules, the join code, a QR code and the live network.
2. Start the timer and run the three rounds. At zero the screen says "Time's up!" but the game keeps going.
3. Tidy up as needed: merge similar topics ("Dogs" and "Have dogs"), delete a topic or a connection, add late participants.

After the event

1. Open the results: network, top topics, super-connectors, unexpected links, groups, topic spotlight, a "who met whom" grid, a replay and a summary.
2. Export the views you want to keep as images.
3. Delete the game when you are done. Otherwise it closes after its expiry date and is deleted 30 days after that.

Your responsibilities. As the facilitator you decide whose names go into the game. Make sure you may use them for this purpose and tell the participants (the privacy policy can be shared with them). Do not upload sensitive data, and do not run games with children.

Questions and answers

Something missing or wrong? Open an issue on GitHub. Please do not include personal data.