Team building spy scenarios: how to use them right.
We get asked about “spy” and saboteur twists all the time. Handled carelessly they just add suspicion to a workplace that has plenty. Handled well, they reveal something every team needs to see about itself.
A spy scenario is worth running only if the goal is to expose how fast we make things up about each other. The intrigue isn’t the point — the debrief is. Used on a team already in real conflict, it does more harm than good.
Why be careful with spy scenarios
Spy scenarios are designed to get people questioning each other and each other’s motives. Here’s the problem: that already happens plenty at work. Drop a clumsy “find the traitor” game onto a fragile team and you don’t surface distrust — you feed it. That’s why we never use this with a group that’s in serious conflict.
The version that actually works
Used right, a spy scenario becomes a fast, memorable lesson in what we call MSU — “Making Stuff Up.” Here’s the setup we recommend:
- Pick almost any team building activity you were going to run anyway.
- Before it starts, tell the group there may be as many as one saboteur for every 15 people — and hand everyone an index card.
- Do not actually hand out any “spy” cards. There is no spy. Because one might exist, everyone quietly starts watching everyone else.
- Run the activity as normal.
- In the debrief, ask who they thought the spy was. You’ll find nearly everyone is convinced there was one — and names a colleague.
Two mistakes to avoid
First, don’t reward finding the spy. The moment there’s a prize, the group fixates on the hunt and the real activity — and its real lessons — become secondary. Second, don’t deploy it into existing conflict. This is a tool for revealing assumptions safely, not for adjudicating who’s to blame.
What your team takes away
People leave having felt, first-hand, how little evidence it takes to invent a story about a coworker — and how confidently they’ll act on it. That’s a direct doorway into the conversations that matter most: assumptions, trust and how we communicate when we don’t have the full picture. It pairs naturally with the trust and communication work in our activity library, and with the way our approach starts by naming where a team really is.
Want us to design it for you?
The technique is simple; reading the room and running the debrief is where experience earns its keep. If you’d like a facilitator to build the right twist into your event — and know when not to — book a call.
Frequently asked questions
Are spy scenarios good for team building? +
They can be — if the goal is to surface how quickly people assume the worst about each other. Used carelessly, they add suspicion to a workplace that already has plenty. The value is in the debrief, not the intrigue.
How do you run a spy or saboteur twist? +
Pick any team activity, then tell the group there may be up to one saboteur for every 15 people — but don't actually assign anyone. Because a spy might exist, everyone starts watching each other. In the debrief, ask who they suspected: almost everyone names someone, though no spy was ever assigned.
What does the spy scenario teach? +
How easily we "make stuff up" — inventing motives and narratives about colleagues on almost no evidence. Naming that habit is a fast route to a conversation about assumptions, trust and communication back at work.
What mistakes should we avoid? +
Don't reward finding the spy, or the whole group fixates on the hunt and the real activity becomes secondary. And don't use it with a team already in serious conflict — it can deepen distrust rather than reveal it safely.
Curious what your team is making up?
Tell us about your group and your goals. We’ll design an experience — twist or no twist — that turns hidden assumptions into an honest, useful conversation.