samurai What Happens in The Samurai Game^®?
Participants in The Samurai Game^® cross a psychological line and step into the unfamiliar simulated world of the medieval Japanese Samurai. They form two competing samurai armies and engage with their teammates and opponents in symbolic battles that eventually determine the simulation’s finale. These battles call upon participants to exercise resourcefulness, decisiveness, honor, dignity, integrity, respect, compassion and personal commitment. The pace is fast and unpredictable, and the outcomes are highly uncertain. No two productions of the simulation are ever quite the same, making each learning experience unique! While involving no significant physical contact, The Samurai Game^® demands much in the way of centeredness and teamwork. Participants are encouraged to summon forth their “warrior” spirit with courage and determination.Purpose of The Samurai Game^®

The purpose of The Samurai Game^® is essentially to enable participants to experience themselves and their habitual reactions to circumstances more clearly, so that they have greater choice in their lives. The Samurai Game^® is designed to:

Place participants in an unfamiliar realm of relationship and governance. From this perspective they can gain clear understandings about their own habitual life patterns.
Establish an experience of intense competition in an atmosphere that demands honor, dignity, and integrity.
Provide circumstances in which individuals and teams may choose to display integrity when no one is watching, support when the going gets tough and rules don’t easily apply, and commitment when there is no certainty of success.
Create a situation in which participants become keenly aware of the vividness and value of life.
Promote the opportunity for participants to deal with loss and recovery.
Promote a deeper awareness of those places inside each participant where they want to stop or are unwilling to be uncomfortable.
Deepen the participants awareness of the total interplay of emotions with beliefs and physical responses.
Push “the envelope” of personal and team integrity and commitment by learning when it cracks and when it strengthens.

What do people experience in The Samurai Game^®?

Everybody’s experience of The Samurai Game^® will be different. There are some common themes amongst people who participate, however. These include…

Experience the dilemma of loyalty to both self and team. Each participant must make a choice about the dilemma.
Experience being 100% involved in a situation with a commitment to play it out to the end.
Gain specific insights about how one makes choices and how the notion of accountability is personally held.
Experience the testing of one’s personal sense of integrity.
Experience being fully and unconditionally supported no matter what the participant does.
Experience, through the process of symbolic death, of being respected, appreciated, and cared for, regardless of whether the participant won or lost during the contest.
Experience, on the part of the team leaders, the fear, excitement, pain, and total commitment required to be completely responsible for others.
Experience the power of team commitment and synergy.
Discover what distracts one and where he or she excuses himself/herself from fully living.
Gain sharp new insights on habitual patterns of behavior which may be interfering with the participant’s success and fulfillment.

How long is The Samurai Game^®?

How many people can play The Samurai Game^®?

Would the participation of our team’s boss or senior leaders inhibit others from playing The Samurai Game fully?

Can The Samurai Game^® be used to assess individuals in our team or organization based upon how they perform in the Game?

Who can lead The Samurai Game?

Can The Samurai Game^® be done as part of a larger leadership or team-building program or course?

What other organizations have played The Samurai Game^®?

Is The Samurai Game^® dangerous or physically risky?

Is it possible for someone from our company to learn how to lead The Samurai Game^®?