Why small groups are easier
With eight people you do not need name badges, an ice-breaker or a facilitator. You need one thing to do together that nobody is already good at. That is the whole brief.
A small team also means nobody can hide. In a room of six, every person ends up holding something, reading something or shouting a number across the room.
One room or two?
Four to seven people fit in a single room, and that keeps the whole team in one story. Eight to twelve works better split across two rooms at the same time, then compared afterwards. The comparison is half the fun, and it gives the quieter half of the team something to talk about at lunch.
Which room suits a work team
The Legend of Miyalock is the safest choice for a mixed group who have not done this before. Captain Riddle’s Forgotten Fortune suits teams who like a story. The Betrayal of Cluetankhamun is for teams who genuinely want to be beaten by something.
Avoid The Hellevator unless you know everyone is up for a scare. It is the best room we have, and it is the wrong first impression for a colleague who did not know what they were signing up to.
After the game
Do not send everyone straight back to the office. Twenty minutes over a drink is when the debrief actually happens, and we are a short walk from the Jewellery Quarter and Colmore Row for exactly that.