Worst Idea Race
What is the Worst Idea Race card?
Get weak ideas out of the way so the good ones are easier to find.
This activity will help you let go of perfectionism and enter creative flow. If you’ve done a “Reverse Brainstorm” before, this tactic is the same thing but with a fast-paced competitive twist.
How to use the Worst Idea Race card
1. Create a row of 15 empty sticky notes for each participant, and put their name next to it.
2. Explain that this is a game – the winner is the first person to fill their row with 15 bad ideas.
Tell them you want the worst possible responses to the creative challenge. What would make the problem even worse? What would make customers point and laugh? What would get us all sacked?
Set a 5 minute timer – the winner is either the first person to complete their row, or the person with the most bad ideas after 5 minutes.
Optional: consider adding a couple of minutes onto this task where people can identify any bad ideas that could be flipped or tweaked to make them good. You could use Like, Wish, Wonder for this, or simply ask people to draw stars next to any ideas that feel flippable, and then explain any potential value they’ve spotted.
You might like these Idea Tactics
Get Idea Tactics
Worst Idea Race is one of 54 ideation workshop cards inside the Idea Tactics card deck.
Ditch creative block and unleash big ideas with your team.