Diversity Activity:

Barnga *Five Tricks*

Alicia Jackson

Cultural Context of the Game:

When it comes to cross-cultural simulation games, Barnga is an oldie but a goody.
Barnga was created by Sivasailam Thiagi Thiagarajan in 1980, while working for USAID in
Gbarnga, Liberia. During a coup, his teams vehicles were commandeered by the military, so
Thiagarajan and his colleagues stayed in their compound, passing the time playing Euchre. Born
in Chennai, India, Thiagarajan had moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where hed learned how to
play the card game, and as his Liberian coworkers hadnt played it before, he gave them a copy
of Hoyles Games to read up on the rules. The trouble was, after their crash course, they all came
away with different interpretations of how to play. Rather than clear up the arguments,
Thiagarajan let the players work it out, and after three hours, the group had settled on their own,
unique version of Euchre. This interesting episode presented me with a blinding flash of the
obvious, writes Thiagarajan in Barnga: A Simulation Game on Cultural Clashes. Serious
conflicts arise not from major, obvious cultural differences, but from unrecognized, minor ones.
~Barnga-When Cultures Play by Different Rules by Craig Thompson~

Objectives:
1. Students will participate in an activity that emulates a cross-cultural experience.
2. Students discuss how understanding and recognizing differences is important to
function effectively in a cross-cultural society.

Materials:
Playing cards
Instructions for Five Tricks http://www.acphd.org/media/271383/barnga_instructions.pdf
Discussion questions
Presentation Technology (can be replaced with white board)

Procedure:
Time Activity
Introduction
Quiet Rehearsal This is something that will already be established. When I put
up a sign that says Quiet Rehearsal it means that no one talks not even the teacher.
Everything is done non-verbally.

2 min. Teacher has on the screen instructions to get into groups of 4 to 6 people.
Lesson
Teacher hands each group a set of playing cards and a set of instructions.

Students learn the game and play their version until they are comfortable with the
game.
45 min.
 Teacher collects the instructions puts new instruction on screen that states the
winner of each group rotates clockwise to a new group.

Students continue to play the game with rotation. Teacher will start seeing
students getting confused, frustrated, etc.

Teacher takes Quiet Rehearsal sign down.

Conclusion
T: how many of you figured out what was happening? S: hopefully a majority of
them raise their hands what was happening? S: each group had a different set
of rules

T: In the groups you are in discuss these questions.

- What was frustrating about this experience?
- How did you decide the winner?
- How does this activity represent real-life? How does this activity relate
specifically to this class? (think both positive and negative)

Teacher asks for groups to share what they talked about.

T: write a short reflection paragraph: now that youve experienced this and felt
the frustration what are you going to do differently now?

Students write paragraph and turn it into the teacher.

15 min.

Assessment:
1. Teacher will informally assess by watching for student participation in the activity.
2. Teacher will formally assess the students understanding by collecting student
reflections.

Reflection:
This is a great activity for the students because they get to actively experience the trials
that come from cross-cultural communication. Then the discussion afterwards allows them to put
into words what happened and how it will change their views going into the future. I have done
this activity before it worked really well and I dont have any doubts the students will pick up the
game. I am worried they may struggle with the discussion. If they dont have a lot of previous
experience in a diverse community, then they may not make the connection to real life. I may
have to scaffold their thinking through extra discussion questions.
This activity is great for a secondary music ensemble because music is so diverse; Not
only will students have to communicate across cultures within the ensemble itself but they will
have to communicate across cultures when they perform. I love how this activity addresses the
small differences that cause misunderstanding because I think it is one of our biggest problems in
todays society. Understanding each other and what makes us different is so important for
communication and communication is the reason music is so beautiful.