I'm sure someone will have a more elegant solution, but I can share something similar I did in a classroom once. Each student reached under their chair and found an index card taped there. On the index card there was a small picture (die-cut). Each die-cut was one of 8 colors. So one card might have a red triangle diecut, one might have a green duck diecut, one might have a yellow square diecut, etc. The purpose of my activity was for the kids to mingle with each other in new ways. So for the first round, I said: "If you have a green card, go to table 1; if you have red, go to table 2, etc." Round 2, I said: if you have a 3-sided geometric shape, go to table 1; if you have a geometric shape without any sides, go to table 2; if you have an animal with wings, go to table 3; if you have a 4 legged animal, go to table 4, etc. Next round: If you have a living object in red, go to table 1, etc. If you want each couple at each table once, you will need 8 rounds. Your categories could be different food items, book titles, numbers, whatever -wonderful if you can tie it in with the event a bit. With a little preplanning, you can ensure people move to a different table each time.

Thanks so much for telling me how you handled a similar game, bestyears. I just gave up on Friday when I was trying to figure this out and went on to a less brain-taxing task. One of my coworkers promised to try to wrap her head around this and I'm hoping between the two of us we'll come up with the exact solution soon. Another part of our equation is that there will be a guest of honor that we want all of our other guests to spend time with. This seems to be throwing the biggest wrench into our thought process!

I have been mulling this over as I scrape paint. I'm stumped.

Do the couples have to move together because this is work related and they want/need to stay with the only person they know at the event (their spouse or date)? Can't they just man up for the duration of the game and become a free agent that moves from table to table (so that you only have to think about moving individuals around and not a mix of singles and couples)?

Is the most important part everyone getting a chance to spend time with the guest of honor and not as important if the rest of the attendees don't mingle as much?

It's not as though I have a solution for you, I'm just trying to identify key elements that might help the solution appear to deeper thinkers.

I think bestyears' suggestion is great and would create many opportunities for moving people back and forth.

Whatever happens, please let us know how you handled it.

hhireno, we've been asked to keep spouses together and simply move them from table to table as a single unit. We have considered "going rogue" and forcing them to go it on their own for the 90-minute duration of this particular event though, so it's not entirely out of the question. We also have several singles in the group, which only seems to complicate matters. It is indeed most important that all guests mingle with the guest of honor (and his spouse), and they can mingle amongst themselves at dinner and a post-dinner event. It really feels like this will be a "forced march", what with all the table switching, but it pretty much has to be in order to accomplish our goals. Funny how even at events such as this people are so cliqueish and tend to cluster in the same small groups.

This evening has a "roaring 20s" theme and we've got lots of wonderful decor and entertainment. We've even hired actors to pose as flapper girls and gangster guys!

We organize this sort of thing at my job frequently. It generally involves Excel and personalized rotation schedules. Use Excel to decide the assignments for each round and then print cards with schedules for each person that say during Round 1, they should be at Table C and during Round 2, they should be at Table A. If you follow this plan, I would recommend also using a placard or a voiceover announcement for the round you're on-- that way, people won't get mixed up and go to their Round 6 assignment whet it's actually Round 5.

For 50 people, it shouldn't be too bad on the back end-- I've done projects where they've had to do this for more than a thousand people. Personalized schedules are the best way to minimize confusion.

Thanks, sovra! (More than a thousand?? Whew!) My coworker has been doing exactly as you suggested, working in Excel and creating a color-coded chart that will produce a schedule for each person. She's supposed to meet with me later today and show me what she's come up with. I'm eager to see, and hopefully get this "show on the road"! ;-)

One of the first tasks is to find out how many 'units' you have, a 'unit' being defined as either a single or a couple. I figured there would be about 32 units if most were couples and about 10 singles.

I got it started in Excel, then got all confused after about round 3... But it can be done. I started by making an 8 x 8 grid (8 rounds x 8 tables) and assigning each unit a Letter (upper case and lower case letters were not the same). You start in a simple ABCD, EFGH, IJKL pattern for round 1, then 'deal' (think playing cards) the units to the next tables for the next rounds. A moves 1 table, B moves 2, C moves 3, D moves 4. E moves 1, F moves 2, G moves 3, H moves 4.

I'm thinking the mathematical logic will be along the same lines as a Soduku puzzle.

The Guest of Honor thing can actually simplify things, since a 'repeat' of Smiths and Jones is not so much of an issue as either Smiths or Jones not meeting Guests of Honor.

Anyway, I'd get a bunch of index cards, assign each card a Unit letter, then mark (in pencil!) for each round, what table # and what other Units they meet, using the shuffling system.

Doing the math just for timing, at a minimum of 10 minutes to route 32 units through 8 tables (assuming one table is the must see guest) = 80 minutes. Did you want this part of the event to be 80 minutes? That's a really long time in "party speak" for a "forced" activity. I'm assuming there will be an informal mingling as guests arrive, drinks, appetizers and a meal? Will there also be a program? Long event. Just saying...

If you have 56 people you have 28 couples and you need 7 tables not 8 to move each couple as a unit since 7 x 8 = 56. Therefore, each table has 4 couples (8 people) and switches between the 7 tables. Good luck!

EG3d - She's explicitly trying NOT to move the couples as a unit, and has some singles in there also --

Just wanted to report back (and to say thanks to all who responded with helpful ideas). The event took place and went off without a hitch, even though my coworker and I worked on the seating rotation right up until the very last minute and I was really sweating by that time. She did most of the work (and it just about drove her nuts), setting up an Excel spreadsheet. She worked and worked and reworked until she just couldn't work it anymore! We then merged her names/table assignments into a Word document that was designed as a seating assignment card. One for each couple (we did end up moving couples as a single unit and interspersed the singles where we could). I don't think any of the attendees had a clue that we had so much difficulty with this, as everything went very smoothly. The event did last about 90 minutes in all, and I too feared it would be too lengthy, but it was perfect. I also feared that attendees would complain about having to move tables so frequently, but that's what they seemed to enjoy most about it.

Anyway - event was successful. And I'm just glad it's over. ;-)

Thanks for the update.

I'm a bit surprised, but pleased, that most people liked the moving around aspect. Too often people plop themselves down & settle in and later realize they only conversed with their table-mates (if that!). Often people need a little assistance with mingling.

I've done this type of "fact finding" activity where you're told to mingle and find someone who [insert description]. I like this approach where your moves are choreographed so you don't feel like an outsider to a group you approach. Thanks for sharing it with us. Now...on to next event, right?

Glad the event was a success!

But I'm curious -- Did you ever find the underlying math principle? I'm sure it exists!

Honestly, Sweeby - if my coworker found it, I certainly didn't grasp it! By the time we printed out the last table assignment cards and hurried to the venue to set up, my brain was toast. (Thankfully the bartenders plied us with apple martinis to help us relax a bit! ;-))

Yep, on to the next event! The next one shouldn't be quite so mathematically challenging!