Story cubes
A perfect warm-up exercise. Great way to develop creativity, imagination, and spontaneous storytelling.
Duration: 60 minutes.
Difficulty level: 3/5
Number of participants: Min. 10. Max. 20.
Preparation
A set of Story Cubes, either a ready-made one or one customized by you specifically for the workshop.
Introduction
Present the Story Cubes to the participants and explain how to use them: each die has a different set of illustrations on its faces, designed to inspire the creation of original stories.
Inform the group that each participant will roll the dice, and based on the illustrations rolled, will spontaneously tell their story to the entire group.
Let them know that the goal of the exercise is spontaneous storytelling, and there are no right or wrong stories— the only limitation is their own imagination.
Instructions
Depending on the number of participants, form one group (for up to 10 people) or split into two groups (for more than 10 people). Each group receives its own set of Story Cubes.
Each participant rolls all the dice at once. After rolling, they begin a spontaneous story, starting with phrases like "Once upon a time..." or "A long time ago...". The story should be based on the nine images from the dice and using the 9 images from the dice, participants tell their story, starting with any image, ideally the one that first caught their attention.
Helpful tips
Story Cubes can be purchased as ready-made sets. For a more challenging version, you can create your own customized set, tailored to a specific group of participants or a themed workshop.
There are no rigid rules with Story Cubes; the focus is solely on having fun while creating stories. Another variation of the activity is to tell a shared story within the group, with each participant contributing one sentence at a time.
It’s worth exploring the internet for additional inspiration and other ways to have fun with Story Cubes.
Wrap-up (10 minutes)
After completing the storytelling round, encourage participants to discuss:
What did this exercise give you?
Did it spark your imagination?
How did it stimulate your creativity?