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The Search for The Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine

 

"Dig where the gold is, unless you are just looking for exercise."

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"Dutchman" is a fun team building simulation that focuses on themes of teamwork, leadership, planning and communications. It is THE world-class exercise on inter-team collaboration -- Surveys tell us that there is no other exercise that is as engaging and effective (and this game is used worldwide!). Over the past 25 years, Dutchman has entertained and enlightened participants worldwide and we have the testimonials to prove it.

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Below is some general information about the exercise and its outcomes. There is a LOT of explanatory information about the exercise in our various blog posts listed at the bottom of this page. 

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If you would rather not browse this information, call or email me and have me walk through it with you. The more information we have about your situation and your desired outcomes, the better we can respond to your needs. (Email Us)
 

Feedback from sessions is extremely good due to the energy the play creates, a solid instructional design and its outstanding debriefing qualities. Players leave with tangible ideas for better communications, improved teamwork and ideas for leadership.

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The setting is modern-day Southwestern United States in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. Outfitted in Cowboy hats and colorful bandannas, teams go on a search for gold from the famous Lost Dutchman's Mine, first discovered by Jacob Waltz in the 1860s and lost since he died in 1892.

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The exercise focuses on inter-table collaboration as its main outcome yet it links easily to issues of leadership, motivation, strategy implementation, communications and a variety of other organizational issues. Team size is 5 or 6 people and there is no limit to the number of participants. We've successfully delivered sessions for groups of 8 and groups of 600, from 11-year olds at a YMCA to senior managers at multi-national corporations and from shop floor personnel in manufacturing plants to executives at international conferences.

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get a pictorial overview of the play of the game by clicking here.

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This exercise is truly outstanding for a highly interactive morning or afternoon event. In 3 to 4 hours, participants get to play and then fully debrief the event and discuss real opportunities for improvement. It functions very well as a full-day program within a conference or as a specific training event on team building, leadership and collaboration. Many organizations use it in multi-day training and leadership development programs.

 

Click on one of the icons on the right for information about purchasing one of the many different available versions! We have a number of different versions and price points available to suit different training needs.

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We have sold hundreds of these exercises and have consultant users worldwide who have delivered the exercise to tens of thousands of people. We have users in almost every industry and a variety of educational institutions using it for teaching. The exercise is used to teach a variety of different learning skills, thinking skills and personality inventories, used for Project

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Lost Dutchman is sometimes confused with another vendor's product, Gold of The Desert Kings. If you know about that product, you will find this detailed comparison to be a solid comparison as to why Dutchman is better in every regard, especially in ease of use and cost.

If you would like to read our perspective on the comparison between them, please click here.

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We Rent the exercise for a one-time delivery if you are in North America!

This is great if you have a large group and want an easy-to-deliver exercise, with free coaching until you feel you are ready to go. You may also be able to apply part the rental price to a later purchase of the game! And you get our full, professional support by telephone and email. Bombproof, too!!! Guaranteed.

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