There Is No Ice: What Actually Melts It
Mark Collard is the founder of playmeo, the online home of group games and activities he’s been building since 2007, now home to 538 activities (and counting) used by facilitators around the world. He got his start in 1990 through Project Adventure under mentor Karl Rohnke, spent seven years as a university lecturer, and has written five books, including his first, Serious Fun, in 2014. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Mark has spent decades helping educators, trainers, and facilitators turn play into trust, and trust into growth.
This conversation keeps circling one idea: the “ice” in icebreaker isn’t a myth, and calling something an icebreaker doesn’t automatically melt it. What actually matters is whether the facilitator creates an environment where people can choose to participate on their own terms. From there the conversation moves through the “unofficial start,” the philosophy of challenge by choice, how Playmeo categorizes its massive activity database, and what happens when an activity goes sideways mid-session.
- Why Mark never argues when a group claims they have “no ice”
- “That’s like a red rag to a bull” — his line for skeptical clients
- Why he doesn’t care what you call it: “well-designed moments that create connection”
- How to spot the “emotional shift” in a room: shoulders, arms, eyebrows
- The 3-day camp pairing police recruits with at-risk kids, and the girls who held out
- Why forcing participation backfires, like a cat and a hot stove
- The origin of the “unofficial start,” a trick from his mentor Karl Rohnke
- How it eliminated late arrivals for 14 straight semesters, through simple FOMO
- The core rule: an unofficial start has to run itself, no facilitator required
- His go-to tools: Connectiles, rope-signature names, and permission to just observe
- Jan’s own favourite, “sticker therapy” — choosing a sticker and explaining why
- How Playmeo’s database moved from “activity type” to outcome and skill to develop
- His new framework: Play, Interact, Share, Trust, Growth
- His rescue move for a derailed activity: stop it, then ask the group why
- Why he still leans on unpredictable adventure activities, vulnerability included
- His new “Lazy Facilitator” series: low-effort, high-impact facilitation
- What’s coming in 2026: an AI trained on his “3GB brain” of activities
Connect with Mark:
- playmeo: playmeo.com
