What's a fun and reliable way to make couch potatoes get up?

[modularblues]

[Or cubicle slaves, or lethargic schoolchildren, etc.]

My team and I are brainstorming to design and build a "playful experience that encourages people to move". The device should not be disruptive and can be for corporate or academic settings.

A good example is the piano stairs that we were shown in class...

We have less than two weeks to put this together, and we need to consider functionality, ease of use, reliability, aesthetics, size, and cost.

Possible ideas, may or may not be feasible:
(1) Get people to shoot darts on a target hanging on the wall
(2) Hang stuff from the ceiling to make people jump for them

Any other ideas? Thanks for any input!

[Dave_Wise]

Electric shocks administered through the cushion of the couch?

[poxic]

A Wii? Twister? Charades?

[Dave_Wise]

A huge lever mounted on the side of the room attached through a pulley system to a large weight. Initially, pulling the lever dispenses food, but as you push it more and more often, food is dispensed less and less.

[modularblues]

Thanks

Mmmmm, the electric shock is definitely reliable, but not so fun for whoever sitting in the chair

Games could work, perhaps with additional incentives to play them...

Wow, the lever idea sounds pretty outrageous If it disperses goodies randomly, it may tempt more people to try more often, ahahaha.

Another idea: enlarged board games such that players need to walk around to move the pieces.

[Dave_Wise]

Wow, the lever idea sounds pretty outrageous If it disperses goodies randomly, it may tempt more people to try more often, ahahaha.

That's the beauty of it, see. It only needs an occasional payoff for the ra... the couch potatoe to keep pulling the lever. Slot machines work on much the same principle.

[psyck0]

What ever happened to a good old-fashioned fun sport or game? Why does it have to be a device?

[Dave_Wise]

Sorry, I may have the wrong end of the stick here- fun for the fatty, or for you?

What about a 100lb remote control whose functions can only be selected by scrolling through them by squatting. One rep scrolls through one function. And if you do a turkish getup with it, it instantly selects hardcore pornography!

[modularblues]

ROFL. As much as I would love to try out these ideas, we only have a few days and other members of my team seem fixated on a bouncy chair derived from an exercise ball...

[01000011]

Another idea: enlarged board games such that players need to walk around to move the pieces.

I would so do that. I remember at my junior school we had a giant checkers board where you had to move all the pieces like that. I'd love a huge monopoly though

[Dave_Wise]

Or like a computer game, you know like one of those old fashioned platform games or something, but with people as the characters? Obviously you'd have to alter certain things in line with the laws of physics, and only use species of animals that actually exist, and make other things less lethal, but I would really love to play, say, donkey kong in real life...

[Josephine]

Or like a computer game, you know like one of those old fashioned platform games or something, but with people as the characters? Obviously you'd have to alter certain things in line with the laws of physics, and only use species of animals that actually exist, and make other things less lethal, but I would really love to play, say, donkey kong in real life...

*trips on barrel*
*smashes face in on the floor*
no you don't.

[WastedCharlie]

Or cubicle slaves, or lethargic schoolchildren, etc.

So the idea is to make them put in some effort and work a little right?

I'm thinking more of adults with these two....

How about toilet cubicle doors that weigh about 50kg and have to be slid upwards. You have to lift it and tuck under before it slams down on you. There's an alternative winch mechanism with a really low gear ratio so it takes a zillion turns to get it up, but either way you've got a dash to make.

Maybe build a moat around the office block which you must swim across to get in? You could call it a pool if it makes it sound more sophisticated, but I think people will find it more fun to call it a moat. Complete with drawbridge for emergency traversal.

[dragon]

Wheely office-chair races! Not so much exercise for the person sitting in the chair, but they can swap out with the people pushing. Or the winning team gets to be the ones sitting on the chairs the next round.

[rachelbonilla]

HaHa! I gotta show these ideas to my husband for his office!

[folkhero]

Another idea: enlarged board games such that players need to walk around to move the pieces.

I would so do that. I remember at my junior school we had a giant checkers board where you had to move all the pieces like that. I'd love a huge monopoly though

Some people enjoy playing Risk on a very large board; something on the scale of 500 square megameters.

[meatyochre]

At my work, I always enjoy when they give us the opportunity to play cornhole (bean bag toss into small ramps with holes on them).

Realize that most people at work in a cubicle environment do not enjoy sitting all day. Barring physical disability, we welcome ANY chance to get up and walk around. It doesn't have to be complex or innovative.

[TheNorm05]

Musical chairs + incentive.

[BurningLed]

Human chess, complete with kickboxing match whenever a piece gets taken.