The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine

A World-Acclaimed Experiential Learning Tool Focused on Collaboration, Alignment, Leadership and Implementation of Optimized Performance.

Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine 

The game board for Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine teambuilding game - the board game version

Do you want to 

  • Break down the silo culture at work?
  • Align employee goals with organizational goals?
  • Imbibe positivity, creativity, and proactiveness in teams?
  • Give employees the confidence to make faster decisions?
  • Encourage teams to collaborate rather than compete?
  • Build a sense of trust in leadership?
The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine has been PMC’s flagship team building simulation since 1993 and has been helping all kinds of organizations on a global scale, resulting in dramatic improvements in communication, collaboration, leadership, resource management and team dynamics. It encourages employees of different levels to up their performance and add value to the organization.

The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine
gives your group

  • Access to a powerful and proven team-building event designed to strengthen organizations of all kinds
  • A challenging and fun gameplay resulting in an enthusiastic and energetic buy-in from participants
  • A solid instructional design with highly acclaimed debriefing qualities
  • A hands-on learning and brainstorming opportunity that leads to tangible ideas for and appreciation of better collaboration, communications, teamwork and leadership.

During game play, teams experience issues common in workplaces with key learnings around strategic planning, collaboration, risk taking, open communication, faster decision making, and trust in leadership.

The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine is energizing, visual and highly interactive, producing an excellent learning environment supported by extensive debriefing materials that invite solid learning points and a focus on implementation. It’s a valuable business-improvement game that links individual and team behaviors to workplace improvement opportunities.

This tabletop facilitation tool is perfect for team building events, leadership training, strategy meetings, sales review meets, retreats, management training and organizational development training.

“Dutchman” is a blast. In fact, surveyed users tell us that there is no other exercise that is as engaging and effective.

Reach

Our facilitation tools are used by consultants and organizations of repute all over the world.

For over 25 years, Dutchman has entertained and enlightened thousands of participants worldwide and we have the testimonials to prove it.

Countries

Organizations

Professionals

What our customers have to say

Steve Welland, Owner - Strategic Development Institute, Urbana-Champaign, IL

Simply Superb! We use this program all over the country with our clients and it is ALWAYS rated as one of the best programs delivered. Works in all types of companies and drives organizations toward Collaboration and Teamwork! The debrief options allow you to fully customize the delivery to any audience. Well designed and easy to deliver. That, combined with all of the knowledge and support of Dr. Scott, and you have the best Team Building simulation out there…BAR NONE!

David Simpson Co-Founder + Director of Learning & Development Team Building Asia

We have been using The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine for over 15 years. Our clients love the activity and are always greatly impressed with its great metaphors and linkage to their day-to-day business. These are then used to create meaningful Action Plans with real and tangible outcomes that aid strategic planning, closer collaboration and more. Highly recommended!

Denise Fera Science North, Canada

Just wanted to let you know we delivered this yesterday at our annual recharge. It was fabulous! Interactive, fun, insightful and lots of learning…that’s part of our brand at Science North so a perfect fit. Debrief was “awesome” and fit so well as we prepare to launch our new strategic plan which has as one of its key priorities an “Awesome Organizational Culture” goal. Great team building tool; well worth the investment. I can’t think of a better way to have kicked off our re-charge!

How the game unfolds?

Briefing Session

Time to Strategize

FUN, INTERACTIVE GAME PLAY

Learning through Debriefing

Picture this –

Your teams will find themselves in the modern-day Southwestern United States in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona where they will go on a search for gold from the famous Lost Dutchman’s Mine, first discovered by Jacob Waltz in the 1860s and lost in the Phoenix flood of 1891.

Outfitted with all the supplies and support needed for success, it’s up to each team and the choices they make regarding the use of the resources and information available that will impact the amount of gold that they’ll mine. Challenges and opportunities exist that will affect their decisions.

The Goal is to mine as much Gold as WE Can!

Collaboration between teams visibly and measurably improves team and group performance results with competition clearly sub-optimizing results (“The Goal is to mine as much Gold as WE Can!”). During the debriefing, the Expedition Leader (facilitator) establishes clear links to game behavior and desired organizational behaviors impacting collaboration, innovation, quality, motivation and leadership.

Planning to run the game?
Here are more details

Duration of the Game

Deliver: 3.5 hours | Debriefing: 90+ minutes

Ideal Team size

20- 200+ in a conference seating

Ideal Participants

Cross-functional teams, managers to senior / top management teams

Facilitation experience

It is straightforward and simple to deliver and does not require extensive facilitation experience.

Performance Management Blog

Ideas on People and Performance, Team Building, Motivation and Innovation