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Indoor Mixers/ Competitive Games (A-J) Airplane Blitz Age
Group: All Youth Bring
a stack of copier paper and let the kids make lots and lots of paper
airplanes. Then you need some way to clearly divide the room in half.
(The taller the divider the better.) A couch works, but even better was
a rolling chalk board. Put
half the kids on each side of the divider. Put half the paper airplanes
on each side of the divider. Explain that they can only throw ONE plane
at a time and they must stop when the leader says "stop". Say
"Go". They throw the airplanes over the divider as fast as
they can. Planes are flying in both directions. Then pick up any
planes you see and throw them back.
The object of the game is to have the least number of airplanes
on your side. Let them go
about 3 minutes. Give them a ten second warning and then say
"stop". Count the airplanes on each side of the divider. The
team with the least number of planes wins. Repeat it a number of times,
keeping track of the wins to get the champions.
A quicker variation: Throw a big bag of loose socks or balloons
in the dark.
Aliens Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents This is great for a church with a lot of hiding places. First explain all the rules to everyone. Pick two kids(about one per 10 kids) to be "ray guns". The ray guns are given five minutes to hide anywhere in the church. Next, pick out two "aliens". The aliens are released to hide themselves too. The object of the game is to find a "ray gun" so that you can zap the "alien". You can zap an alien by tagging that alien with the ray gun that you found. In other words the ray gun has to bound to the person and the ray gun has to tag the alien. The aliens try to tag all of the players. If a player is tagged then they have to go back to a common area for a full minute. The leader can choose the common area. An untagged player can free a tagged player at any time. This game is great in the dark. We usually play it once a month for the whole night
Alphabet Ups and Downs / Bring Back my Bonnie to
Me Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents Choose
a story with many alliterations (I like to use "Fat Fireman
Foster" or "The Dreadful Dragon with a Diamond D" from my
little boy's Sesame Street storybook). Read the story to the group.
Instruct group members to stand up or sit down every time they hear a
word that begins with the letter you designate. The quicker you read,
the sillier it gets! (One of my favorite passages: "Fat Fireman
Foster was a faithful, friendly fire fighter. He was fabulous when a
forest fire flickered freely through the fair forest...."
Apple/Marshmallow Bob Age
Group: All Youth This
game begins just like the regular bobbing for apples. However, this game
adds a new twist. Immediately after bobbing for apples, the person bobs
for marshmallows in a bowl of flour. You can just imagine the results.
The game is quite messy so make sure the floor is covered with plastic
for quick and easy clean up.
Bald Is Beautiful Age
Group: All Youth Select
several guys or girls with moderately long hair (but not more than 5 or
6 inches...) Select several girls to be the "stylists". Each
boy pulls a nylon stocking over his head completely covering his hair
but allowing his face to still show. The stylists then begin poking
toothpicks through the nylon hose and pulling out tufts of hair. The
most bizarre hairstyle wins the contest! I've had several guys wear
their new hairstyle all night long! What a hoot! Balloon Stompers Divide
the group into two teams. Each
team member blows up a balloon and ties it around his or her ankle with
a piece of string. On go
each team tries to stomp and break the other team’s balloons.
The first team to stomp all of the other team’s balloons wins.
You can also break up the teams by balloon colors to make it
easier to know who is who. Balloon Up and Under Relay This
is a relay that is good for all ages and lasts about 10 - 15 minutes.
Have the group split up into teams of about 8-10 people,
depending upon the size of your group. Then have each group line up behind one another.
So there now should be teams of 8-10 people lined up behind one
another in a line across the front.
In other words, the groups should look like this: 1
2 3
4 Once you
have the teams lined up, give the first person on 1
2 3
4 each
team a balloon. When the
leader says go, the first 1
2 3
4 person
passes the balloon over their head and the next 1
2 3
4 person
passes the balloon under their legs.
This pattern 1
2 3
4 continues
until the balloon gets to the end of the line.When 1
2 3
4 the last
person gets the balloon, he runs to the front with it 1
2 3
4 and starts the
pattern all over again. He
passes the balloon 1
2 3
4 over his head and
the next person puts it under his legs and 1
2 3
4
so on. This
continues until the person that started the game *
*
*
* runs to the front
with the balloon and everyone sits down.
Front
Banana Rumble Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents Give
everyone a banana. Everyone puts a mark on their banana to be able to
identify their's. All the bananas are put in the middle of the room in a
big pile. Everyone is in
chairs in a square around the room around the pile. Be sure to be in a
square shape because each side of the square is a team...4 sides--4
groups. When a signal is given, everyone rushes to find their banana.
The team that has their bananas and is sitting down first wins. [Doing
this game several times is likely to get a few squished bananas out of
it so make sure you have quite a few extras.]
Banana Showdown Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents Everyone
has a banana in good enough condition to eat. 2 teams face each other in
parallel lines. The people have to put their banana in a pocket. When
the signal is given, the people must draw their bananas like guns and
instantly peel it and eat it as fast as they can. Whoever has their
banana eaten first wins.
Banana Tag Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents Divide
up into two teams. Sit in parallel lines across from each other. Make
sure the 2 lines are about 15 feet apart. Put a banana in the middle.
Number the people off. One
line: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9... Other
line: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1... So
that the same numbered people are diagonal from each other.
The leader will call out a number. The two people with that
number run up to the banana. The object is for one of the people to get
the banana and get back to his/her seat without being tagged by the
other person. [This is very hard, since both people are standing right
next to each other.] Once one of the players picks up the banana the
other player can tag him/her. If a person is tagged, the banana must be
put down and another number called.
Whoever tags earns a point for the team. Whoever gets to his/her
seat without being tagged earns a point for his/her team.
A variation to this game is calling out two numbers. The people
that come from the same line are on a team.
This means that they can pass the banana back and forth trying
not to get tagged. Bite the Bag Stand
a grocery bag in the middle of the floor and ask everyone to sit in a
wide circle around it. One
at a time each person must come to the bag and try to pick it up with
just his teeth, then return it to a standing position.
Nothing but the bottoms of his feet are ever allowed to touch the
floor. Almost everyone can
do this. After everyone has
had a turn, cut off or fold down an inch or two of the bag.
With each round shorten the bag more.
When a person is no longer able to pick up the bag and stand
again., he is out. The
winner is the one who can pick it up without falling when no one else
can. Blindfolded Banana-Eating Contest Pick
three kids to come up
front. Blindfold all of them, and say that each one should try to
out-eat the other two. The catch is this: Only one kid ends up “in the
contest.” Before you get started, remove the blindfolds of the other
two, and then everyone watches (and cheers loudly) as the one kid stuff
his face with “as many bananas as you can eat in a minute!” This is a variation on a theme (See banana eating
contest): Take
three guys out of the room and blindfold them. While they’re gone set
up a trail of small
candies, M&M’, gummy bears, etc. Tell the blindfolded guys that
they will each have
a trail of candy to follow. When
you bring them back into the room, though, take the blindfolds off two
of the guys, leaving one guy to crawl around on the floor by himself
eating candy. Best if this guy is a new leader or Club kid who doesn’t
know what is going on. Blow-Ball Another
great game to play, even though it does not use water, is called
Blow-Ball. I have not played this in a few years and once you play it
the trick is out except to new ones. You
place two people across the table from one another. Give each player a cracker. Place
a ping-ping ball in the middle of the table.
Tell each one that they have to eat the cracker and as soon as
they can blow the Ping-Pong ball off the other side.
Whoever blows it off the other side wins. Now comes the fun part. After playing this several times or
even for several weeks announce that this game is becoming too easy to
play. Blindfold the two players and instead of putting the Ping-Pong
ball in the center place a hand full of flour. Both players will end up
with flour all over them so be warned this is messy. Not to mention
funny. Bobsled Relay You'll
need a large carpeted floor for the racing area. Mark starting and
finish lines at least 20 feet apart using masking tape. Tear wax paper
into 4-foot lengths. Form pairs. Give each pair a bobsled (wax-paper
sheet). Have pairs join together to form equal teams of four to 10. Have
one pair from each team place its "bobsled" behind the
starting line. Have the starting pairs each decide which partner will
sit on the bobsled and which will stand behind the bobsled. On
"go," have the standing partners each push their teammate to
the finish line, switch places with their partner, then return to the
starting line on their bobsled. As soon as a pair returns to its
starting line, the next pair can begin to race. SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Masking tape, wax paper torn in 4-foot lengths. Body Part Musical Chairs Have
everyone form a big circle of chairs with the chairs facing outward.
Remove one chair. Have music ready. When the music starts everyone must
walk around the chairs (again it's fun if you make them jog). When the
music stops, a caller yells out a body part. Then
everyone races to touch that body part to a chair, one person per chair
only. If they touch a chair before the body part is called, they are
out. The one person who doesn't get a chair is also out. To speed it up,
you can remove more chairs. We usually start out simple - nose, hair,
left elbow, etc. but towards the end we get more complicated - your bare
feet, someone else's left hand (they must grab one of the people who are
already out). The object is to be the last one left. Bottom Ball Form
four teams. Make a "net by suspending crepe paper from four tall
objects, such as teenagers, pillars or stacks of chairs. The net should be 4 feet off the floor and in the form of an
X. You need several balloons. Have each team sit on the floor in one of
the "courts." The object of the game is to keep the balloons
from touching the floor in your court. Hit the balloons over the net
just as you would for volleyball, with one exception: Don't let your
rear-end leave the floor!!! Add more balloons as you go along. SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Crepe paper. masking tape, balloons. Broom Ride You
need three brooms approximately the same size. Have three teams each
line up behind a designated line with their broom.
When you say "ride," each team must stay behind the
line and put as many players as possible on its broomstick. Then players
must "ride" the broom to a chosen end point. The riders must
return to the starting line if anyone falls off the broom. If all the
players don't fit on the broom, one person must run back on the broom to
get the other players. SUPPLIES NEEDED:
3 Brooms approximately the same size. Butt-Spell Age
Group: Mid and Late Adolescents You
will need: index cards with words printed on them. Participants try to
get their teammates to guess the word on the card by spelling it out
with their rear ends. [Ed. Note: Early Adolescents may be too insecure
about their appearance or appearing too goofy in front of their friends.
Make sure no one is embarrassed unnecessarily.] Caterpillar Race Age
Group: All Youth Divide
a large group into several teams. Each team gets a bedsheet. Have one
half of each team go to the opposite side of the room for a relay race.
Hand a bed sheet to the first person in line on one side of the room. At
the word "GO", the first person must drop to the floor on the
bedsheet, roll themselves up into a "caterpillar" and then
"inchworm" crawl to their teammates across the room. There
they must unroll (the receiving team may assist!) then the next person
in line rolls up and inches back to the other side. Continue the relay
until each person has crossed to the other side. Great fun!
Chair Balloon Ball Age
Group: All Youth A
non-carpeted floor is the best surface for this game. Divide the
students up into two even teams and have each team choose a goalie. Have
the goalies sit across from one another at each end of the playing area.
These are not traditional goalies, their job is to get the balloon and
sit on it before the other team counts to three (loudly). The count does
not begin until the goalie receives the balloon.
The rest of the players all have their own chair that they can
not get out of. The game style is similar to soccer but each player
moves around the room in a chair and uses their free hand to hit the
balloon and their other hand to hold onto the chair. Players cannot hold
onto the balloon. The teams
play offense and defense and score when their goalie (who is on the
other end of the playing area) pops a balloon. If the balloon is not
popped by the count of three, the team does not score a point and the
balloon is removed. Another
balloon is thrown into play and the game continues.
Note to leader: have each kid blow up one balloon before you get
started, the game moves fast.
Chocolate Bar Scramble *
Source: Play It! - Great Games For Groups, page 204 Great
game for groups of 6-10. Place a chocolate bar in the center of the
table. The candy should stay in its wrapper and, to make the game last
longer, you could wrap the candy in gift-wrapping paper as well. Each
person sitting around the table takes a turn at rolling the dice. The
1st person who rolls a six gets to start eating the candy bar -- but
only after he puts on a pair of mittens, a cap, a scarf; only after he
runs once around the table; and
only with a knife and fork. While he is getting ready (according to the
instructions above) to eat the candy bar, the group keeps taking turns
rolling the dice. If someone rolls a six, then the person who rolled the
six before him relinquishes his right to the candy bar, and the 2nd
person must try to eat the candy before someone else rolls six. The game
is over when the candy bar is finished. Chubby Bunny props:
big bag of jumbo or bunny-shaped marshmallows number
of people: 4 or more Tell
the contestants to stuff one the marshmallows in their mouth, but not to
chew it. Then they must clearly say, “Chubby Bunny.” Keep adding
marshmallows and have the contestants continue to say “I am a Chubby
Bunny” until it is no longer audible. Then have someone peal the
marshmallows out of their mouth and count them, then have them sit down.
Keep going down the line until everyone has gone. The person with the
biggest mouth wins! Note:
Have a bag ready to catch the slimy marshmallows, and have fun!
Cotton Ball Hockey 2
People This
is a funny game to play during your meeting. Have two people come up and
kneel on either side of a low table. Spread a bag of cotton balls on the
table and have each person put on gloves. They are then blindfolded.
Tell them they have to sweep all the cotton balls off their own side of
the table. Quietly remove all the cotton balls and yell go. The teens
are wildly sweeping an empty table as the group keeps screaming for them
to hurry. Cotton Nose Blowers Here’s
a game that’s fun to play and funny to watch.
Line up the group into teams.
Give each player a chance to carry cotton balls across a line and
drop them. The team who
carries the greatest number of cotton balls across the line is the
winner. Sound easy? Well,
there is a catch. The
cotton balls may be carried only on the nose.
Here is how it works. Each
member smears some Vaseline in his or her nose without using their
hands. On hand and knees,
members poke their noses into cotton balls on the floor.
When they get a cotton ball to stick they crawl a couple feet to
the line and disengage the cotton by blowing.
The next person goes when the first person has disengaged as many
cotton balls as they feel they can do.
That is when the next person dumps their nose into the vaseline. Hands may be used for nothing but crawling.
The relay ends when the specified time limit is up.
Cracker Jack This
game is a relay between however many players you would like.
Simply have one person eat crackers before attempting to blow up
a balloon ... then, have the person put the balloon between their ankles
while another participant tries to pop the balloon (after first chugging
a can of root beer) without using his hands or feet (i.e. mouth, or any
other part) Deep
Sea Diving Supplies
for each team (of over 5 people): a.)
Garbage can full (I mean full) of water b.)
empty bucket c.)
timer or stopwatch d.)
a measuring cup The
object is to be the team that holds their breath the longest AND gets
the most water in the bucket. Time starts and the first team member puts
their head fully underwater for as long as possible. Once they are done,
they immediately move over and try and ring as much of the water from
their hair into the bucket. Also,
when they're done, then next team member in line needs to step up to the
can right away (so you can just keep the watch running to keep track of
time underwater). HINT:
Most people don't have trouble running out of oxygen, but having to much
CO2; if a person exhales a bit while underwater, they can last longer.
When the whole team has had a chance to hold their breath and to strain
water from their hair into the bucket, stop
the watch and measure how many ounces of water are in the "hair
bucket." Take the total time and multiply it by how many ounces of
hair water there is (total time x total ounces = final score). Dragon Game Split
the group into two parts. Get them into line and have them wrap their
arms around the waist of the person in front of them forming a long
chain. Stick a rag or handkerchief in the back pocket of the last
person. The goal is for the front person of one group to get the
"tail" of the other, while the tail of the group tries to
avoid getting caught. [Caution:
This is best done outdoors if you have over 20 kids.] If the group is separated then the game comes to a halt and
started over again. Duct Tape Head Materials
you will need: •
2 Nylon stockings •
1 Roll of two-sided adhesive tape •
2 Volunteers •
Colorful miscellaneous items [paper, paper clips, army men, candy, etc.] Take
a nylon stocking and put one over each of the volunteers’ heads. Then
take the tape and wrap it around the tops of their heads.
Next, spread the miscellaneous items on a long table and put a
volunteer on each end of the table. Instruct the volunteers that, once
the music starts, they should get as much of the stuff on the table to
stick on their heads as they can. The person with the most stuff on
their head wins! Usually
though, the two volunteers end up stuck to each other and that gets a
bunch of laughs!
Eat That Food This
game is not recommended for those who have weak stomachs.
This is a large group activity that really encourages unity. It
is a take off of Name that Tune. The object of the game is to get the
most points. You split your group up into 2 groups. Boys against the
girls works the best. Now to prepare for this you need to go to the
grocery store and pick up some good foods ( candy, chips, pizza, etc. )
and you will also need some not so good food, ( red hot chili peppers,
prunes, spam, sardines, maybe even a goldfish.) Then you separate them
into brown paper bags. For each bag there is a different food inside.
Label the bags by number and on a card write the number of the bag and a
clue as to what is in the bag. Also in one paper bag you will need all
the names of the boys, and in another all the names of the girls. The
game begins and you pick a name out of the boy bag and a name out of the
girl bag. Those are your first two contestants. You select whatever bag
you want and read off the clue. The contestants try to guess what is in
the bag. If some one does they get a point for their team. For a bonus
point or a point for the other team the players bid against each other
saying how many bites they can eat the food in. It goes lower and lower
until it either reaches one or if the other contestant decides that he
or she can't go any lower than what the other has bid they say eat that
food. They then have to eat the food within the number of bites bidded
to get the point. If they can't the other team gets the point. Now, if
both contestants cannot guess what is inside the bag, they must bid to
see who has to eat it. Whoever eats it in the number of bites they
bidded gets the point. This game works out best if you encourage the
group to cheer for each other and also if you use the good food first.
Keep a trash can near by in case someone yacks. Have fun.
Elastic Poisonball You
put a ball in an onion bag, and suspend it from the center of the
ceiling. Make sure the elastic is not too strong as you may kill some
lights in the process. The ball should hang about 1/2 a meter off the
ground. Draw a circle with chalk at the maximum stretch of the elastic,
and divide the circle into either halves or quarters.
Exactly where you allow it to touch on the body is up to you, and
the dynamics of your ball. We allow a hit anywhere beneath the neck.
We allow boys to touch the ball with their hands to as to punch
it or catch it. (The exact rules are up to you).
We disallow touching of the elastic (even with the hands). This
would allow the ball to swing much faster and potentially be dangerous,
both to the boys and to the lights in the hall. It also exerts extra
force on the elastic which may cause it to break sooner than
anticipated. Electricity 1.
Have the class sit in two lines facing each other. Now, have every other
person turn out and then the each person in the line will hold hands. 2.
At one end place a pillow if there is not already carpeting. the
instructor will sit here with a penny. He/she will flip the penny. If
the penny lands on tails, she flips again. When the penny lands
heads-up, the lines squeeze the hand they are holding until it reaches
the end. The person on the end then tries to grab a paper cup or other
object before the other team. This is a race and should be competitive.
To win the students must focus. 3.
The persons at the front of the lines then moves to the back of the
line.
Elf Defense Form
two teams of elves. Each team must defend its treasure (a pile of
balloons) while attempting to steal or destroy the other team's
treasure. Use one color of balloons for one team, and another color for
the other team. Designate a time period (five to 10 minutes) to play the
game. When the time ends, each team's unpopped balloons count 100 points
each. Stolen, unpopped balloons count 200 points each. SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Two different colored balloons for two teams of play. Explosion Tag This
can be played before a class period or rehearsal as an excellent
warm-up. 1.
Have the class break into two groups. Set aside a space that is not too
large, where students don't have to run large distances. 2.
Team one will begin in the space, the other team will watch. One person
will be chosen as "it" and they will begin to play tag. 3.
After a few minutes of tag, add another simple rule. When a student is
tagged they must explode. "Explode" should be the only direction
given, let their creativity decide how. The explosions should be an
immediate reaction to being tagged. However, the game of tag does not
discontinue during an explosion. 4.
Trade teams and repeat the process. Feetball This
is a good indoor game, which is very active and requires teamwork.
Divide the group into teams and seat them in 2 lines of chairs, facing
each other. The object is for the teams to move a volleyball toward and
through their goal (at the end of the line) by using their feet only.
Players must keep their arms behind the chairs to keep from touching the
ball, which is a penalty. To begin the game drop the ball between the 2
teams in the middle. The game can be any length desired. To avoid
injuries to feet, shoes can be removed. Also, make sure the 2 teams are
just far enough apart that their feet barely touch when legs are
extended on both sides. Flashlight Floor Hockey Source:
Group's Have A Blast Games, page 25 Age
Group: All Youth Get
out your floor hockey equipment (or broom-ball) and 2 flashlights. Set
up your nets or else you can use two large tables lying on their sides.
Make 2 teams and have one person stand against the wall at half court on
opposite sides (they can't move during the game). Give these two people
flashlights and then turn off the lights. Let the teams play hockey
using the flashlights as the only source of light. Outlaw physical
contact and assign penalties when needed. Watch out for high sticks
(brought above the waist in a windup or follow-through). Flour Cake You
make a cake of flour by filling a bowl then turning it upside down on a
tray. A Malted Milk ball is placed on the top. The group, including
leaders, then takes it in turns to cut a slice from the cake with a
knife - the slice must go vertically from top to bottom. As the slices
get nearer to the middle the tension mounts, because the person whose
slice causes the final column to collapse (and the Malted Milk Ball to
fall off) has to retrieve the Malted Milk Ball with their teeth !
Enthusiastic teenagers are usually quite willing to help make sure they
get close enough to the flour to pick up the Malted Milk Ball and most
of the flour too! FORUM: Games / crowdbreaker grab-bag... What
you need: 3 or 4 crazy wild and unshy kids, chair, noisy riled up crowd,
4 youth leaders to serve as judges The
game starts by selecting you wildest kids, like 3 or 4 of them, and
sending them out of the area where they cannot see or hear anything. Set
the chair in the middle of the stage. Tell everyone that the kids that
just left are going to demonstrate how they go to the bathroom.
Meanwhile in the other room, have a leader tell each kid as they are
going out that they are doing something else. Send each kid out one at a
time and they have thirty seconds to do their thing. What's so funny?
Tell the kids that are performing that they are, for instance, riding a
roller coaster, or a motorcycle, or even that they are in a rodeo. It is
funny because neither group of kids has a clue what the other is doing.
It is a real funny one and really gets kids acquainted with one another.
The judges rate who did the best, by making the crowd laugh the
most. That person wins. The
game works well with team activities too. You can have a rep. from each
team do it. Then it provides a time for unity as well.
Freeze Frame 1.
Have three students get up on stage and begin an improvisation, (you may
give them the situation if necessary). 2.
When another class mate yells "Freeze!", the players stop in
their exact position. The student then goes up to one of the players,
taps him on the shoulder which dismisses him, and then takes his place. 3.
The person who just stepped into the improvisation must now come up with
a new improvisation which the other players will have to work off. 4.
If the students need help getting things going, you may want to yell
"Freeze!" the first few times and send a students into the
game. This is often the most fun when you wait until the players are in
odd positions.
Gargon Age
Group: All Youth ***
Can be done Outdoors as well! To
be played in the dark. Take apart a flashlight into its parts. i.e..
battery, bulb, case etc.. Select one (2+ for larger groups) person (the
Gargon) to hide each of the parts throughout an area (indoor or
outdoor). Each part MUST be visible if the lights were turned on. Send
the group into the area to hide and search for the flashlight parts.
After one minute, the Gargon is sent out repeatedly saying 'Gargon!'.
The goal of the group is to find each part of the flashlight, put it
together, and shine it on the Gargon, ending the game. However, anyone
the Gargon touches must sit down and is 'caught.' To be freed a person
holding a part of the flashlight can touch the person who is 'caught.' Note:
If a person holding a flashlight part is 'caught' the flashlight part
cannot be
Glowstick Foosball Try
this one on for size. It is called "Glowstick Foosball". It is
ideal for latenight or lock-ins and retreats. -
It can be played with any size group 10 - 100. -
You will need 1 - 4" glowstick for every 3-4 people. -
Position the players in the same configuration as the table-top foosball
game. -
Players are stationary within a reasonable stretch of their seat or on
their knees. -
The objective is for players to maneuver the glowstick to there goal by
sliding them from player to player. At times players are offense
or defense depending on if they happen to control a glowstick or not. -
The glowstick cannot be thrown over a 4" level. -
Scoring is whatever you choose i.e. 1 pt. per goal. The goal consists of
an 8 ft. table laid on its side. The glowstick can hit any -
People needed to assist are sideline refs. to keep track of penalties
i.e. throwing glowsticks over 4", players out their playing -
There are by no means hard fast rules short of fun times and good
sportsmanship. The typical game will take 1 hour, this -
One very important tip is to have all available lighting turned off.
This makes the game incredibly fun with only the light stick being seen.
Gotcha! Age
Group: All Youth The
game is played in the dark, usually guys against girls. On each side of
the Everyone
returns to their side of the room, and start over trying for the object.
Guess the Gargle All
it requires is a glass of water. Secretly show a volunteer the name of a
well know song or tune, it can be anything, chart song, worship song,
nursery rhyme etc. Get them to take a sip of water and they must gargle
the tune and the others try to guess what it is. Ha Ha This
is a good game for voluntary high school retreats and college retreats.
It takes about 10-15 minutes.
Have each person lie their head on another person’s stomach to
form one chain of people. The
object is to get through the whole chain without one person laughing.
The first person says ha. Then
the second person says ha, ha. And this continues in this pattern until
the last person goes. If
everyone gets through the chain without laughing they win.
If someone laughs you must start all over.
This actually gets people laughing crazily.
Handicap Basketball This
probably doesn't answer your question but it reminds me of a game called
Handicap Basketball which is really brilliant, even for
non-wheelchair-bound people. There
are two teams seated alternately in two rows. See diagram. (use a fixed
font like courier to view this diagram). [1]
[2] [1] [2] [1] [2] [B1]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [B2] [2]
[1] [2] [1] [2] [1] [1]
= player for team 1 [2]
= player for team 2 [B1]
= basket for team 1 to score (a waste paper basket will do) [B2]
= basket for team 2 All
players sit facing inwards, that is all players face the dashed line
drawn in the diagram. Non-wheelchair
people are to be seated on chairs, and they are STRICTLY not allowed to
lift their bottoms of their chairs (else they will be penalized). All
players are to remain where they are, i.e. even if you've got a
wheelchair, you're not allowed to move position.
Players pass the ball to each other, and score by throwing the
ball (maybe a soft rubber ball, or a t-shirt/crumpled newspaper wrapped
in plastic bags) into their basket. Opposing team members may try to
block. Keep the spacing near enough so that blocking
is feasible, or maybe near enough so that players can tickle each
other... (A referee might be handy). Hide-n-Seek-n-the-Dark Our
Youth have the entire 3rd floor of our building. At Friday Night Live we
play this game (so it's already dark outside). Pick someone to be
"it". He must sit somewhere (eyes closed), and count to 25. An
adult should turn off the lights while he is counting. Everyone hides.
Set a number of people that the "it" person must find - say 6.
When number 6 is found - he becomes "it" for the next game.
The hiding and seeking by the "it" person are all done in the
dark. That's what makes it fun! Hold-Your-Breath Relay Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents Have
group split into two teams. Designate a start and finish line. Give each
team member a drinking straw and each team a single three inch square of
tissue paper. The first
person puts the paper on the end of the straw and keeps it in place by
inhaling. No hands touch the tissue paper after that. Each team member
runs to the line and back and must pass it to the next player. If the
paper falls off, the person who drops it needs to pick it up again using
only the straw and their breath. First team to get everyone over the
line and back wins.
Honey, if you love me ... Type:
Indoors, any size group (5+), any age (Jr. and sr. high) The
group sits in a circle facing inward. One member of the group is
"it." The objective is for this person to make another smile.
He goes around the circle, picks a person, kneels, and asks
him/her, "Honey, if you love me, will you please smile for
me?" The person must respond with, "Honey, I love you, but I
just can't smile for you," without smiling. If he/she smiles, that
person becomes "it," replacing the first. If the person
"it" does not convince a person to smile, he/she must approach
another until he/she does. The person "it" may do any gestures
he/she wants to make the person smile (e.g. make funny faces, do a
stunt), but cannot touch the person. This is a circular game, meaning it
does not end. A good length for this game would be 20 minutes, or when
most of the group has been "it." How
well can you follow directions? props:
•
2 water pistols •
4 kids (2 girls, 2 guys) •
2 blindfolds Break
up the four kids into two groups with a girl and a guy in each one. Let
one group stay in the Club room, and take the other group away someplace
and blindfold them. While they are being blindfolded, put two water
pistols in the room somewhere. When the blindfolded kids come in, have
the girl from the first group direct the girl from the second group to
one of the pistols, and do the same with the guys. Once they each find
their pistol, have group one instruct them so they can have a water
fight, with the crowd giving directions for a direct hit. Make it more
difficult by instructing them to hit a leader, or any other variation. Hug The Potholder You
make a circle with your youth group and place a POT in one of the kid's
laps... (don't let any one see you do that). Then place a POT HOLDER in
the middle of the group. Ask people to try to hug the pot holder with
out the use of their arms. No matter what they do, tell them that they
didn't hug the pot holder. They have to hug the person with the pot in
their lap before the game is won. Hint>>
Make the pot as small as possible so that the game goes on for awhile. Human Clue Have
six people dress up as the six characters from the board game Clue (a
whodunit game where the players have to guess the culprit, murder weapon
and the room where the deed was done).
Work out a plot, so that participants can listen in on
conversations from the characters which give clues away.
Plant the actual murder weapon somewhere (as well as some false
ones!) - e.g., a knife covered with tomato sauce hidden in a sink.
Have other clues planted around the rooms, or even on the bottom
of shoes, back of jackets etc. The
youth groupers have to wander around all of the rooms, listen, observe,
look for physical clues, and at the end of a set period of time guess
the murderer, the room and the weapon (perhaps the motive too). Hunter/Hunted 1.
Sit the students in a circle. Ask for two volunteers. Place blindfolds
on the two volunteers. 2.
One of the blindfolded persons will be the hunter, trying to hit the
other with a rolled up newspaper. The other will be hunted. 3.
The hunter and hunted can move around inside the circle. They should try
to be as quiet as possible so as not to be caught or detected.
I Can Play The Stick Game Age
Group: Early and Mid Adolescents Have
everyone sit in a circle. The first person to start the game knows how
to play, and the object is to figure out how to correctly play the game.
The first person says, "OK, I can play the stick game, can you play
the stick game?" This can be said in any manner, and for effect the
stick should be moved about randomly to throw people off. Then, the
person hands the stick to the next person in the circle to see if she/he
knows how to play the game. The next person must attempt to play the
stick game correctly by doing exactly what the previous person did. The
trick? You must say, "OK," before you say "I can play the
stick game, can you play the stick game." Anyone who does not say,
"OK," has not played the game correctly, and must pass the
stick on to the next person. Continue at least once around the circle. Jello Bobbing Age
Group: All Youth Make a couple of bowls of jello and put wrapped candy in the bottom. Kids will go one by one dunking their heads into the jello and trying to come up with some candy. This is really good for all ages but Junior Higher's seem to love this more than the older kids. Hint: For kids who may have a cold or other illness get them to go last if they really want to participate. Great picture taking opportunities! Ed. Note: I have seen this done in a high school with a very watery jello put into one of those tubs that grocery stores use when the bags are going outside to the cars. This was a lot of fun (and they dove for money in the Jello, but in a youth group, be prepared for kids to be a little wary of doing this. Also, some kids may not have a problem, but be prepared in case their parents aren't too thrilled. Remember, there are all kinds out there.
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