Energizers
and Ice Breakers
Initial Contact / Spiller Original
Twenty years ago, I was tired of all the same old Ice
breakers so I came up with this one. It works well
and is an opens the door to quick conversations.
In this pair and share introductory activity,
participants will be disclosing 2 things about
themselves that they would be comfortable sharing with
others. The stipulation is that the
2 things they are going to share must start with the
first letter of both their first and last
name (example used in training: “Hi, I’m Mike Spiller
and I like Mountain Hiking and Swimming!").
After
explaining the above, pair up all participants (one
group of 3 is fine to start with if your
group has an odd number) and ask them to share their
information with each other. Upon
completion, instruct pairs to separate, raise their hand
in a high 5 position and find another
participant with their hand raised. Slap hands with the
new partner and say “Hi” and once
again share information with them. Participants will
continue this mingling and sharing for a
set amount of time or until all have had a chance to
pair and share.
Chinese Alphabet / Group / Follow the Leader / Energizer
/ Spiller Original
When I was a young boy, my
best friend’s mother taught me this and told me it was
the Chinese alphabet. Of course, I believed her and for
years I thought I was so smart. As I grew older and had
the opportunity to study the Chinese language, I soon
realized that my early lesson in Chinese was just a
“just for fun” kind of thing. Anyway, I found a way to
use it during my many workshops around the world. I ask
the group to say it with me several times. I then ask
them to say it and do as I do. This is where the
facilitator can get very creative with his/her actions.
I usually use motions like bowing, playing ping pong,
taking tiny steps, Karate type movements, etc. This
will make the group laugh, giggle and using the actions
will help them retain this neat little activity.
“H - I, Chicker - I,
Chicker - Ricka - Roni, Ping - Pong - Pie - No, Ala -
Vala - Vaxy - Voo”
Goddag
(Good Day!) / Energizer / Ice Breaker / Sweden
I
was taught this unique game from Sweden way back in the
late 70s from a group of touring PE teachers. It
is an outstanding way for group members to introduce
themselves in a non-threatening and creative way. Begin
by having participants spread out in an open area.
Next, select a way to break this larger group into 2
smaller equal groups. Instruct one of these groups to
extend their right hand out in front of their bodies in
a normal handshake position and put their left hand
behind their backs. Ask the other group's members to do
the reverse: to extend their left hands extend their
left hands out in front of their bodies in a handshake
position and place their right hands behind their
backs. Explain to the two groups that on the signal
"Go," everyone is to mill around the room looking for
another person that has the correct hand extended to
complete a complimentary handshake (right hand to right
hand/left hand to left hand). Upon meeting, they shake
hands with the other person and say, "Goddag!" (Swedish
for "Good day") and give their names. After shaking
hands and exchanging their "Goddag" greetings, they
switch hands so that the hand that was extended now goes
behind their backs and the hand that was behind their
back is now extended out in a handshake position. Each
participant searches for another person who has the same
hand extended and repeats the greeting. This continues
for a short time or until everyone has had ample time to
greet all the others in the room.
4 Jacks / Small Group - Card Game / Energizer
This card game is a huge success
with all age groups. Deal out the deck of cards to each
of the players in your group. Keep the cards face
down. Each player will turn over one card at a time and
place them in a pile in front of them. The player
turning over the First Jack gives a number from 3
to 5. The Second Jack will give a location in
the area (under the table, in the corner, in the shower,
etc.) The Third Jack gives the direction of what
is to be done (jumping jacks, stand on a chair and cluck
like a chicken, shout-out “The British are coming, the
British are coming!” The player turning over the
Forth Jack has to go do all the above. It might be
10 push-ups while singing the Barney song under the
conference table. This can be very silly, but so much
fun.
High
Roller - High Writer or "6" / Dice Game / Spiller
Original
This is an exciting little game that will turn a quite
classroom into a hall of noise and laughter. Divide
your group in smaller groups of 4 to 6 players each.
Give each group one die, one pencil, and an index card
for each player. Place the pencil in the center of the
group and give the die to a selected player to start the
game. Rolling of the die should be in order around the
circle. Nothing happens in this game until a six is
rolled. The player that rolls a six must yell "SIX,"
pick up the pencil and start to write numbers from 1 to
as high as he can get before another player rolls a six,
yells "SIX," and takes the pencil away from the player
writing and starts to write his own numbers. The first
player to write to 50 is the winner. All rolls should
be quick to stop the person from getting to 50. A
question asked frequently at workshops is: Do we have to
start over, from 0, the next time we roll a six? The
answer is NO. Continue to write your numbers from where
you were when the pencil was taken from you. This games
gets loud and the players get very excited, but remind
them that the pencil has a point and to be careful when
taking it from another player.
Labado / Spiller Original
About 20 years ago I discovered
this Action - Song and Movement activity and have used
it many times with great success.
This is a wonderful way to have your group come together
with a simple song and a variety
of tactile actions. Begin by selecting a leader that
will stand in the center of the circle and
give the group commands.
The remaining participants form a large circle by
standing hip to
hip with their arms around each others' shoulders. Once
this has been completed, teach
the group the "Labado Song." The tune is sung to "Mary
had a little lamb."
We can do the Labado, Labado, Labado,
We can do the Labado, Labado is Great,
HEY!!!
As the song is being sung, have all the participants
shuffle to either the right or left
(whichever way the leader in the center of the circle
directs). When they reach the part of
the song where they are to shout, have participants drop
their arms from the other
persons' shoulders, take a step forward with a raised
hand and shout out, "Hey, We Don't
Do Drugs!" This dance should be done again and again,
each time changing direction, singing
the song in a different cadence, and placing
participants' hands on different parts of their
neighbors' bodies (keep it "G" rated, please). For
example: sing in slow motion, moving to
the right, with the right hand on the neighbors foot and
left hand on the top of the other
neighbors' head. Have the group watch each other during
the dance for a good laugh!
Variation:
The three-syllable word "Labado" can be changed to any
word or phrase that fits or is
associated with your organization or activity.
My Biggest
Fan
Building a fan
base is easy in this high energy competitive game! This
game puts a creative twist on the
classic “rock, paper, scissors” game we all know and
love. To begin have all participants
partner up and explain the rules of “rock, paper, and
scissors.” To ensure
understanding,
have partners compete against each other a few times
prior to beginning the contest. Once
everyone demonstrates an understanding of the rules and
who wins, it’s now time to crown the
“rock, paper, scissor” champion. Explain that the winner
of each challenge moves on and
partners with another winner; however, (and now for the
twist . . .) instead of the loser sitting
down, s/he becomes the winners biggest fan and cheers
them on in their next “rock,
paper, scissor” challenge. This continues with the
winner of the challenge gaining all
people (including the loser) who now become the winner’s
biggest fans and cheer them on in the
next challenge. This culminates with 2 people
challenging each other for the crown and all
other participants cheering for their representative in
the final round. This is a quick, loud
energizer that is one of my favorites and is sure to
rock with all your participants!!!
Cooperative Games
Swap
Knots / Cooperative / England / Spiller Original
Twenty or so years ago, while teaching in a British
school, I was shown this great activity. I have
used it for years with great success. In Great
Britain they have a game called Dr. Tangle that the kids
love to play on the playground. The game of Knots has
been around along time and is a favorite among ROPES
facilitators. This game is a combination of both of
these fun games and I think you will see the value to
it. Make groups of 8, 10, or 12 members each. Give a
bandana or three foot piece of rope to ½ the group. The
players with the rope put them on the floor so they
cross each other in an asterisk like shape. Once this
is done, invite the other players in the group to take
hold of the other ends of the ropes. This is where the
Dr. Tangle comes in. Allow each group two to three
minutes to tangle the ropes as much as possible without
letting go of the ends. At the end of the time, ask the
teams to carefully place the tangled ropes on the floor
so the ends of the ropes can be seen. Once this is
done, ask the groups to move to another team’s tangle.
Each player will grab the end of one of the ropes and
the group will try to untangle the ropes until they are
standing in pairs. The first group to untangle is
awarded 10 points, second will get 7 points and third
will get 4 points. After each group has become free,
ask them to repeat the process and play again. Play to
25 points or play for a set amount of time. You’ll like
this one.
Half Fast Track /
Tic-Tac-Toe / Circle Cooperative Game / Spiller Original
About 20 years ago there was a simple game called "Fast
Track." Simply, how fast could you send a word or
action around a large circle of players. I took
this idea and added my variation to it and it has been
very popular with all the groups I have taught.
Make a circle of the players and split them in half.
Each group leader is given a ball. On the signal to
begin, the leader passes the ball to the next player and
so on down the line. When the last player gets the
ball, they spin around one time and send the ball back
down the line again to the leader. The first team to
get the ball back to the leader wins the round. Play
the best 3 out of 5.
Variations: Make a Tic-tac-toe poster or Connect Four
poster and put it in the center of the circle. When a
side wins a round, the captain, at that time, (change
captains and end players each round) comes to the center
of the group and makes a play on the poster. Make sure
you change the game a bit each 2 rounds. For example,
1st - regular pass with a spin by the end player, 2nd -
place ball on a cone, play as normal with the round
going to the captain that balances the ball on the cone
first, 3rd - each player must pass the ball around their
waist before passing to next player, etc... This keeps
the game fresh! If you don't have a poster and
marker handy, play the game with the less fortunate side
having to do 10 Jumping Jacks or run to a point and back
after each round. There are no limits to the
variations for this neat, high-energy game.
Heads and Hands /
Cooperative / Spiller Original
This is a great activity that I saw while working in a
high school in France. The object of the game is to
get as many points as your team can get in a 1 to 2
minute time period. Points are only awarded for
“Headers” (balls hit with head). In this activity, one
of the players needs to be the “Counter.” On the signal
to begin, the beach ball is hit into the air by hand.
From that point on, the group tries to keep the ball in
the air by using hands or heads. A point is scored and
counted for each head-hit. If the ball hits the floor
A) pick it up and hit it with hand to start the action
again or B) take a point away for each floor hit. Have
each group announce their totals and ask them to try
again to better their previous score. Team Play -
Have several group start play at the same time. If
a group allows the ball to hit the floor, they are out
and will sit down. Play continues until there is
only one team left bopping the beach ball around.
Remind each group to count the "Headers." A team,
even though seated, could win the challenge with a
greater number of Headers. Give it a try - they
will love it!
Birdie on the Perch /
Circle Game / Just For Fun / Cooperative
Have your start this
activity in a double circle with each player facing
another. This is their partner. During this game,
there is much action with people moving quickly and in
close quarters. Make sure all the players understand
that there is no running, but quick walking is okay.
Remind them to keep their hands raised in front of their
chest to avoid collision. The players on the inner
circle are the “Birds” and the players on the outside
are the “Perch.” Have the circles moving in opposite
directions and each couple should keep their eyes on
each other. On the sound of the whistle, all the birds
move quickly to their awaiting perch. On that same
whistle, the perch will stop and stay where he or she is
and kneel down to make a place for the bird to land
(sit). All birds are flyin’ and the skies are full of
flight. The object of this activity is to not be the
last couple to get together. If you are the last to sit
on the perch, you and your partner have to come to the
center, sing and act-out the Barney Song or do a 5 sec.
Chicken Dance or whatever the group has decided on.
Play additional rounds with the players shifting over 1
place and taking on a new partner.
Ankle Passing Chair Game / Cooperative
Have 12 to 14 chairs back to back to start this unique game. Chairs should be side-by-side and back to back – 6 or 7 per team. Fill the chairs with players. One side is one team challenging the other side for points. No hands can be used in this game – only feet! The hands should be holding on to the sides of their chairs for support. A ball is placed to the side of the 1st player on each team. On the signal to begin, the 1st player turns in the chair and takes the ball between their ankles. The ball is then passed to the next players extended legs or ankles. The ball is passed until the last player receives the ball. The end player stands with the ball between their ankles and hops in front of the other team and back to the start of their team line. Each player will slide down a chair as the player is hopping around. Play continues until a team is back in their original positions. A Captain should be appointed for each team. This player moves with the ball and if the ball is dropped, he will put it back in play with the player that dropped it.
Switch, Change, Rotate
I
have been playing this game / Initiative for over 20
years now and it never fails to entertain and educated
participants. This activity really makes a group
of three players think, communicate, and work together.
Have participants get into groups of 3’s and ask the
groups to space themselves out about the area. Once
spaced, instruct each team to stand in line (one person
behind the other) with all participants facing in the
same direction. Using a volunteer group, explain and
demonstrate the following three commands that will be
used in this activity: Switch - means that the lead
player and the back player exchange places.
Change - means that the entire group simply turns and
faces the opposite direction.
Rotate - means the lead player goes to the back and the
center player becomes the
new leader. To begin the activity, have all groups
face you and explain that you will call out commands and
it is the job of the group to try to execute each of the
commands. Start calling out commands slowly, but pick up
the pace as you see groups being successful. To
challenge the groups further, have them walk (anywhere
in the area) while trying to complete your commands.
Next, try having groups power walk while following the
commands. Advanced groups might even be able to jog
while following your called out commands. This activity
is a favorite of ours and lends itself beautifully to
some wonderful processing.
Body Letters and Numbers / Cooperative
Make sure that
this activity is played on a carpeted or grassy area.
Divide your group in half and see which team can form a
number or letter first. Every team member needs to be
involved to form the number or letter. Kids can lie down
and connect hands and ankles – anything to form what’s
asked. Try a few letters and numbers. For example,
have the kids form A, O, and K. Then say to them, “You
kids are really aokay!” As a final formation, have the
whole group for a one (1). When they are finished
forming the one (1) they need to shout in unison, “We’re
number one!”
Estes’ Swiss Challenge / Cooperative / Spiller Original
This is a group
challenge that I learned in Zurich, Switzerland from a
friend of mine that teaches High School PE classes. Make
a
circle of
players with 5 to 10 in each circle. Give each player
the same type of throw able (safe) item (perhaps a
tennis ball)
and give one of
the players (the leader) a second item that is different
from the others (perhaps a small stuffed animal).
The object of this unique challenge is to get the
stuffed animal around the circle with no drops of the
tennis balls or stuffed animal. This is how it
works. Have the group number-off from 1 to 5 or 10. Each
number should be on the opposite side of the circle.
Number 1 should be able to toss
straight across
to 2 and 2 then passes across to 3, etc. Player number 1
(the leader) has a tennis ball and the stuffed animal.
The leader will
toss his/her tennis ball high in the air, call “#2!”
toss the stuffed animal to #2 and then catch the tennis
ball. This is where it gets tough. Number 2 has to toss
his/her tennis ball in the air as the stuffed animal is
coming to them, catch the stuffed animal, Call “#3!”
toss the stuffed animal to #3, and then catch his/her
tennis ball before it bounces on the ground. This cycle
continues until the group
has been able
to complete the circle and the stuffed animal is back to
the leader. This is a very difficult challenge so let
the groups have plenty of time to put together their
plan and perhaps set their own group goal.
Variation: As we sat at the dinner table in Zurich,
another friend named Jan (Yan) said that he worked with
younger students and this is how he did the activity.
Give each player a balloon to toss as opposed to the
tennis ball. This will allow them a little more time to
catch, call the next number, toss and then catch. You
might want to start in groups of three and then add
players as they become more efficient.
Cultural
Games
African – Achi
This game is similar to “Tic-tac-toe.”
This great game is played by two players. One player
has three white stones or markers and the other has
three black ones. The game is played on a diagram
marked on the ground or on paper. Make a playing board
by making a 12 in. by 12 in. square and draw a big plus
(+) sign in the center of it so to give you 4 equal
squares. Next, draw an "X" in the box do it
dissects the 4 smaller squares. You now have the
game board for Achi. All plays are made on
the nine points of intersection (where the lines come
together) during this game. Players take turns in
placing their markers, one at a time, on any of the nine
points of the square. The purpose is to get three in a
row before your opponent can. After the six stones are
placed (and no one has won the game), players take turns
in moving their stones along a line to the next
available intersection. There is no jumping of an
opponent’s stone during this very old game. Play
continues until a player gets 3 of his/her pieces in a
row. A player can’t move his/her stone back and forth
to the same intersection more than 2 times. Variation:
Set up 9 chairs in the shape of the diagram and have two
teams of three challenge each other with a human game of
ACHI.
3 Down /
France / Spiller Original
Back in the early
80s, I was in Paris and I saw this activity being played
in a park. Start by having all participants create
a large circle. Place in the center of the circle four
standing plastic bottles. Select two volunteers who will
be challenged and timed to see how long they can keep 3
of the 4 bottles standing as the circled participants
try to knock down the bottles as quickly as possible
with supplied nerf balls. Explain to the bottle
protectors that if a bottle is knocked down, they can
stand it back up anywhere in the circle; but, if at
any time 3
bottles are knocked down at the same time there turn is
over and the stopwatch stopped. Select two new
volunteers and play again with the new bottle protectors
trying to beat the best time that has been established.
Teamwork by both the 2 bottle protectors
and the large
circle occur making this the perfect high energy
cooperative game that your group will ask to play over
and over again!
Peteca /
Brazil / Spiller Original
I learned of this
sport back in the 80s and have enjoyed teaching it to
others around the world. In early 2003, I took a
trip to Rio where I knew that Peteca was much loved
activity. While there, I played the game on the
beaches and in the school yards with the natives. Peteca
is the South American version of Hacky Sac. The unique
twist to this activity is that instead of using feet,
participants use hands. Have participants form teams of
6-10 participants. The object of the game is to see how
many consecutive hits the group can amass before the
Peteca hits the ground. Begin by having one player
strike and put into the air the Peteca with an open
hand. Other players try to keep the Peteca up in the air
counting 1 point for each hit. Once the Peteca hits the
ground, the hit count stops and the
group starts the
activity over again. This product can be purchased
from Mike on this website / Native American Games.
Party Game
Zombie / Party
Game
Pick one person to be the
Zombie, that player will not be given a balloon. All
other players will be given one balloon with a piece of
string to tie around their waste. Once the balloon is
tied on, players must position the balloon to be in the
middle of their back clearly exposed. Players are given
a 45 second head start to hide from the Zombie. The
Zombie is released to go and make other Zombies by
popping other student's balloons. Once a player's
balloon is popped (either by accidentally or by a
Zombie) they become a Zombie and begin to pop other
player's balloons as well. The game is timed and at the
end when the allotted time is complete, any non-Zombies
will be given a treat. You can play this great game at a
youth group lock-in, birthday parties or sleepover. An
option is to play this in the dark with minimal
lighting.
Early
Childhood Games
Come Home All My
Children / Pre School - Acting Out Game
Have all the students’
line-up on one end of the gym or playing area. They
should be side by side facing the teacher. The teacher
will say, "Come home all my children!" and they will
respond, "How shall we come home teacher (or Mrs.
____). The teacher then will ask them to travel from
where they are to the other end of the area in a variety
of ways. "Come home like the wind is blowing very hard"
or "come home like you have stickers in your toes (walk
on heels)" or "As quickly as possible" or "As happy as
possible." Each child should act-out the best they can
as the come home. Remember to always point-out
exceptional efforts.
Forgetful
Story Teller / Pre School Activity / Spiller Original
As the story teller begins his/her story, they have a
hard time remembering the story. When the story teller
forgets something, the kids fill-in the gaps. The story
teller might say, “One day there was a _____.” When the
story teller can’t remember he/she will say, “That day
there was a what children?” The kids might say, “a
bird.” Then, the story teller starts again with this
information. “One day there was a bird and this bird
was _______.” “Help me kids!” “BLUE!” This continues
until the entire story is told. It becomes the kid’s
story. They love to help the “Forgetful Story Teller.
10,000 Men
/ Spiller Original
All sing this song. “There was a
mighty king –
who had 10,000 men – he marched them to the top of the
hill & marched them down again – and when they were up
they were up – and when they were down they were down –
and when they were only ½ way up – only three were
found.” Call different #s at the end of the song to make
different size groups.
Queen Bee / Pre School
Activity / Spiller Original
Equipment Beanbags (or colored paper squares) for each
child
While I was in England many years ago, I saw a game
called the Kings Keys. This game was played just
like Queen Bee with one difference. The King would
carry a ring of keys with him as he gathered his
subjects behind he. When he dropped the keys, all
ran for the bean bags. This is how I altered the
original game. Choose three children to be "queen
bees." All other children place a beanbag (a flower") on
the floor and stand beside it. Have them scatter the
beanbags evenly throughout the playing area. On signal
from the teacher, the queen bees "fly" around the
"garden," tapping "bees" on the shoulder. The tapped
bees follow the queen bees. When the teacher says, "Fly
home," all the bees and the three "queen bees" run to
any available flower. The three remaining players become
the new queen bees.
Suggestions and Variations:
1. Change to a new loco-motor skill after each call "Fly
home, Skip home, Hop home, etc."
2. "Bee sting." Keep three queen bees and, when you call
Fly home, queen bees try to "sting" (touch) as many bees
before they reach a beanbag.
Kidz Rock / Spiller Original
Put
the group in front of you. Take
a small stone
and put it in your hand. Put your hands behind your back
and place the stone in either the right or left hand.
Bring the hands out front and the kids guess which hand
has the stone. The will move the side that they think
has the stone. Open your hands. If they were correct,
they stay in the game to guess again. If out, they sit
down. Play until one player wins. The player that
wins hides the stone the next round.
Rattle Animals / Pre
School / Acting Out Game / Energizer / Spiller Original
This is a cute little game I learned while working in a
school in Woking, England. The teacher has a noisemaker
in her hand and will give the students various
commands. Rattles work best, in my opinion. When the
teacher shakes the rattle all the students should go to
sleep on the floor. While they are at rest, the teacher
will tell the students what they will be when they
awake. For example, she might say, “Students, when you
wake-up you will be busy little bees buzzing all over
the room.” When the teacher is ready she will shake the
rattle and all will fall fast asleep on the floor. She
will give another example of what she wants them to be
and says, “Wake -up!” and off they go again. While I
was in a school in Eek, Alaska, the students became
herds of caribou, moose walking in deep snow, seals,
bears and hunters stalking polar bears. This is a great
way to get your kids to act-out a variety of actions.
Remember to shake the rattle when you want them to
sleep. It always helps to show the kids what kind of
action you’d like to see before they are asked to do
it. Another way to play is to let them act-out as they
will. This is fun
because you never know how they will interpret what you
say.
Guess Correctly / Spiller
Original
Begin by having 3 persons huddle and pass a coin/object
between themselves. While huddled, one person retains
the coin and then the 3 move to separate areas of the
room. On the leaders “Go” command all other players then
line up behind the person who they think has the
coin/object. Award points of those who guessed correctly
and play again using 3 new people.
I See / Spiller Original
This is an interesting imitation activity for
the entire
group. The game begins with the leader saying “I See!”
The entire group stops what they are doing and responds:
“What do you see (and then the leaders name).” The
leader tells the group what to do. The group then acts
out that command until the leader once again says: “I
See.” All participants stop and respond once again:
“What do you see (and then the leaders name).” The game
continues with the leader suggesting another idea.
B-3 (Big Balloon Bag) / Spiller Original
Stuff a plastic
garbage bag with balloons and tie it or tape it off.
Make sure the bag is tight by twisting the top of the
bag several times. This bag can be used for many
activities in your PE class: 1. Have all the students
sit in a close group on the floor. Ask the group say the
alphabet as they hit the bag in the air. First strike is
“A,” Second strike is “B,” etc. 2. Use as a giant Hacky
Sac. Have students keep it aloft using only feet. 3. Let
your little ones use it as a giant volleyball. 4. Use
the bag for every kind of relay possible. 5. Use clear
plastic bags and fill each with a different color
balloon. Give each team of 5 to 10 students one bag. On
the signal to begin, have each team move the bag through
an obstacle course or from point A to point B (timed
event) by bopping the bag in the air as they move along.
There is really
no end of ways to use the Big Balloon Bag. Let the kids
be creative!
Fitness Game
Bag
the Hoop / Fitness Game / Spiller Original
You will need a stopwatch for this breath-taking game.
Give student 10 beanbags to hold and place 20 hula-hoops
around the area (scattered). On the signal to begin,
the player runs to drop a single bag in a hoop until all
his bags are dropped. How long did it take him to do
this? Remind the players that they can’t toss the bags
into the hoops.
Variation: Have 3 players per team and give each player
5 bags. Scatter 15 hoops around the area. On the
signal to go, how long will it take the three of them to
deposit their bags into the hoops and get back to their
original start point?
Walk Tag
For this
activity, you need to have participants grouped in
pairs. Once in pairs, one person becomes the
"counter" and the other person the "walker." On the
leaders signal, the "counter" stays
in his/her place and counts to 10 while the "walker"
moves as far away from
the "counter" as
possible. When the "counter" reaches 10, s/he chases the
"walker" trying to touch him/her.
Once the "walker" has been touched, the two people
switch roles; the "walker" becomes
the "counter" (who immediately starts counting to 10)
and the "counter"
becomes the
"walker" (getting quickly as far away from the "counter"
as possible). The game continues
for about a minute with roles being reversed each time a
"walker" is touched. Let the
participants rest as the next section of the game is
explained. Have the
pair that has
been playing their own game of walk tag now form a team
and link arms. Have these linked
pairs find another linked pair and play another round of
walk tag with one of the pairs
starting the game as the "counters" and the other pair
being the "walkers." A
third round of
the game can be played with these 2 pairs combining to
form a linked group of four chasing
another linked pair of four.
Water
Fun
My Cup Runneth Over /
Summer is here! Water Game
Every drop counts in this soaking-wet sprinkler
challenge. For this wet and wild activity you will
need several Plastic tumblers and a Sprinkler.
Two players or teams stand on opposite sides of an
oscillating sprinkler. When the sheet of water passes
into his or her side, each player tries to be the first
to completely fill a cup or yogurt container. Players
must keep both feet planted. Anyone who takes a step has
to dump the contents of their cup over their own head.
Variations: Players gather around the perimeter of an impact
sprinkler (the tick-tick-tick, fttttttttwp kind) and,
without moving their feet, try to fill a cup as the
stream of water passes by.
Small Group Activities
Add an Action / Memory
Challenge
The players sit in a circle, and one begins by
performing some simple action (clapping hands, waving
arms, crossing arms, etc.). The next person must then
repeat this action and add a new one. Play continues
with each person repeating all of the previous actions
in the right order and adding one. Anyone who cannot
remember the previous actions or who is laughing too
hard to continue drops out of the game. The actions can
go around the circle several times until only one player
is left.
Large
Group Circle Game
Three Down / Just for
Fun Game / France / Spiller Original
Back in the 8os, I was in Paris and saw this game being
played in a park by school age children. I brought
it back to the states and it has been a favorite with
schools, camps and youth groups for some time now.
Four clubs are placed in the center of a 30 to 40 foot
circle. They are arranged in a square about three
feet apart in the middle of the circle. Two players are
selected as the pinsetters. Players in the outer circle
roll or throw the two soft / safe balls at the clubs,
attempting to knock them down, while the pinsetters keep
setting the clubs back up. When three clubs are down,
the circle players call, three down". The pinsetters
then choose two new pinsetters and the game continues.
This can be a timed event to see which pair can keep the
pins up the longest.
Variation 1: If pinsetters are too good, reduce to only
one pinsetter.
Variation 2: Use beanbags and allow five to be in
action at one time. Circle players must slide the
bags at all times.
Large
Group Play
GaGa Ball / Large
Group / Beach Ball - Dodge Ball / Spiller Original
Many years ago I found this great game and was told
it was created by a USA/Israel Youth Movement. I
took the game idea and made it into a n activity for a
large numbers of players. I was at a conference at
the Green Family Camp in central Texas and the program
directors told me this game keeps his campers /
students busy for hours. For rules of the original
game, Google "GaGa Game." At this camp, the game
is played in a Gaga Dome. My version can be played
in a regular gym or large outdoor area. In this
version of the game, the object is to be the last
standing at the end of the play session. Players
scatter all over the hall / gym and selected players
toss the beach balls into the air as everyone yells
"GaGa Ball." If I have 20 players on the floor, I will
use 5 beach balls. The game begins as soon as the
beach balls hit the floor. At this time, any
player may stop the ball from bouncing or rolling and
strike the ball with either a fist or open hand. The
group will decide, before hand, which way they want to
play – fist or open hand. It is a foul and the player
is out if he/she strikes the ball the wrong way. A
player is out if hit below the waist with the ball.
Anyone can go for the ball at anytime during this busy
game. There is a rule that a player cannot hit the ball
two times consecutively. This keeps one player from
dominating the game. If a player is hit below the
waist, they move to the side and are out of this round
of the game. Play until there are a few players
standing or play until there is only 1 player left.
Each round will only last a minute or two. Gather
all the players once again and start the next round.
Asteroids and Ankle Biters / Swim Noodle -Tag Game
Divide your
group into 2 groups. One group is the “Asteroid” group
and will stand in a scattered formation with a sword
(1/2 of a swim noodle). The “Ankle Biters” are
stationary, sitting on the floor (or with one knee down
on the floor). On the signal to begin, everyone with a
sword tries to run and hit -- BELOW THE WAIST / ON THE
BACKSIDE -- another Asteroid (who is also running) with
his/her sword.
If a player is
hit, they must throw the sword into the air (or to a
nearby sitting player) and become an Ankle biter. Play
continues until all participants are out of breath!! If
you don’t have noodles, use foam balls or soft
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