Inside:
Alphabet
Backwards
Have a contest to see who can write the alphabet backwards
and correctly the fastest.
Balloon
Relay
hit the balloon down and back with your hand.
kick the balloon down and back with your feet
head-butt the balloon down and back
blow the balloon down and back
hold both between your and someone else’s forehead down and
back
hold it between your legs and hop down and back
run it down and pop it
Bean Bag Toss
Divide students into two teams and give them an even number
of bean bags. Hold up two hula hoops. When you say go, teams try to throw the
beanbags through the hoops. Each bag through is a point for that team. Play as
many rounds as you want.
Eat It
Various objects are hidden in a brown paper bag. Two
contestants, one from each team comes up. They brag about how fast they can eat
what’s in the bag. Finally one of them tells the other to “eat it”. The person
eating gets a point for their team if they do eat it. The other team gets a
point if they can’t eat it in the time limit.
Group
Impressions
Divide into two teams. Teams face each other. Call out
scenes (Teens at a rock concert, watching a scary movie, getting food
poisoning, getting hit with laughing gas, etc.). Teams have ten seconds to act
out the scene. Best acting gets a point.
Group Karaoke
Students pick a song together. The goal is for them to sing
the song, one word at a time, switching singers into the microphone, so that
there are no missed words.
Foot
Volleyball
Divide into two teams. Place a net or some sort of barrier
between the two teams (lining up chairs would work). Students must crabwalk,
kicking a balloon back and forth over the net. If the balloon hits the ground,
the other team gets a point. Introduce multiple balloons to create more chaotic
fun.
Move
Over, Van Gogh!
Overview: Teenagers will work together to create
“masterpieces”.
Time Involved: 10 to 15 minutes
Supplies: paper, markers in four different colors
Preparation: none
Have teenagers form groups of four, and give each person a
piece of paper and a different colored marker. Have the members of each group
sit with their backs to each other, and tell them that they cannot talk to each
other for the remainder of this activity.
Explain that teenagers in each group will be working
together to create four different masterpieces. Tell teenagers that when you
tell them to start, they’ll have thirty seconds to begin drawing a picture. It
can be a picture of anything they’d like – even just an abstract picture. Tell
them to start drawing, and after thirty seconds, have them stop and pass each
paper to the person on the right. Instruct them to try to continue the drawings
just as the original artists might have, and remind teenagers that they can’t
speak to each other. Give them another thirty seconds to continue the
masterpieces.
Continue in this manner until each group member has
contributed to all four drawings. Then have teenagers turn around and share
their completed “masterpieces”. Ask a few volunteers to share their pictures
with the whole group. Ask:
- Does
your finished picture look like you originally envisioned it? If not,
what’s different about it?
- Did
you find it easy or difficult to follow someone else’s vision without any
guidance? Explain.
- What
does this activity tell us about the importance of communication?
Musical Madness
Play musical chairs. On some chairs are written special
instructions (Sing happy birthday in duck voice, do jumping jacks while singing
a silly song, shout as loud as you can for 30 seconds, etc.) Students who land
on those chairs must carry out those instructions.
Name Word Find
Have students write names in rows. Individuals or teams then try to find words
using the letters of their names. Any
letter can be used as long as it is touching the previous letter. Person or
team to find the most words in a given amount of time wins.
Penny Balance
Students stand, tilt their heads back, and place a penny on
the end of their nose. Whoever keeps penny balanced the longest, wins.
Spoon Free-for-All
Players start with four playing cards. Dealer passes
individual cards. As soon as one person has four of a kind, they get up and
make a mad dash to find a spoon. Everyone else follows. The spoons have been
hidden around the room or in another room. The one person that doesn’t find a
spoon is out. Players who are out hide the spoons for the next round.
Toilet Paper Roll
Students roll a roll of toilet paper on the ground, trying
not to break it. There are tape markers on the floor for point levels. The one
who rolls it the longest without breaking it wins. Could play in teams with
points added together.
Quizzing
Bible Trivia like jeopardy using seat pads.
Team Video Game
Set up a two-player simultaneous video game. Divide kids into two teams. Each player on a team gets 30 seconds or
longer at controls and then they must switch without pausing. The trick is that the player’s team members
are standing in a line ten feet away and the player must tag the next player before
they can approach the controls.
Tilly Miller
Say, Tilly Miller likes the moon, but she doesn’t like
stars. Have students see if they can say something else about Tilly Miller.
(Tilly Miller only likes things with double letters, like in her name). Write
down the things in columns to help students catch on quicker.
What is This?
Pass objects around a circle. First person must describe
what the object is and what it’s used for. Second person must come up with a
new definition, etc. until it goes all the way around the circle.
Who Am I?
Paste names or character cards on each student’s back. They
then ask questions to find out who is on their back. Use cartoon characters,
superheroes, or Bible characters.
Word Association
Leader says a word and passes a ball to someone in the
circle. The person catching the ball has to say the first appropriate word that
comes to mind in relation to the word the leader said. The person passes the
ball to the next person, who associates with what the previous person said.
Ball should be passed to people who haven’t had it yet. Round is over when
everyone has had the ball.
Inside or
Outside:
Affirmation Relay
Divide
students into teams, one affirmation per number of players. One leader holds
the affirmation slips ten feet in front of their team. Players take turns
running up to their leaders and performing the instructions on the card (Run up
to an adult leader and shout “God loves you!”, Run up to someone not on your
team and give them a hug, tell a member of the opposite gender an encouraging
Bible verse, Give each of your team-members a pat on the back saying “Good
job!”, Give six people high fives, give someone a compliment, Sing “Jesus Loves
Me” to someone substituting “You” for “Me”). The first team to complete all
their cards wins.
Alley Tag
Line people up in rows so that they can touch with their
hands outstretched. Choose a Chaser and a Runner and start them at opposite
sides of the rows. Whenever you blow your whistle, the people in the rows have
to turn, thus changing the direction of the alleys.
Alpha-pass
Form a circle. Hand one player a foam ball. Name a category
(food, animals, names of people, etc) and begin the timer. First person names
an object that starts with ‘A’, then passes the ball to another person who must
then name an object that starts with ‘B’. Continue to the end of the alphabet,
if possible, before time runs out.
Amoeba
Appoint
one or two students to be amoebas. They
tag other kids and absorb them into their group. Amoebas may absorb smaller amoebas. The last kid to be absorbed wins.
Animal Relay
Crab walk, bunny hop, duck waddle (crouching and grabbing
ankles with hands), elephant walk (keeping hands and feet on floor, arms and
legs straight, swishing head back and forth), frog jump (hands on floor, jump
and land in same position), kangaroo hop (balloon between legs and jumping),
parrot fly (running, flapping arms, and repeating, “Polly want a cracker!)
Auto Tag
·
Supplies: 2
soft balls
·
Where? Open
area
·
Time: However
long you want…
Running pairs will have to hold onto one another’s
hands. Each pair chooses a make, model
and color of car to be, then makes the appropriate noises associated with their
vehicle.
Each member of the IT pair will have one free hand. Fill IT’s free hands with soft, throwable
balls, like fleece balls (something YOU wouldn’t mind getting hit with…) A “tag” is made if the IT auto-pair hits
someone with one of their balls. When
this occurs, the other IT player drops their ball (headlight), which must be
retrieved by the hit pair, who are now IT, and the game continues.
Who’s in my Frying Pan?
·
Supplies: none
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? 5-10
minutes
This is a game where the leader knows the secret, and the
rest of the group try and guess how it’s done.
Pick three objects (start with objects in the room and then use objects
outside or make-believe objects). Say you have these three objects in your
frying pan and then ask, Who is in my frying pan? Students guess.
And just what is the secret?
The person who was actually in the frying pan is the first person to
speak after you say, Who is in my frying pan?
Sooner or later, someone will catch on or perhaps the leader will make
it a little more obvious, which only baffles the rest of the group more. It’s fun as well as frustrating.
Big Time Ping Pong
Enlarge the set up for ping-pong. Use a larger ball. Students use regular paddles, but hold them
with two hands.
Bite the Bag
Place a paper bag on the floor. Students take turns trying to pick up the bag
with their teeth without letting anything except their feet touch the
floor. After each round, cut the bag
lower. The last person to be able to
pick up the bag with their teeth wins.
Body Part Musical Chairs
·
Supplies: One
chair per person
·
Where? Open
area
·
Time? 5-10
minutes
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. 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. 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 (both of them), someone who’s out’s left hand,
etc. The object is to be the last one
left.
Caterpillar Relay
·
Supplies: sleeping
bags
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? Only
a few minutes
One at a time, each
person on a team gets into a sleeping bag (head first!) and tries to reach a
certain point and return. Obstacles may
be placed in the way to make the game a little tougher.
Centipede Race
·
Supplies: 2-3
benches
·
Where? Outside,
Open area
·
Time? Only
a few minutes
Here’s a great game that can be played indoors or
outdoors. Seat as many students on each
bench as possible, straddling it like a horse.
When the race starts, everyone must stand up, bend over, and pick up the
bench, holding it between their legs.
They then run like a centipede.
The finish line should be forty to fifty feet away. It’s a lot of fun to watch!
Copy Cat Copy Cat
·
Supplies: none
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: Only
a few minutes
Ask your group to
form a circle. During your explanation
of the rules, ask each person to choose someone else in the circle to be their
leader, but not to tell anyone who their leader is. Explain that once the activity starts, if the
person you chose as a leader moves or changes position in any way, you must do
exactly as s/he does. Whenever s/he
moves, you mirror them. Ask that people
try to watch their leaders without staring directly at them so that leaders
won’t know who (if anyone) is following them.
After explaining and asking for questions, check to be certain that
everyone has a leader chosen. Before
beginning, have people close their eyes and get in a comfortable pose. As soon as everyone opens their eyes on your
command, they should change their pose to duplicate that of their leader.
Once people open
their eyes, patterns of movement begin to ripple around the circle. Sometimes this activity will last for several
minutes, sometimes it will seem frenzied – at other time quiet. The end result is usually everyone in the
same pose, though sometimes you get two or three groups of people doing different
poses.
Decathlon For Fun
Throwing Contests
Measure the distance that contestants throw:
- Colored or labeled pingpong
balls-two throws per person.
- Straws -- two throws per
person.
- Paper plates -- two throws
per person.
Sprints
- Give each contestant a 2-foot
piece of red licorice. Have contestants bend at the waist and race to get
all the licorice into their mouths without using their hands.
- Contestants race 10 yards and
put four saltine crackers in their mouths. The first to chew and whistle
wins.
Relays
- Each teammate races 10 yards
to a piece of bubble gum, blows a bubble large enough to cover his or her
nose when it breaks, and returns to the line.
- Each teammate takes their
shoes off and skates with paper plates under their feet around a chair and
back to their team
- Swimming motions
- Pulling each other in a sled
- Team members place their
shoes in a pile. Then one at a time each teammate races to the shoes, puts
his or her shoes on, and returns to the team.
Duckball
Kickball with the variation of having to keep a balloon
squeezed between your legs.
Egg-And-Armpit
Relay
·
Supplies: Hardboiled
eggs, spoons
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? Only
a few minutes
Half of the team
lines up on each side of the room. The
first person races to the other side with a spoon in his mouth and an egg on
it. The teammate on the other side takes
the egg and puts it in their armpit and runs back across the room. He drops the egg from his armpit onto the next
person’s spoon.
Fingers Up
Students pair up. On the count of three, each holds up their
hands, putting as many fingers up as they choose. First student to say how many
total fingers they both have up wins that round.
Four
Scenarios
·
Supplies: none
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? 5-20
minutes
Consider the
following four scenarios:
1.
A man is
found dead lying in the desert wearing a backpack.
2.
Two men
are found dead in a room with 52 bicycles.
3.
A dead
man is lying dead in the desert with nothing but a straw in his hand.
4.
A cabin
in the woods contains 50 dead people.
The goal is to have
the kids figure out how each of these people died by asking their leaders yes
or no questions only. The first person
to determine correctly the cause for each scenario wins.
Causes of death:
1.
A man
was skydiving and his parachute didn’t open.
2.
Two guys
were playing poke, they got mad and shot each other. Note: Bicycle is a brand of cards, hence 52
Bicycles.
3.
Three
guys were in a hot air balloon, but the load became too heavy and to not crash,
someone had to jump off the hot air balloon.
So, they drew straws. The man on
the ground drew the shortest straw.
4.
The
cabin is the cabin of an airplane. The
plane crashed, killing everyone in the cabin.
Freeze Ball
The player who is it takes a ball and throws it into the
air. Meanwhile, players run and scatter. When “It” catches the ball and yells
“Freeze!”, all runners stop. “It” will take three giant steps toward any player
and try to tag them with the ball. The player may duck or swivel to dodge the
ball, as long as one foot stays frozen in place. If the ball is caught, they
become the next “It”. If tagged, person sits out until next round. Last person
tagged is next “It”.
Grog
·
Supplies: a
flashlight (disassembled)
·
Where? Entire
church
·
Time? 10-60
minutes
In order to prepare for this game, the different pieces of a
flashlight are hidden on surfaces throughout the church (i.e. not in drawers,
etc)
One person is chosen to be the ‘Grog.’ During the course of the game, if the Grog
touches another player, they scream at the top f their lungs and ‘die.’ This lets everyone else know where they are
and where the Grog is. A ‘dead’ player
can be brought back to life if another player touches them. The Grog wins if all the other players are
‘dead’ simultaneously. The others win f
they can find all the pieces of the flashlight, assemble it, and shine the
light in the eyes of the Grog. The Grog
is not allowed to touch any of the pieces of the flashlight during the game.
Guzzle
Relay
·
Supplies: 2
or 3 gallons of Cider, straws
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? Only
a few minutes
Each person gets a drinking straw. A gallon of apple cider is placed a certain
distance away. When the whistle is
blown, the first person in line runs to the cider and starts guzzling. When the whistle blows again, he stops and
the next person takes over. (Some people
get a short drink, others a long drink, depending on your best judgment.) The first team to finish their gallon of
cider wins.
Hot Wired
·
Supplies: 7
different colors of yarn
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: 5-10
minutes
Twist the yarn around each other so that they are tangles,
but still lay straight. Choose 14 kids
(7 pairs of friends) from the group.
Have each pair grab the end of the same color of yarn. The object of the game is to get them
untangled from the others WITHOUT LETTING GO of their connection to the other
end. They can only use ONE hand, and may
NOT let go, or they are out. They will
have to reach up, over and under the others in order to get their wire free.
Human Blob
·
Supplies: Chair
·
Where? Open
area
·
Time: 5-10
minutes
Have everyone form a circle and hold hands. Have a leader volunteer for the chair in the
middle. The object of the game is to
stay in the ‘blob’ while everyone else is pushing and pulling you towards the
middle. Anyone who lets go is out. Anyone who touches the leader in the middle
is out. The leader in the middle can
move his/her arms but not their legs or the chair. Keep playing until there are only about five
students left. They are the
winners. The kids will want to play this
one over and over again, so be prepared.
Human Foosball
Use rope to connect students into the pattern of the table
game. Try to advance the ball into the
opponent’s goal without using hands or arms or breaking formation.
Ice Cones
Students pair up. Each has a paper cone. They take turns
flinging an ice cube to each other with their cones and catching them with
their cones. After each successful round, the pair takes a step back from one
another. If they drop the ice cube, they’re out.
Ice-Cube Hockey
Four players around a table. Each has a spoon for a stick.
An ice-cube is the puck.
I
LIKE
Supplies:
None needed
Activity: Form groups of four. Read each statement aloud and allow time for each group to agree on an answer. Each group must agree to one answer that is true for all four of them. For example, if three of the kids like ice cream and one doesn't, that group must decide on a different snack food that all four kids like.
Activity: Form groups of four. Read each statement aloud and allow time for each group to agree on an answer. Each group must agree to one answer that is true for all four of them. For example, if three of the kids like ice cream and one doesn't, that group must decide on a different snack food that all four kids like.
Read
these statements:
- Something you like to do in
the water.
- A snack food you like to
eat.
- A story of Jesus you like.
- A subject in school you
like.
- A place you like to go for
fun.
- A holiday you enjoy.
- A sport you enjoy playing or
watching.
- A TV program you enjoy.
King Walla-Walla-Bing-Bang
Unsuspecting student plays mimic with a leader (King). When the leader sits on their chair, the
student also sits on their chair, but with a wet sponge waiting.
Knot as Easy as it Looks
Have kids hold hands and stretch out in a line. Players at
each end of the line weave in and out and under and over player’s arms to make
a huge knot. Start a timer, and see if the group can then untangle themselves
before time runs out.
Alternative: Remove one player from group and hide their
eyes. Other players tangle themselves. The one player must try to untangle the
group by themselves before time runs out.
Limbo
Hold a bar between two people. Each student passes under it,
bending backward. Lower it for each round. Person is out when they fall or
touch the bar. Last one out wins.
Mad Relay
·
Supplies: Folding
chairs, bags with instructions on the inside
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: 5-10
Minutes
In this relay, each player does something different. At the beginning of the race, each team is
lined up single file. At a signal, the
first person on each team runs to the other end of the course to a chair. On the chair is a bag containing instructions
written on separate pieces of paper. The
player draws one of the instructions, reads it, and follows it as quickly as
possible. Before returning to the team,
the player must tag the chair and then run back and tag the next runner. The team that uses all of its instructions
first is the winner. Here are a few
sample directions:
1.
Run around the chair five times while continuously
yelling “The Americans are coming, the Americans are coming!”
2.
Run to the nearest person on another team and scratch
their head.
3.
Run to the nearest adult in the room and whisper,
“You’re no spring chicken!”
4.
Stand on one foot while holding the other in your hand,
tilt your head back and count, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Blast Off!”
5.
Take your shoes off, put them on the wrong feet, and
then tag your nearest opponent.
6.
Sit on the floor, cross your legs, and sing the
following: “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb. Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white
as snow.”
7.
Go to the last person on your team and make three
different funny-face expressions, then return to the chair before tagging your
next runner.
8.
Put your hands over your eyes and snort like a pig five
times and meow like a cat five times.
9.
Sit in the chair, fold your arms, and laugh hard and
loud for five seconds.
10. Go
to a blonde and keep asking, “Do blondes really have more fun?” until they
answer.
11. Run
around the chair backward five times while clapping your hands.
12. Run
to someone not on your team and kiss their hand and gently pinch their cheek.
Marble Sucking Relay
·
Supplies: straws,
marbles, paper cups
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: Only
a few minutes
Divide your group into several teams. Give each person a plastic straw and a paper
cup. The first person on each team gets
a marble in their cup. The object is to
suck the marble up with the straw and drop it into the next person’s cup. If the marble drops on the floor, the team
must start over at the beginning. The
first team to get the marble to the last person wins!
Marshmallow Pitch
·
Supplies: bags
of miniature marshmallows
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: Only
a few minutes
For this game,
have kids pair off and give each pair a sack of miniature marshmallows. Each pair should also have a neutral
counter. One person is the pitcher, the
other the catcher. On “go,” the pitcher
tosses a marshmallow into the catcher’s mouth, and the catcher must eat the
marshmallow. The pitcher and catcher
should be about ten feet apart. The
counter counts how many successful catches are made, and the couple with the
most at the end of a time limit or the first to reach twenty successful catches
is the winner.
Maze
Make a grid on a tarp on or floor or buy one from
praxistraining.com or teamworkandteamplay.com. Map out a path, from square to
square, in sequence. Students then must
work together to discover the right path across the grid.
Musical Sponge
Kids play musical chairs blindfolded, while leaders place a
wet sponge on one chair every round.
Every round, the kid and the chair with the sponge is out. The last kid not to have a wet bottom wins.
Mystery Volleyball
Put blankets or tarps over net so students can’t see when
the ball is coming.
Open or Closed
·
Supplies: a
pair of drumsticks
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? 5-10
minutes
This is a great game for small informal meetings where kids
sit in a circle and around a pair of drumsticks. When the sticks are passed, each person must
announce whether they are passing it “open” or “closed.” For example, they might say, “I received it …
(open or closed) and I am passing it … (open or closed).” The leader then tells the person whether they
are right or wrong. If they are wrong,
they must stand up. The idea is to learn
the secret, which is: if your legs are crossed, you must pass the object closed. If your legs are uncrossed, you must pass the
object open. It’s sounds simple,
but it is really hard to figure out.
Organization – Place
8 buckets around the field, spaced a good distance apart. Tape a different
color of construction paper to every two buckets. In other words, two buckets
will be one color, two another, two another, and two another. Place buckets
with the same color as far apart as possible. Place small 8 small balls of each
color as the bucket colors in the middle of the field. Divide students into
four teams and give each team a color, one of the colors as the buckets and
balls. On, “Go!”, the fist person on each team will race to the middle of the
field, pick up one of their team’s colored balls, and run to drop into one of
the team’s colored buckets. Then they run back to their team and the next
person does the same. The catch is that the team has to put four of their
colored balls in each of their buckets. The first team to do so wins.
If you don’t have enough students to form four teams, divide
students into two teams and only use two colors of balls and buckets.
Passing the Word
·
Supplies: 2
balls
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: Only
a few minutes
Here is a simple game that teaches a great lesson on
witnessing! You will need to conspire
ahead of time with one team member from each team. You can apply this object to many different
games or relays, but I used it this way.
Choose about 8-10 kids per team for a competition. Have each team line up in a single-file line
facing the other team. On “Go,” the
person in front passes the ball over their heads to the next person. It continues down the line in over-under
fashion. When the ball gets to the back
of the line, that person runs it back to the front and starts it again. This cycle continues until the person who was
at the front at the beginning is back in the front. Then they all sit down. The first team to have given everyone a
chance at the front and then sitting down WINS!
* Variations: Ahead
of time, select two kids, one from each team and talk to them. Choose kids of strong character who can
handle everyone being temporarily upset with them. If they give in to peer pressure, your lesson
will flop! Explain the game to them and
tell them that you will choose them to be part of the team and will place them
toward the end of the line. When the
ball gets to them, they are to just hold the ball and NOT pass it. No matter what, they are to hold the ball. If others try to get it from them or yell at
them, they are to just bend over, hugging the ball, and refuse to pass it. Make sure no one knows you talked ahead of
time! Then, go on to lesson! After lesson, play the game as normal.
People Bingo
·
Supplies: Bingo
cards, hat, scrap paper
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? 5-10
minutes
Give every student a Bingo playing card (remember that the
middle is FREE!) and have them fill their boxes with names of students in the
room (only once per student, of course).
Then, from a hat, randomly pull students’ names and if a player has that
one’s name on his card, he marks an “X” through that name. The first player who has a row of “X’s”
either horizontally, vertically or diagonally, wins!
Ping-Bag
Students stand in a circle and pass a bean bag
randomly. Students catch and pass the
bean bag with ping-pong paddles. If
someone misses the bag, they’re out. If
the pass is ruled to be uncatchable, the thrower is out.
Ping-Pong Blow
Two teams try to blow the ping-pong across the table and off
the edge of the other team’s side.
Prui
All players close their eyes or are blindfolded. Leader
picks one person to be the prui. Everyone except the prui mingles around. When
they touch someone, they ask, “Prui?” The prui does not ask back. When someone
finds the prui, they grab hands and join it. Game ends when everyone is part of
the prui.
Sardines
Reverse of Hide and Go Seek. One person (or team) hides, and
the rest go to find them. When someone finds the hiding person or team, they
quietly hide with them. The last person or team to find the hiding group is the
one who hides in the next round. This game works best when played in a large,
dark area, such as a woods or church.
Shooting Ice-Stars
Students try to shoot an ice cube through their hands into a
bucket. They do this by holding the ice cube until it melts and then squeezing
it.
Squirrel
Students form groups of three. One person is not in a group.
They are an extra Squirrel. Two in the group form a tree, holding hands. The
third is the squirrel. Trees spread out and stay in one spot. Squirrels move
from tree to tree. One leader is the Whacker. Squirrels run from tree to tree,
trying to avoid the Whacker. The Whacker has a pool noodle and is trying to
clobber the Squirrels. Extra Squirrel runs to an occupied tree, forcing that
Squirrel out. The ousted squirrel runs to another tree, ousting that Squirrel
and so on. May add extra Squirrels or extra Whackers.
Tank
Divide
students into two teams. Each team picks one or more “tanks”. The tanks are
blindfolded. Spread balls on the floor. The tanks must find the balls and throw
them at the enemy tanks to win. Once a tank is hit, it is out. The tank’s team
can call out where the balls and where the enemy tanks are, but they can’t
otherwise enter the game. They are called Central Intelligence. When one team
wins, the losing team gets to send out more tanks than the winning team the
next round.
Three-D Stratego
Divide into two teams in a squared field. Each team starts on their half of the
field. Each team is given a flag to be
stationed at the far end of their area.
Each player is given a playing card.
The playing card determines their rank.
Each round, players move in any direction one square. When they meet, the player with the highest
card value wins. The other player must
then exchange their card with the leader and start back at the far end of their
side of the field. The team that reaches
the other team’s flag first wins.
Stepping Stones
·
Supplies: One
prop per player, two ropes or masking tape
·
Where? Outside,
Open Area
·
Time? 5-20
minutes
The basic set-up here is the old “get from Point A to Point
B without touching the ground in between” routine. People are assembled at Point A, given one
prop less than their number and told to arrive safely with the entire group at
Point B before the time runs out. Touch
the ground and the whole group returns to Point A.
Straws & Q-tips
·
Supplies: Straws,
Q-tips, buckets
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time: Only
a few minutes
Give each child a straw and several Q-tips. Put a Q-tip into the straw, and by blowing
the straw it will shoot out the Q-tip.
Have a bucket about 10 feet away and see how many they can get into the
bucket.
Tails! You’re It!
·
Supplies: a
quarter
·
Where? Open
Area
·
Time? 5-10
minutes
Gather everyone in the front of the sanctuary. Take a coin and tell everyone to declare
heads or tails affiliation by placing one hand either on his or her head or on
his or her behind. Flip the coin. If the coin comes up heads, heads are
“It.” All the heads then charge about,
trying to tag all the tails.
Have all the players maintain their hand positions while
running. Then, if a tail is tagged, s/he
indicates a tagged status by putting both hands on their posterior and standing
with legs well spread. Uncaught tails
can free tagged tails by crawling through the tagged players’ legs and yelling
“Tails Free!”
If a coin comes up tails, tails are “It.” When a head is tagged, s/he indicated a
tagged status by putting both hands on top of his/her head and freezes with
legs spread apart. Uncaught heads can
free their frozen teammates by crawling through their legs and yelling, “Heads
Free!”
Three-Time Tag
To get out, you have to get tagged three times. Once you are tagged, place a hand on the
place you were tagged. The second time
you are tagged, put your other hand on that spot. Now you can only play with your feet. The third time you're tagged, you're out.
Tire Bowling
Use two liter pop bottles filled with water as pins and an
old tire as the ball.
Todo El Mundo Tag
·
Supplies: none
·
Where? Outside,
Open area
·
Time? Only
a few minutes
Everyone spreads out and on “Go!” tags everyone that they
can. When a person is tagged, they are
to sit down where they were tagged. If
two people tag each other at the same time, they are both out. The last person standing wins!
TOOTSIE-BALLOON
BALL
This is a small twist on an
old game that produces funny results.
Put two small Tootsie Roll
candies in a balloon and blow it up. (You should probably do a few of these
just in case there are casualties.) Then play a regular game of baseball using
the balloon as the ball and one of those swimming pool "noodles" as
the bat. The game usually goes for three innings.
Tug Of War Times Two
·
Supplies: Tug
of War rope
·
Where? Large
room, open area, outside
·
Time? Only
a few minutes
By tying two ropes
in the middle, so you have four ends of equal length, you can have a tug of war
with four teams instead of two. Draw a
circle on the ground so that each team is outside the circle when the war
begins. When one team is pulled across
the circle line, it is eliminated from the game, leaving the other three teams
to tug against each other. Then those
three play until another is eliminated, and finally two teams play to determine
the winner. Each time, the tug of war is
conducted across the circle.
Alternative: People
can only use one hand or only their thumbs and index fingers
Ultimate Set-up Volleyball
All students stand on one side of the court. The point is to
let everyone hit before the ball is sent over the net. Once a student hits,
they run across the net to the other side and wait for the ball to come over.
Use a beach ball or balloon instead of a volley ball.
Upside-Downside Relay Race
Lay 2 rulers at one end of the playing area as two starting
lines. Place three cups in a row beginning five feet from each starting line.
Be sure there are five feet between the cups in each row. Form two groups and
have players decide how they’ll travel. (run, walk, hop, crawl) Each person
must choose a different way. Line up in single file for relay. First players go
and turn their three cups upside down. Next players with go and turn the cups
right side up. Continue until every player has gone. (Players sit when finished
with their turn)
Vampire Tag
All players close their eyes or are blindfolded. Secretly
choose one person to be the vampire. When the vampire bumps into someone, they
scream and grab them. That person then becomes a vampire as well. If two
vampires meet, they turn back into normal players. Game ends when everyone is
vampirized or humanized.
Wheelbarrow Relay Race
Students pair up. One student holds the other’s feet up
while the other student walks on their hands to the finish line. At the finish
line, students reverse roles and come back.
Outside:
Blanket Volleyball
Divide students into
two teams and give each a blanket on opposite sides of the net. Students hold
the blanket and bounce a plastic ball back and forth.
Kickball
Whiffle Ball
Hose Hockey
·
Supplies: Smooth
table top, foam pipe insulators, hose with a “Y” adapter, 2 hoses with
triggers, puck, two goggles
·
Where? Outside
·
Time: Only
a few minutes
Set up a smooth
top table outdoors. Use foam pipe
insulators to make bumpers along the sides of the table. Hook up a hose and put a “Y” adapter on the
end. Run two hoses from the adapter,
putting trigger-type sprayers at the ends.
Two players stand at either end of the table (goggles optional). Put a hollow, plastic, street hockey puck in
the center of the table. On “Go,”
players try to spray the puck off the opposite end of the table. Deliberate spraying in someone’s face results
in a penalty – penalized player has to take five steps backward and play from
there.
Tag Football
Whiffle Ball
Soccer
Kickball
Bocce Ball
Volleyball
Water Games:
Bucket Crawl
Divide students into two teams. Place a cone a good distance
in front of each team. Place a filled kiddie pool between the teams and give
each team a bucket. The first person from each team will fill the bucket, put
it on their back and crawl around the cone without spilling the bucket. When
they get back to their team, the next person goes. The first team to have all
of their members go, wins.
Bucket Lift
Fill five-gallon bucket with water. Have students sit around
bucket and lift bucket using only their feet. Have students keep the bucket up
while taking off their shoes.
Douse the Tiki
Two tiki torches are set up on opposite sides of the field.
Teams try to douse each other’s tiki with water balloons. If a player is hit by
a water balloon, they are taken to prison. Prisoners may be released by a team-member.
Holy Man
Appoint
a leader to be holy man. Holy man
dresses in a robe and carries a lighted candle.
He hides and moves at will.
Divide kids into two teams. Each
player carries an unlighted candle and a loaded squirt gun. Each team tries to find the Holy Man and
light their candle while extinguishing the other team’s candles. The first team to return to home base without
their candles being extinguished wins.
Hot Sponge
Students sit in a circle, passing a wet sponge. When music
stops, person holding the sponge gets it squeezed over their head.
Ice Foot Fishing
Fill a kiddie pool with water and ice cubes. Give each child
a cup. Students lay on their backs so they can’t see into the pool, hold the
cup with their feet and try to fish out small items. Winner is the one who
fishes the most items out.
Inner-Tube Squeeze
Divide into teams. As many students as possible squeeze into
an inner-tube. They stand at one end of the field while other teams stand with
water-balloon launchers on every other side of the field. Each team gets a
chance to be in the middle with the inner-tubes.
Noodle
Ball
A summer game our church played during VBS was called Noodle
Ball. Each child has their own 'pool' noodle; using two colors to recognize
teams. A large beach ball is blown up. We used a hula hoop at each end of the
playing field. We duct taped the hoops to the back of folding chairs to be used
as goals. On the shout of "GO" or a whistle blown the kids begin
hitting the ball toward their goals. The children loved the game and was
requested several nights.
Shoe Shucking Race
·
Supplies: Dishpans
of water
·
Where? Anywhere
·
Time? 3
minutes
Divide into groups of 5-6.
Each team member must lie on their back with their feet in the air,
meeting in the center of the circle. A
container of water is placed on the elevated feet. The object is for each team member to remove
their shoes without spilling the water.
The team to win is the one with the most shoes off after three minutes.
Sponge Relay
Divide into two teams. Each team has a bucket of water and a
sponge on one end of the field and an empty bucket at the other end. Team
members must take turns dipping the sponge into the full bucket and wringing it
out into the empty bucket. The first team to fill the empty bucket to a certain
point wins.
Standing Ducks
Form two teams, facing each other. Teams take turn throwing
water balloons at each other. Team who is not throwing must stand still. Team
throwing must wait for leader’s signal and throw at the same time. Once a player
is hit, they get to throw one more round and then they sit out. The team with
the last player standing wins.
Squirt Gun Balloon
Relay – Fill up two buckets with water. Place a cone a good distance down
the field. Divide students into two teams and give each student a squirt gun
and a blown up balloon. On, “Go!”, the first student from each team will start
squirting the balloon with the water gun toward the cone. They can pick the
balloon up and squirt it in front of them or put it on the ground and squirt
it. They have to get the balloon around the cone and back to their team before
the next student can go. The first team to have all of their members squirt
their balloons down and back wins.
At the end of the game, give students time to have a little
free for all with the water guns. Just make sure that students aren’t picking
on each other too much.
Taking the Hit
Students pair up. One student must stand still. Their
partner can move anywhere. The partner that can move is trying to protect the
partner that can’t from getting hit by a water balloon. The other teams are
trying to throw water balloons at all the other people who are standing still.
The player that can move must jump in front of water balloons to keep the
person standing still from getting wet. Once the player standing still does get
wet, that pair is out. Play another round and switch roles.
Water Brigade – Divide students into two teams. Place a full
bucket of water beside each team. Have the first student from each team lie on
the ground about 15 feet in front of their team. Have them hold an empty bucket
on their chest. Give each student an empty plastic cup. On “Go!”, the first
student from each team will dip their cup into the full bucket beside them,
fill the cup, run to their teammate lying on the ground, and empty the cup into
the empty bucket their teammate is holding. Once they empty their cup into the
bucket, the two students switch places and the student who was holding the
bucket takes the cup and races back to their team and gets in the back of the
line. The next person then runs up and empties their cup and is the next to
hold the bucket. The game continues like this until the bucket beside one of
the teams is empty. The first team to empty their bucket wins.
Water Dodge – Divide
students into two teams. Place a line between the two teams to mark their
boundaries. Place full buckets of water and sponges on both sides of the line.
Students play dodge-ball with the sponges. When a student is hit by a sponge
thrown from the opposite team, they’re out. If they catch the sponge, the
thrower is out.
Water Gun War
Divide into two teams.
Each player carries a squirt gun.
Players split up and try to shoot each other. At the end of the time limit, the team that
is the driest collectively wins.
Wacky Water Balloon Relay
Play this game outdoors. Form teams of five. Have teams each form a circle, sitting with their feet pointed toward the center. Place five water balloons on a towel in the center of each team’s circle. One person in each team must scoot to the center of the circle, pick up the water balloon with his or her feet, and pass the balloon to the feet of the person on his or her right. Each person in the circle must take the water balloon with his or her feet and pass it on without using hands. The last person in the circle must swivel and drop the balloon into a pile outside of the circle. The goal is to finish the relay without any broken water balloons.
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