GAMES -4-
YOUTH!
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MESSY FACE FINDER
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Submitted by: Tony D. Baker (cm-online@cm-online.net)
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Submitted by: Tony D. Baker (cm-online@cm-online.net)
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First you will need several balls ( light ones that are easy to hit around, I have found that punch balls that you blow up work the best). Next split you group up into four groups. Then divide you room that you are playing in into four areas. Then tell each group to sit in their assigned area and to try to cover as much space as possible. Tell them that they can hit to balls with only there hands and head. They must also sit down during the game and not get up. This is why they must cover as much ground as possible. Then start throwing the balls into each area ( 10 of 15 balls work great ). Play for 2 to 3 minutes long and the group with the least amount of balls in their are wins. From: bradault@ghgcorp.com
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Everyone sits in a circle. Youth Director, or teacher, whoever is leading the group takes a deck of cards and uses only as many cards as there are players. One of the cards must be the ace of spades. Then the leader goes around the circle with the card faces hidden and has everyone draw a card and keep it hidden. Whoever draws the ace of spades becomes the ìkillerî. (You can also just go around the circle with everyoneís eyes closed and tap the ìkillerî duck-duck- goose style.) The object is for the killer to catch someoneís eye and wink at them. When you are winked at, you must say aloud ìIím deadî and sit quietly until the game is over. The object is for someone to be able to identify the killer before he is killed. If someone in the group thinks they can identify the killer, they must say aloud to the group they think they know who it is. If they correctly identify the killer the game is ended. If they are wrong, they too are dead. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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(For groups of 16 or more.) Divide your group into two groups. Have each group stand in a circle, shoulder to shoulder. Give each group a small nerf ball. The object is to pass the ball from the first person in the group, around the circle, to the last person in your group, using only your armpits. If you drop the ball, you must start over. If you use your hands, you must start over. First team to get the ball back to the starting person wins. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Simple one this. 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. This resulted in some hilarious ëwater coming down someoneís noseí episode when we tried it! From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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I have found this activity to work well with teenagers 13 -15 yrs old. It involves simple equipment and lots of open space, like a park or an oval. Australian Rules football ovals have proved to be the best. An overview of the game is as follows. There are two teams, one called Kaos, and the other Control(as in ìGet Smartî). One team(team A) is equipped with one leg of a pair of stockings, that has a small amount of flour in the end. The other team(team B) does not have these. Divide the oval in to two halves for each team. Team A has control of one of the halves, and B the other. The object of the game is for the members of team B to run through the members of Team A without getting hit by the stockings full of flour to a checkpoint or base at the other end. If they are hit, then they are taken prisoner by the other team. Both sides have a chance to run through the other side, and the winner is the team that gets the most people to the checkpoint. This game does require some old clothes and can be run with a large group of teenagers at a youth group, school or camp. I donít know if this game has any biblical basis, but is definitely a lot of fun for all. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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This requires 6 kids, the idea is they have to from a human pyramid. Three strong ones kneel side by side on their hands and knees, the middle person should be the strongest. Then two others climb on top of them and kneel with a hand and knee on each of the two kids below them (the middle person must support the weight of two set of hands and knees). Finally the last person climbs to the very top of the pyramid. Its fun to see of they can stand up on top of everyone. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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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 ! From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Setting up the game: Photocopy and cut out paper money for the game. Give each team the same amount the ìrealî monopoly games says to give to each player. Make sure to have enough for the bank. (Note: it works VERY well to color code the different bills - like with the game.) Distribute the properties to people in your congregation (giving 2 or 3 to each household if you donít have enough volunteers). They will all have to have several hundred dollars to make change with. Make up certificates of ownership for each property to give the people that buy the properties. Make up passes. (cards that tell where the team is coming from and going to) sort of like: Make a small photocopy of the original playing board. (Blacking out the utilities - they just mess everything up, so we donít use them) You should have LARGE mascots for each team (i.e.: HUGE stuffed dog, Large shoe, toy school bus, big McDonalds cup covered with tin-foil [thimble:)] etc...) You should have an adult to drive each team around (with a specific driver, you donít have to worry about kids breaking laws, speeding, liability, etc.) Make sure each kid is in the car-buckled in before the car leaves PARK...(I know this sounds dumb, but we all have to worry about liability now-a-days). Make a map of the town, and a list telling the address of each property.Make the bank, the Jail, community chest and chance at the church. Also, we had a couple of families drop out, so we had the extra properties at the church. Order Pizza or refreshments for the end of the game. (We had each kid bring $2.00 to pay for pizza) Give each team: map of town, Church Phone Number, List of properties and the addresses where they can be found, monopoly money, mascot, copy of the playing board, copy of the rules, a driver and several players Each house should also have: map of town, church phone number, list of properties and the addresses where they can be found, small collection of monopoly money, copy of the rules, copy of the playing board, dice, their properties (and an envelope for each one, to collect rent with). (NOTE: hard to find houses should put balloons in their yard, or on their door so they can be recognized.) Playing the Game: Have each team meet at the church, so they all can hear the rules, and start at the same time. (And to try to answer any questions they have. Set a time when everyone has to meet back at the church at the end. (for each 5 minutes their late deduct 500 dollars from their score...6-10 minutes late 500+500=1000, 11-15 minutes late 500+500+500=1500 etc...) Synchronize Watches Draw numbers to see which team rolls first. Start everyone at ìGoî, and let them roll. They count their spaces, then drive to their first property. They can buy it, or not. It itís bought, they still have to drive there, and pay the rent. If they have all of the properties of a color, they can put houses and hotels on them. (They have to buy them at the bank, and the bank calls the respective houses to tell them which properties have houses and hotels) (NOTE: we only had one team buy houses and hotels - They won.) They have to have a pass to go somewhere, if they get to a place without a pass going there, they have to go back and get a pass. (NOTE: they donít need a pass to go to ìGoî to pick up their money) From each spot, they need to role the dice to go to the next place. A team canít roll, or buy, or pay rent until the ENTIRE team is in the house with the property ìownersî. We didnít make the drivers go in, since they were adults, and not ìOFFICIALLYî part of the game.If a team rolls two properties at the same spot, they have to sit down for two minutes before they can proceed.Jail: They need to role doubles, and if they donít get doubles on the first role, they must sit at the bank/jail (Church) for 5 minutes. We played that if they wanted to mortgage property, they could get their full value (that they paid) for it (It was less hassle that way) (NOTE: no-one did that.)We also gave them $400 for passing ìGoî (have to come to the church to get it) and $800 for landing on ìGoî (Thatís more then the regular game... but hey, the person that runs the game makes the rules :)At the end of the game, have everyone return to the church and get refreshments while everything is tabulated. Tabulating Scores: Count up how much cash each team has.add the price of each property (doubling the price if they own a monopoly) add any rent they collected for each property add the worth of any houses and/or hotels they have subtract $500 for each 5 minutes theyíre late We had each property either call in, or come in to tell us who bought what properties and how much rent they got for it. (We gave them all pizza too.) From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Sit the group in a circle. Pick the ìleaderî. Beginning with the leader (#1), number off all the way around the circle. Everyone needs to remember their number. The leader starts the rhythm, which is - clap your hands onto your thigh tops twice, then hand-clap twice, then finger-snap once on the left and then on the right. The leader begins and on the first finger snap says his/her number (which of course is 1) and then on the second finger snap calls out another number (must be in the circle). That person becomes ìitî. The rhythm keeps going continually - thigh clap/hand clap/snap/snap..... Whomever the leader has identified by calling is number is then ]responsible for calling the next set of numbers on the next finger snaps. First finger snap is his/her number and second one is someone else in the group. Whenever someone misses his number, miscalls, etc., he moves to the end of the circle and becomes whatever the last number was. Everyone else moves up a seat and their numbers change. Kids, seemingly, can play this for hours. The real object is to unseat the ìleaderî and as people keep progressing, new people assume the ìleaderî role and try to hold onto it. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Our Youth have the entire 3rd floor of our building. At Friday Night Live we play this game (so itís already dark outside). Pick someone to be ìitî. 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 ìitî person must find - say 6. When number 6 is found - he becomes ìitî for the next game. The hiding and seeking by the ìitî person are all done in the dark. Thatís what makes it fun! From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Get 5 - 9 kids in a circle and have them reach across and grab otherís hands. They cannot grab their own hand no can they be holding both hands of someone else (i.e. each hand is holding someone elseís hand). Then they have to un-tangle themselves without letting go. I can always be done so donít let them give up. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Blind-fold the kids and get a giant piece of rope that is tied together at the ends. Have them form a square. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Another good game especially if you have active kids that need to burn off steam is one we call the pole game. First you need a pole or something about 3 feet long that will stand up and is not to hard to tip over. Get everyone in a circle around the pole holding hands. The object is to pull someone in and use then to knock over the pole without knocking it over yourself. If a person knocks over the pole they leave the circle, if the circle breaks the two people who let go leave the circle. It is a pretty active game and can get a little rough on less active people. The best part is that it gets very competitive and the rowdiest most energetic tend to stay in the longest keeping them busily occupied. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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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 ìtailî of the other, while the tail of the group tries to avoid getting caught.
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"Honey, If you love me, will you please smile for 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." From: benku@gnn.com
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Divide your people into groups of about six-ish. Any number of groups (that can fit in the room) can play. Materials Tons of drinking straws (about the diameter of MacDonalds (burger) straws, BUT the soft kind AND simple and straight) about 50-100 straws to each group. 2 small rolls of tape per group. One small 'corner' of the room per group. Give about 10 minutes to see which group can make the tallest self supporting structure. Say that they then have to bring their masterpieces to the front, and see whose structure remains standing the longest. When the construction time is up, have each group move their structure to the front of the room. Then you proceed to give a short (not too short) talk about what your life is based on. * note - I don't have the slightest idea of what the speaker was saying at this point (when I was participating in this game) so don't put too much important points in your talk here. (everyone will be watching the structures, not the speaker). As time progresses, these straw structures will topple over/collapse/get blown down by the fan/etc one by one. Acknowledge each one as it drops, and at the end you can discuss with the group what makes the good ones stay up, and why those on the ground have fallen. Pay particular attention to the base/foundations of these structures. Conclude that one needs a strong (good/solid/big/firm/etc) foundation (=Jesus/Christian values) for ones life, or something to that effect. (The best structures seem to be those constructed like the Eiffel Tower or oil rigs. ** during the 10-15 minutes allotted to build the straw towers, you can move around and watch to see who are the leaders and who are the followers (if you wish). Submitted by: Wei Liang Yap 9402347y@udcf.gla.ac.uk
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Can only be played if you have a lot of room, but not open space. This is sometimes called ìSeek and Go Hideî. One person is picked to be ìitî. This person must find a very good hiding place while everyone else sits in a neutral spot with their eyes closed for a specified amount of time. When the time is up, everyone goes looking for ìit. If ìitî is found, you try not to let other people know where ìitî is and YOU HIDE WITH ìITî. The object is to not be the last one left. The first person that found ìitî gets to be ìitî the next time. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Divide the group into 2 even teams. Have teams sit on the floor facing. Members from each team must hold the hands of the teammates next to them, preferably behind their backs so that the other team cannot see them. At the end of the line, place a spoon on the floor between the last two people. On the other end, you need an impartial person (you or a volunteer) to flip a coin. Everyone except the two people at the beginning must close their eyes, or sit facing out and all must be silent. When the coin is flipped, if it is heads, the people at the beginning squeeze the hand of the person next to them, who then squeezes the hand of the person next to them, and so on. When the squeeze gets to the end, the last person can open their eyes and grab the spoon. The team that grabs the spoon first sends the person from the end of their line to the beginning and everyone shifts down one. The object is to be the first team to rotate all the way back to the starting position. If the coin is tails, nothing happens and you flip again. If the people at the beginning of the line squeeze on tails, they go to the end of the line (rotating backwards). They also go backwards if anyone on their team opens their eyes prematurely or makes any noise. It is helpful to have judges standing behind each team to watch for erroneous squeezes and to listen for noises. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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You need at least 5 people (you can play with less) to play. You start with everyone in a circle. One person is Moose, Moose. This person starts the game. Now, everyone in the circle chooses an animal, like, gator, gator or cat, cat or shark, shark. Along with the animals, you have hand signals. For example, Moose, Moose would put both hands on their head and make like two horns (like Bullwinkle), another example would be gator, gator, he would put his arms in front like an alligatorís mouth. You can make up more animals with hand signals as needed. Now Moose, Moose starts the game by signaling his signal and saying ìMoose, Moose Cat, Catî the game is now on cat, cat. You keep passing the game from player to player in no particular order. When someone messes up they must move from their position and sit to the left of Moose, Moose, we called that character Pig, Pig and they made a pig nose as their signal. The game can get real intense and fun, because when someone slips up everyone laughs. Itís usually a funny mistake. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Now before you send me hate mail, realize that I donít use that name with my Jr. High kids. This racy title just happens to describe what you do. Line the kids up, and have them pass an index card down the line as fast as they can using only their mouths. You need to suck in wind to keep the card on your lips in order to pass it (by blowing out) to the next person in line. This game is especially great with boys, because if one person drops the card at just the right point, the two come very close to locking lips. If you want to see a 200 pound ninth grader giggle, this is the game to play. The first group to pass the card all the way down (and back if you wish) wins. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Number of participants: 10 minimum, 5 per team. Max 10 per team. Equipment: 1 spoon and about 20 ft of yarn (avg. 4 ft per team member) Preparation is everything for this game! At least one hour before you play, cut the yarn into long segments, allowing about 4 feet of yarn per team member. If in doubt, always make your yarn longer than necessary. Tie one end of one piece of yarn to the end of one spoon. Do this for each team. Put the spoons (with the yarn attached) in the FREEZER to chill for an hour - the colder the better. You may want to dip the spoons in water first to add a little ice build-up. When youíre ready to play, divide the kids into equal size teams. I recommend at least 5 per team. Hand the spoon to the first player and instruct them to put the spoon down their shirt, through pants legs (or skirts) and out by their feet. The fact that the spoons are cold will be apparent very quickly. The first person should also be instructed to hold the end of the yarn while the rest of the team repeats the threading process. NOTE: the spoon does not, and should not, go in undergarments; only inside of shirts, slacks, etc. The object of the game is to see which team can ìthread the spoonî from the first person to the last. When done, the entire team will be stitched together! From: samuelso@tyrell.net [Note: My group found it even funnier to freeze the string into a small sized, plastic margarine tub. That way it's not just a cold spoon but a block of ice they have to slide through their clothing. Suds]
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Anyhow, have each person find a partner. Have them make two circles - one inside the other (each partner should be in a different circle facing their partner.) The object is to be the last couple in the game. NOTE: youíll need a CD player or tape player. When the music is ON they should be walking around in their circles - In opposite directions. (i.e.: inner circle clockwise and outer circle counter-clockwise.) When you STOP the music yell out 2 body parts (i.e.: foot and ear) and they need to find their partner and connect the body parts (i.e...touch one persons foot to the other personís ear). They need to hold their position until you tell them to circle up again. After a couple of practice rounds, start calling the last 2 or 3 couples out, and have them sit by the side. If you have some good music, have them clapping with the music to keep from getting bored (or in trouble) You can use any number of body parts i.e.: rump, knee, foot, ear, head, nose, etc...usually as a last one - when thereís only a couple of couples left, (for the older kids) use something like nose to nose, or nose to ear. . they donít really end up doing anything, but it looks incriminating, and the hesitation can often be funny :) From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Line up kids with their backs to each other, there should be several rows across the room. At each end, thereís a goalie row facing the rest of the group... < < < < < You can either use chairs or have them sit on the floor. To Play the game...You can use several ìballsî. Use anything from Nerf balls to Balloons, to Balloons with a couple of pennies or a little water in them, Ping Pong Balls (although they donít work very well). Most of the time we used Balloons. I like to put a little water in them, so if they break - well, Itís more fun :) You throw the balloon into the ìcourtî and they try to get it past the goalie on the other side.. The players can only hit it with their hands and heads. They may not hold the ball or throw it, they can only hit it. If it goes out of bounds, they should leave it until you get it for them. I usually set a time limit rather then a score limit, you never really know how many points their going to make. NOTE: itís usually best to set another ìadultî at each side to keep score. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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There are several ways of doing this. Either in the dark or in a lighted room. Dark is a lot more fun, but you need to make sure none of the adults are playing (because of liability and Harassment). It does work well in a lighted room too. While the ìkidsî (Term used loosely - since most of the people reading this would probably consider me a kid at 20) are coming into the room assign them animals (i.e.: Donkey, Chicken, Horse, Elephant ó get creative). Tell them not to tell anyone what animal they are. They have to find everyone else with the same animal that they have. They do this by making the animal sounds (They may NOT talk). Give them a while, and when it seems like theyíve all found their groups, let them stop. You can also play other games with they groups theyíve made. They can do some mixers in the small groups - get to know each other. NOTE: You can have each group hold hands once theyíve found their group - Jr. Hi Usually Loves the idea, and High School usually doesnít really care. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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The leader asks a series of questions. Actually, there are over 100 questions that come with the little packet, but I didnít use the packet. I just made up some questions. Anyway, the questions range from shallow to deep. For instance, ìWhat is your favorite color?î would obviously be a shallow question, but, ìWhat do you like least about your parents?î would be a deeper one. The purpose is to get the kids talking. Go around the group and ask the same question to every person in the group. Start with something shallow, then move towards deeper questions, and back towards shallow. Finally, ask questions about the questions: ìWhich answer surprised you the most?î Give everyone an opportunity to answer. A person may skip, but always come back to them and have them answer the question as the last person. This works best with groups from 7-12 members. If you have a big group, then split it up into smaller groups. I have done this. It works really well. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Stick the Lifesaver on someoneís belly game Stick the licked lifesavers on someoneís face gameî (Christmas version) This is an old take-off of the ìstick the licked lifesavers on someoneís face gameî but with a holiday flair. Get three or four or five guys (the less hairy the better) and have each guy assemble a team of five or six others to build a Christmas wreath on the guyís stomach using licked red and green Christmas mints, lifesavers, and red gum (for the bow). Youíll find that once you put one of those Christmas mints in your mouth it gets real sticky and sticks to a bare tummy pretty well. Give all of the teams about five minutes to ìbuildî their circular wreath and let ëem go at it. After five minutes, have all of the teams sit down and then vote on the best one. Feel free to use other candy, too. Gummy Worms, Jolly Ranchers, and other mints work well and add color. Just make sure that you run a test beforehand to make sure that it sticks well. As a rule, the more slobber... the better. Youíll want to get guys that donít mind revealing their belly and getting a little sticky. As a side note... donít use Big Red or cinnamon gum for the bow. It burns a little when it gets wet and is put on someoneís tender tummy and sits for a while. Doubt me? Try it yourself.... I did ouch. From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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For somewhat small groups (3-15 people). You give the group a scenario and they try to figure out the missing pieces and the answer to the scenario by asking the leader yes or no questions (a question that can only be answered by yes, no, or doesnít make a difference). 1. Man with a backpack There is a man with a backpack on lying face down in the middle of the desert dead. How did he die? Parachute jumper that died from his parachute not opening up. 2. Men and bicycles Two men lie dead at a table in a room with 52 bicycles. How did the men die? Two gamblers shot each other while playing cards. (Bicycle Brand Cards) From: samuelso@tyrell.net
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Get 4 "volunteers" up front and have them sit down on stools, facing the rest of the kids. Have on a low table in front of each of the "volunteers", the ingredients(?) for lemonade, a 1/4 of a lemon each, a teaspoon of sugar, and a glass of water. Announce to the kids it is going to be a race to make lemonade when you say go then the kids first of all eat the lemon then eat the sugar , drink the water then they have to jump up and sit down to mix up the ingredients. The first to do this is declared the winner. From: davidc@asaionline.net
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10-20 players - Indoors - Active Junior and Senior High Equipment: One chair per person The chairs are arranged in a circle. (We find a carpeted room sometimes works better.) One person is It and stands in the center of the circle. Everyone else sits down on a chair. One chair will be empty. The object of the game is for the sitting players to prevent It from sitting down. They do this by "hustling their buns" and moving either left or right to occupy the empty chair before It can sit down. Players may only move one chair left or right. Eventually someone isn't fast enough and It sits down. The person on his or her left (or right) now becomes It. From: cg847@freenet.carleton.ca Kirby & Jennifer Gehman
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Any Number (Even Number of People) Indoors or Out All Ages Athletic! Everyone splits off into two and find s a space within the play area. They then link arms. The youth leader picks a twosome as volunters! One member of the twosome is IT and the other runs from IT. This works like a normal game of chasing except that the person who is running can grab the free arm of any person in any other twosome at any point they like. When they do this they become a part of the twosome and the origional member of the twosome who was not grabbed must now run from IT and try and link up with another twosome. If IT catches the victim, then the victim becomes IT and It becomes the victim and must run and link up with another group. From: brigodon@wintermute.co.uk DJ Stewart
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Indoors Messy Junior and Senior High Two leaders, a chair and volunteer, and a plastic or styofoam cup full to the brim with water. Get a volunteer and lead them into another room. While they are away clue in everyone else what is going on. Basically the scene is a restaurant the youth leader is the customer, the other leader the waiter. The volunteer must be the table. Lead the volunteer in explain to him that he or she is a table. They must act like a table, rigid and supportive, strong and straight. Get them set up as the table with the chair beside them. Now the youth leader walks in and the waiter comes up to him and asks him for his order. Act this out in as funny a way as possible. Then the waiter asks what the customer would like to drink. "Oh, just water" The waiter leaves and returns with the styrofoam cup of water which either he or the youth leader places on the table right between the victims shoulder blades. then everyone runs away. It is impossible to get the cup of your shoulders without spilling the water all over yourself! But it is fun watching people try! From: brigodon@wintermute.co.uk DJ Stewart
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Groups of Four Indoors or Out Three of the four people hold hands. The loose person is ìITî. One person of the three has to be tagged. The triangle of three runs and spins to keep that person from being tug. ìITî tries to reach across or run around the outher two to tag the third person. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Any Size Group This is a fun game as well as a leadership training scenario. Set up a 15í x 15í area surrounded by a rope on post about 4í-5í high. Place the group inside and tell them they have to get out without touching the rope or the invisible fence from the rope to the ground. (The best solution is to throw people out so make sure your not playing on broken glass, etc.) You will get a chance to see their problem solving skills as well as how they work together. If they have trouble suggest that they get the biggest people out first and leave the smallest person to be picked up last. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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2 Groups of 5-10 Prepare a four 2x4ís, (or larger if possible), with ropes at each end by drilling through the wood and pushing the rope through and knotting it. Have each group stand on a set of the ìskisî (Pack as many teens together as possible). Then they have to race about 100í. This is another good problem solving puzzle. (They have to yell ìRIGHTî - ìLEFTî - ìRIGHTî and so on). From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Any Size Group Inside Game w/ Chairs Have them sit in a circle with one less chair than people. Odd person is in the middle. They say have you ever...fell asleep in church? Or, cheated on a test?, etc. Everyone that it applies to has the get up and move at least 5 charis from where they were sitting. The person in the middle tries to get a seat and so someone else will be left in the middle. It works best to not only be specific but general as well - ìHave you ever attended this YG before?î Caution: Sometimes it gets rough! Make sure they donít shove each other over the chairs. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Any Size Group I donít know the actual name of this game, but our group learned it at Gordon Collegeís ìLaVidaî program. Break the group into two. Have them line up sholder to shoulder facing the other group about 10 feet away. (This should make two rows of people standing side by side looking at each other 10í apart. Choose two people on the end. One is it the other gets chased. They have to run around and between the two lines of people until one is tagged. Boring, right? Hereís where it gets fun. The person being chased can run up behind someone and push them into the middle where they become the one being chased. The person being chased can only make someone else run by pushing them into the middle from behind. Now ìITî is outside the rows and the other person is inside. Let them play like this for a while until they get used to it. Now add this rule; If you are in the rows you can turn around and face the person trying to push you in and not allow them to change positions with you. Another option is to have the rows move until they are about 1 foot apart. (This makes it really difficult for the person being chased). From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Any Size Group Get a soft pillow or something else you can get hit with that doesnít hurt. (We have these foam bats that work great). Have the group sit in a circle with one person in the middle. Pick someone to start. They stand up and yell the name of another person in the group and ìITî has to hit that person before they stand up and yell another name. (We limit the hitting to knees and below). After ìITî gets someone they take that persons place and start it over again. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Leader (Unsuspecting) and 3 volunteers (Unsuspecting) This is a great skit that we use to initiate new leaders to our group. Set up two tables end to end with about a 1í of open space between. Drape sheets over the table with the overlap in the gap between tables. Get about 10 different balls (Golf Balls, Bowling Balls, Baseballs, etc.) and put about 7 on the first table and 3 on the second. Cover all the balls with a towel. Tell the leader that they are going to squat in between the table and have their head coveed with towel. You will tell the three volunteers that it is a race to see how fast they can pull off the towel and say what kind of ball it is. When they get pull the towel off the leader he yells at the volunteer. (This is really funny!) Hereís the part you donít tell the leader; When the third volunteer comes in you hand them a bucket of water and whisper that you are going to pull off the towels and they will yell the names of the balls. When you get to the leader you will pull off the towel and the volunteer will throw the water into the wide open screaming face of the leader. This is the funniest skit I have seen - with the possible exception of the next one. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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You will need to discuss this with your team and make sure everyone is OK with it. You will also need a very hard core volunteer! Tell your group that you wanted to prepare them for college by showing them a little bit of what college life is like. Have a table up front with a large clear glass bowl, a toothbrush and toothpaste and about five glasses of water. Have the members of the skit enter one by one and act like theyíre waking up. They proceed to pick up the toothbrush and brush their teeth. (The messier the better - and lots of water). Everyone uses the same brush and spits the water out into the bowl. Lots of water - get as much in the bowl as possible! This by itself will get half the group sickened. By the time the last person comes out they will think that they have seen it all. However, they would be very, very wrong. The hard core volunteer acts the same way - except that he (Iíve never found a girl that would do this part) stops and looks at the bowl and says ìBoy, am I starvedî then he pulls out a hidden box of cereal and pours it into the milky sludge in the bowl and starts to eat it. [Have barf bags ready for your group. If anyone else has a skit like this I would love to get it. - Suds] From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Any Size Group Gym or Outside Divide into two teams. Use a ball that you throw at someone. Set up the field like baseball (first, second, third base only - but the base areas have to be about 10í x 10í). Have someone roll the ball into the home plate area. As each person kicks the ball they run to first - second - third and back to first. (Each time they go around is one run. They continue to run until the inning is over or they are hit with the ball. (You will end up with about 10-15 people running around the bases) The inning is over when all people have had a chance to kick. (It is not unusual to have an inning with 75-100 runs depending on the size of the teams). Each person is responsible for keeping track of their own runs. If you donít get it please let me know and Iíll explain it better. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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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. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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O(reland) P(resbyterian) C(hurch) Airlines 3 volunteers and four helpers. This is another good game for during your meetings. Have the volunteer come up and tell them they are going to fly on (Your Group Name Here) Airlines! Bring them in one at a time and have them stand on a wide, strong board. They put their hands on the heads of the two volunteers on either side of the board for stability. The other volunteers grab the ends of the board and start to lift it to about waist high. Then back down. Blindfold the volunteer and do it again - but have the lifters only raise it about 2 inches off the floor. The stabilizers slowly sink down to their knees to make it appear that the board is again waist high. The lifters start to rock the board until the volunteer tries to jump down 3 feet from a two inch high board. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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1 Volunteer and 3 helpers Have people find out the weight of the volunteer prior to the game. (They need to find out as naturally as possible). During your meeting have one of the helpers come up and explain how this person has the uncanny gift of guessing the weight of anyone they meet. Then ask for three volunteers. Choose the other two helpers and the volunteer you are going to get. Have the three ìvolunteersî stand off to one side of the room. Have the weight machine person sit on the floor and then bring over the first helper/volunteer. They sit down facing the weight machine and put the bottoms of their feet against the bottom of the weight machineís feet. They both reach across and grab wrists. The weight machine leans back and lifts the other person off their butt and then lowers them back down. They think about how heavy the helper was and then announces their weight. (Of course, you already gave him this information beforehand - although a pronouncement of 400 lbs for a small ninth grade girl is funny, too) This is repeated for the other helper and then the true volunteer. But after the weight machine lifts the true volunteer up you slide a monster sized, plastic bowl or pan of water under where their butt will be lowered. From: Sudz@ix.netcom.com Randall Sudlow [Suds]
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Everybody takes off a shoe and throws them in a pile on the floor. At the count of three, everyone has to grab a shoe from the pile, then find the person with the matching shoe on their other foot and find out their name and three things about them they didn't already know (like where they go to school or how many brothers or sisters they have). This is fun because everyone is trying to find someone while someone else is trying to find them. Works best with larger (10) groups. After everyone has found their person and asked them the questions, then go around the circle and have everyone introduce the person they talked to and tell the three things about them.
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Pass around a ball of string and some scissors and ask everyone to cut off a piece. Some will take tiny pieces, some very long ones. After everyone has a piece, go around they circle and have everyone say one thing about themselves for each finger width of string. This usually gets a few laughs for the person who cut off several feet!
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Put different names on pieces of paper and tape on eto each person's back. They can follow a theme, like Biblical names or cartoon characters or whatever. Then everyone has to go around asking yes or no questions of other people in order to find out what name is on their back.
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This game is like regular tag only everyone is "it". Everyone runs around trying to tag everyone else. When you're tagged, you sit down. The object is to be the last person left standing.
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Put the group into a large circle of chairs. Pick 3 boys and 3 girls (you can pick more or less depending on the size of your group) to come into the center and remove their chairs. Have music ready. Instruct them that when the music starts they must find someone of the opposite sex and pull them up out of their chair, and sit in it - quickly. This person then must do the same, moving at least 3 chairs away from his/her previous position. Everyone must stop when the music stops. The winner is the group that has the fewest members in the circle. After a few rounds, have some helpers remove chairs before people sit down in them to make it a little more chaotic. It helps to set some rules about how hard to pull up people. Guys can't jerk girls arms out of their sockets and also must allow themselves to be pulled up, etc.
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Put the group into a large circle of chairs. Pick one person to be in the middle and remove that person's chair. The person in the middle yells "I wanna meet...", finishing the sentence with whatever they want "... everyone with red hair...all the girls...everyone who's birthday is in June...everyone who hates spinach", etc. Then, everyone who meets that criteria must get up and run to an empty chair at least 5 chairs away from their previous position. The person left without a chair gets to yell "I wanna meet..." next. You have to be careful with this one. Occasionally, kids will want to know more about each other than you think. I'm always a little nervous that someone will say "I wanna meet all the virgins" and I'll not want to look at who isn't moving.
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Have everyone get a partner. Have them decide who is the birdie and who is the perch. Have all the birdies stand in a circle and all the perches stand in a circle surrounding the birdies. Have music ready. When the music starts, the birdies walk clockwise around the circle and the perches walk counter-clockwise. When the music stops, the birdies must find their perches and sit on them. Usually the perch kneels on one knee, making a perch out of the other leg. The last couple to pair up is out and the object is to be the last couple left. It's more fun if you make them move quickly in their circles so that they are at least jogging. To speed it up, you can make the last 3 ( or more) couples to pair up be out.
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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.
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