Games

PARACHUTE GAMES


Washing Machine

- one or two people sit in the middle of the parachute; the others walk around in a circle holding the edges so the middle ones are all wrapped up (taking care not to let the parachute get above neck height). Then everyone pulls hard on the edges so the washing machine spins the 'washing'.

Shark Attack

- one or two people are sharks under the parachute; one or two people are lifeguards roaming around the outside. Everyone else sits up holding onto the edge of the parachute with their feet tucked underneath. The sharks must try and drag the others under. The lifeguards must try and safe them.

Night Games


Night time - Torch Statues 

- one person is 'it' and the rest strike a pose and pretend that they are statues. The person who is 'it' walks up to each statue one at a time, shines a torch on them and tries to make them laugh without touching them. The first statue to laugh is the next person to be 'it'. Funny faces and strange warbling noises seem to work best.

Night time - Searchlight 

- one person is 'it' - they turn their back - the rest go and stand on the other side of the field. Then they all try to creep up and tag the person who's 'it'. The 'it' person turns round randomly and shines their torch at the creepers to try and catch them moving. If they're caught moving in the torch beam, they're out. 

Night time - Story Torchlit Tag

 - one person is a storyteller and chooses a word as their 'trigger'. The other players all stand around the storyteller with one finger touching them. The storyteller has a torch. As soon as the storyteller uses their 'trigger' word in the story, the rest of the players have to run away and the storyteller runs to try and catch them. 

Variation: instead of chasing the players - the storyteller can tag them with the torch beam and call their name.

OTHER GAMES


Tig

- everyone stands in a circle with the tigger inside the circle. Anyone who is tigged also becomes a tigger but has to do so on their hands and knees.

Stoa

- a type of tig game with one tigger, who has the ball. Anyone who is hit by the ball also joins the tigger until the last person is caught. It’s a fantastic team game as nobody is in or out, you simply switch sides and the better the co-operation the more successful the game. (It's a game Chris first came across at an Anglo-Saxon re-enactment weekend in West Stow (hence the name) about 30 years ago.)

People, Houses, Chaos

- start with pairs of players making arches with their arms (the 'Houses') while others shelter underneath (the 'People'). One player is caller. When the caller shouts 'Houses' - the houses all move to cover another person. When they shout 'People' - the people all move house. When the caller shouts 'Chaos' everyone relocates including the caller. Whoever is left over becomes the new caller.

Run Rabbit Run

- half the group are rabbits and half foxes with one Captain Rabbit and one Fox Leader. The rabbits start at 'home' behind a line at one end of the playing area. Then Captain Rabbit takes his rabbits out for a walk in a line. At a certain point Fox Leader shouts 'Run Rabbits Run' and the rabbits have to try to get home without being caught. If they are caught they become foxes. The game continues until all rabbits have been caught.

Clothes Peg Tag 

- each player has an equal number of clothes pegs pinned to their clothes to start (3-5 works well). The object of the game is to take off the clothes pegs pinned on to each player by chasing each other and then pegging the pegs onto oneself. The winner is the one who after a certain period of time has the most clothes pegs. 

Name Train

Everyone mills around until they bump into a partner when they play Rock, Paper, Scissors. The loser grabs on behind the winner conga style and they both chuff around chanting the winner's name until they bump into another player's train when they play Rock, Paper, Scissors again - the losing train joins on behind the winning one and they all move off chanting the new winner's name. Eventually there are only two trains left - and the winner takes all. 


Splat!

- one person is in the middle of the circle holding an imaginary splat gun. They spin around and point at someone and say 'Splat'. The person they are pointing at must duck to avoid being hit. So far - so good... but.... at the same time, the players on either side of them must point at each other and shout "splat!". If the first person does not duck in time - they are out - and the last of the two on either side to say "splat!" is also out. If these two speak at the same time - they both stay in. Once a player is out they sit in the circle where they were standing. You still with me? Ok - when only two players remain, they must stand back-to-back in the centre of the circle as in an old-fashioned duel of honour.  As the two walk apart from each other the group leader says something like "orange, orange, orange, orange, orange, apple!" Then both players must turn and shoot, the quickest on the draw winning the game. 

Variations: 

- some people don't like shooting games - so you can play Splat! with imaginary custard pies instead...
- instead of a player in the middle starting the exchange - a leader outside the circle can run the game. They call someone's name and when their name is called they must duck and their neighbours must point to each other and say "splat!". Then the leader calls another name. Played this way it's a good way of getting to know names in a group.


Capture The Flag

- players are divided into two teams. Each team has its own territory with a boundary between the two. Each team must also choose a jail and agree an equal safety zone around the flags. When the game begins, each team decides where to place its flag. Once placed, it cannot be moved. Those guarding their own flag may not enter the safety zone around the flag unless in pursuit of an opposing team member.
Once the flag is placed, team members choose to guard their own flag or to try to capture the other team’s flag. Any player in enemy territory can be caught by being tagged and put in jail. Prisoners can be released by being tagged by a teammate.
A team wins the game by capturing the other team’s flag and bearing it back to their home territory. If a flag is seized but is recaptured before reaching the opponents' territory, the flag is set up where it was recaptured. If a game must be ended before a flag is captured, the team with the most prisoners wins.

Pass the Squeeze

- everyone holds hands in a circle and takes it in turns to pass a hand squeeze - sometimes changing direction and sometimes passing two squeezes in two directions at the same time. Or you can time the squeeze passing around the circle or play it as a race dividing into teams.


Hula Hoop Hoopla

 - everyone holds hands in a circle and passes a large hula hoop around the circle without letting go of each other's hands. Then you can add in a smaller hoop and pass that in the opposite direction - and perhaps a third even smaller one - until all three hoops have to loop inside each other - and the people inside all of them.


G'day Bruce

- it's a bit fiddly to describe but the key thing is you have to go round the circle saying 'G'day Bruce', 'G'day Bruce', 'Say hallo to Bruce, Bruce' and if you go wrong you become a Sheila and if you go wrong again you become a Joey and if you go wrong again you're out. Everyone has to remember who is what. So you might end up having to say 'G'day Sheila', 'G'day Bruce,' 'Say hallo to Joey, Sheila'... and so on. All in an Australian accent. This is the order:
Elfin 1 to Elfin 2: 'G'day Bruce.'
Elfin 2 to Elfin 1: 'G'day Bruce.'
Elfin 1 to Elfin 2: 'Say hallo to Bruce, Bruce.' (nodding towards Elfin 3)
Elfin 2 turns to Elfin 3: 'G'day Bruce.' ...... and so on


Wink Murder

- 1 person is the Detective and goes out of the room. 1 person from the remaining group is chosen to be the Murderer. You can either choose them in secret (draw lots or have the last Detective tap someone secretly) or you can agree as a group who is the murderer (this last version only works if you have lots of people who like doing big dramatic death scenes). Then the Detective sits in the middle of the circle - while the Murderer knocks people off by winking at them. The Detective has three guesses to catch the culprit.


Tongue Murder

- as above - but with tongues...


Wibble Wobble

- everyone starts off as a wibble wobble - wibbling their arms around and weaving about the room saying 'Wibble Wobble' until they bump into another one - at which point they play Rock, Paper, Scissors - whoever wins becomes a knight and has to charge around the room pretending to ride a horse and making clip clop noises - knights must find other knights - the remaining wibble wobbles must look for each other - then they all play Rock, Paper, Scissors again. When a knight beats another knight the loser becomes a wibble wobble, the winner becomes a king or queen and must walk grandly around with their hands straight up on either side of their head as a crown. That's usually it, but you can go one step further so that kings and queens who beat other kings and queens can become Emperors and walk around with their arms wide like a sunburst. The game ends when you want it to...


Sheep, Pig, Cow

- everyone starts off as a sheep - walking about the room saying 'Baa' until they bump into another one - at which point they play Rock, Paper, Scissors - whoever wins becomes a pig and goes around the room grunting until they find another pig - then they all play Rock, Paper, Scissors again. When a pig beats another pig - they become a cow and must moo - while the loser becomes a sheep again. And that's it!


Dead Ants

- everyone is an ant apart from 1 or 2 pest controllers. The object of the game is for all the ants to get from one side of the room to the ant hill on the other side. If they're caught by the controllers they have to lie down dead on the floor with their feet in the air. The other ants must come to rescue them but they can only be carried away to the ant hill by 4 ants - 1 on each arm and leg. When ants are holding the leg or arm of a dead ant they can't be caught by the pest controllers!

Variation:

Flat Chapatis

- uncannily similar to Dead Ants - one person is the Baker and wears outsize oven gloves. They have to squash one of the other players front to back between the oven gloves - the player then falls to the floor and becomes a flat chapati. Other players can rescue them by carrying them in groups of four to the safe area - but the chapati must remain absolutely rigid and flat whilst they are being carried.


Bat and Moth

- everyone stands in a circle with one person blindfolded in the middle (the Bat). One other person (the Moth) has to try not to be caught by the Bat but every time the Bat says 'Bat' the Moth has to answer 'Moth'. Neither player can leave the circle.


Crossing the Swamp

 - in teams - all the teams have to get across the 'swamp' on a rug with only a few extras to help them - and no stepping in the swamp) 


Feeding Time

 - (how do you eat marshmallows with a fork attached to a beanpole - when you can only hold the wrong end of the pole?


Monster Relay

 - a relay in teams - one player from each team gets on stilts - dons a monster mask and makes their way across the playing field to collect or rescue a variety of toys/objects. There are enough objects for each team member to rescue. 


Water Race

 - a relay in teams - each team must fill the distant bucket using only a small teacup one player at a time.


Blind Man’s Brick Box

 - a relay in teams. Each team has a variety of multicoloured blocks mixed up on the floor. One at a time each member of the team puts on a blindfold - is spun around and must sort the blocks by colour with only their shouting team mates to help. Each coloured block must go into a box set some way away from the mixed group. When they have finished the blocks are re-mixed and another team member takes over.  


Old Favourites: 

5-a-side football; Three-legged race; Wheelbarrow race


Dragons' Tails

- a game from China. Everyone is split into two teams - each team forms a chain conga-style. The first Elfin in the chain is the dragon's head and the last has a scarf tucked into their waistband as a tail. Then both dragon heads have to try to steal the tail from the other dragon. Harder than it sounds.


Banana Pass

 - a relay game from Asia - in teams with all team players lying head to foot. The first player has to pass a banana over their heads to the player behind using only their feet. The last player has to eat the banana. Top tip: players should cover their faces with their hands when passing the banana over.


Skateboard Racing

- a relay game from North America - in two teams - each player in the team has to lie on their stomach on a skateboard and make their way to the next team member on the opposite side of the room using only their hands. The team to get all their players across first wins.


The Forest Game 

- from Denmark. Pairs of players hold hands to make arches (the trees) all the other players except one are squirrels - the remaining player is the fox. There should be less trees than squirrels.   One squirrel can be safe sitting under a tree (the arch). If another squirrel comes and taps them on the shoulder they must leave their tree. If the fox catches them, they become a fox too. As squirrels become foxes the number of trees is reduced!


'Nyama' (meat!)

- a game from countries in East Africa. All stand in a circle with one player in the middle. He or she calls out the names of animals. After each name the others jump up and clap. If the animal's meat can be eaten by humans - they jump, clap and shout 'Nyama' (meat)!


The Bean Game

- in this game lots of different beans have associated shapes and jumps which the Elfins do when the leader shouts out 'baked bean', 'coffee bean', 'runner bean', 'string bean', 'broad bean' and, of course, 'human bean'!


Ducks and Chicks

split into groups of 4-6. In each group 1 Elfin is the fox and 1 is the parent bird. All the others are chicks. The chicks have to line up behind the parent. The fox has to try to touch one of the chicks and the parent has to try and block the fox by moving up and down the line. The chicks must not move. Once the fox has touched a chick, the fox becomes a chick, the parent becomes the fox and another Elfin (previously a chick) becomes the parent!


Shrinking Icecaps

- all the Elfins are polar bears living on large ice floes made out of sheets of newspaper. When the music begins the polar bears had to jump from ice floe to ice floe. When it stops they all have to get onto one - but each time the music stops a sheet of newspaper is removed! All the bears have to help each other stay on the dwindling sheets of ice...


Ice cubes

- split into teams each with a dice and a bowl with an equal number of ice cubes. Each player has to throw the dice and then try to melt an ice cube:

1 - Hold for 10 seconds
2 - Blow on it for 10 seconds
3 - Stand on it for 10 seconds
4 - Lick it 10 times!
5 - Rub it between your hands for 10 seconds
6 - Sprinkle salt on it

You can play it just to discover what melts best - or competitively - the winning team is the first to melt their cubes.

One final challenge can be each Elfin puts a cube in their mouth to see who can melt it first without crunching.



Octopus

- one player is the octopus - everyone else is a fish. All the fishes start on one side of the room and have to swim past the octopus to get to the other side. If they get tagged they are turned into seaweed. Seaweed must stand with its feet glued to the floor but can wave its fronds (arms) about. If a fish gets touched by a seaweed frond they also get turned to weed. The game continues until there is only one fish left - they are the winner and become the octopus.

Birthdate Order

- there are many different versions of this - all useful for 'getting to know you' or for sorting into groups.

i) put enough chairs for everyone into a line - everyone has to stand on a chair. Then - without getting off the chairs - they have to sort themselves into birthdate order.
ii) everyone lies on the floor next to each other. Without getting up or going around they have to roll over each other until they are all lying in the right birth order.

Deadly Infection

- someone is the virus - all the others are normal cells. When the virus touches a normal cell it becomes infected and the player has to join hands with the virus and chase the others. The pair run around in a chain infecting new cells who join on until there are 6 infected cells in the chain when they can split into two viral chains of 3 cells! The last cell to remain uninfected wins and becomes the virus for the next round.

The Name Game

- a good name learning game. Everyone stands in a circle. One person calls someone's name and throws a ball to them. That person calls the name of another person, who has not yet been named, and throws the ball to them. This carries on until everyone has caught the ball. Then the last catcher has to reverse the order and throw the ball back to the person who sent it to them - calling out the right name at the same time.

Variation:
- When the ball has been around once the final thrower sends it back to the first person so that the pattern can be repeated - but - at the same time - a second ball is added in - being thrown in a different order starting with a different person. You can keep adding balls into the mix for quite some time before it becomes impossible!



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