12.16.2009

10 Outdoor and Indoor Game Ideas

Hey All -


Here's a very loose version of some games I want to write up in the coming months. I have another 10 all cued up and will be trying to get to 100 by... hm... February. Bryan will be testing these in Harlem (yikes!) so I hope some are winners. These vary from *new* to *modifications* to *old but still fun*. Enjoy!


1. You Spin Me Round
This is a Freeze Tag variation. To unfreeze a player, another player must run around them twice. Simple, right?


2. Square Affair
Think of a criss-cross version of Sharks and Minnows. Create a square and separate two equal teams to stand on adjacent sides of the square. This means that if they run to the other boundary, they will be running perpendicular to one another - right?
The idea is (and this gets chaotic) that on the count of "Go!" players must run to the other side without being tagged by the other team. Tags mean switching teams. The goal is to get everyone onto the same team... Interesting...


3. Something Good Quiz & Physical Challenge
I used to run this game show all the time! Two small teams compete and every question is different, sometimes they are physical challenges, sometimes simple spelling questions (you get the idea). Anyway, once a team member has volunteered and participated in a challenge or question, they may not be used again until the next round. This is fun... you'll frustrate a lot of over enthusiastic brainiacs (like me).


4. Disappear
I will have to write more about this later... It's the game "Points," but instead of minimizing contact with the ground, players must make another player (and then 2, 3, 4...) disappear from the POV of the facilitator. It is a great opportunity to think outside the box. More later.


5. The Boat Addon to CTF
Play Capture the Flag with a neutral area in the center. Players may only cross that area if they are holding a small trashball. Once leaving, regardless of side, they must drop the ball.


6. Chain Challenges
Take a simple challenge and add a timer. This one is where there is a lava pit with some ball in the center. Players must chain together to get the balls out safely. In this scenario, multiple chains would be the fastest way to achieve a good time. Vary the shape and size of the pit for different difficulties!


7. Field Frogger
This is great - I will have the full rules soon. There are Placers, Pickers and Frogs. The Placers put down carpet squares for the Frogs to jump onto. The Pickers pick up the unoccupied squares. The Frogs have to make it to the other side. It's a load of fun (in my head).


8. Tower Defense
There is a path for a team to walk down. The other team has to place themselves along the path with 3 or so trashballs each. Once the round begins, the walking team needs to get at least one player to the end of the path without being hit.


9. Bottlecaps & Frisbees
Put a Frisbee in the center of a large circle. Players must land bottlecaps or quarters inside. Easy, right?


10. 3D Bowling
Play team versus team bowling with blocks instead of pins. The team has a short time to create a structure for the other team to knock down. The structure has to be a certain height to qualify!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Pete - this is an activity I have seen at a Cub Scout Jamboree but I don't know the name. The idea is you map out a grid on the ground, with tape, ropes or carpet tiles - you choose the size based on age of youth and space limitations. A team is waiting on the "entry" side - the facilitator is on the "exit" side. The facilitator has a mapped "route" that only he can see. One at a time, a team member steps into a square - if it is the next (or first) step on the route - the facilitor nods and that person can then select which square to step into next. If they misstep, the facilitator shakes their head no (or whatever signal you want to use) and that person leaves the grid and goes to the back of the line. The next team member has to remember the route the member in front of them took, again square by square, until they misstep. Up to the facilitator whether to let other team members "coach" them from the sidelines or not. Goal is to see how long to get one team member (or entire team) through the route and to the other side. I think for the younger kids, alternating rows of different colored carpet tiles may help them remember the pattern better, the older kids can get all one color. I would use this as an indoor "rainy day" activity or have it set up outdoors for a "down time" activity.

Unknown said...

I KNOW ALL THE VERSES OF THE TITANIC SONG!!!! THE VERSION YOU HAVE IS CLOSE, BUT NOT QUITE!!