Place chairs in a circle facing inward and have all the girls (or guys) sit down. One guy needs to stand behind each girl. One guy should have an empty chair and he is the Winker.
The winker's job is to wink at one of the girls in the circle. She is to attempt to get out of her seat and sit in the empty chair in front of the winker. The guy behind her MUST be looking at her head (not at the winker) and have his hands by his side. When she tries to leave the chair he quickly reaches and touches her on the shoulder. If he succeeds she stays if not she sits in the winker's chair and then the guy that failed becomes the new winker.
The game just keeps going till everybody gets tired. At least 15 players our needed but an optimal number would be around 30. With larger groups designate more than one winker.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Who did it?
This game is a good ice breaker activities for new groups where people may not know each other that well.
Hand out a pen and paper to each person and ask them to write something exciting they have done in their lives - for example "I have been sky diving" or "I have been in hospital for a week" etc. Encourage people to think of something unique and interesting (though be prepared for some people to struggle to think of something!)
Collect all the pieces of paper and read them out loud to the group. The group has to decide "who did it". The game guarantees you will learn something new about other people in the group!
Hand out a pen and paper to each person and ask them to write something exciting they have done in their lives - for example "I have been sky diving" or "I have been in hospital for a week" etc. Encourage people to think of something unique and interesting (though be prepared for some people to struggle to think of something!)
Collect all the pieces of paper and read them out loud to the group. The group has to decide "who did it". The game guarantees you will learn something new about other people in the group!
Where were you?
Have group members sit in a circle. Then choose one person to be the Chief Inspector and instruct that person to stand in the centre of the circle. Then direct the Chief to go somewhere in the circle and ask that peson where he or she was on a specific day during the last two weeks, a specific month in the last year, or a specific year in their life. eg. the Chief may ask "where were you last Tuesday" or "Where were you at age 5".
Allow the person to answer the question honestly or dishonsetly, then have the Chief Inspector guess whether the answer is true or false. If the Chief Inspector guesses correctly, the person who answered the question becomes the new Chief Inspector. Continue until each person in the circle has been questioned at least once.
Allow the person to answer the question honestly or dishonsetly, then have the Chief Inspector guess whether the answer is true or false. If the Chief Inspector guesses correctly, the person who answered the question becomes the new Chief Inspector. Continue until each person in the circle has been questioned at least once.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Rattlesnake
The group sits down in a circle.
One person is choosen to be "it".Blindfold the youth and spin them in cirlces.
Hand one other person in the circle something that they shake to make noise (eg maraca, bottle of pebbles, tambourine). It works best if you have something that is hard to pass on without making noise.
The students really have to pay attention. Once the youth blindfolded is done spinning, the leader will call out "rattlesnake"
Whoever has the shaker must give one shake and then pass the shaker off to someone else. The shaker will continue to be passed around the circle. The youth leader should continue to call rattlesnake more often until the blindfolded youth can catch the rattlesnake.
Whoever was caught will be the next one blindfolded.
Poison
Poison is a good physical game to get people moving. It's also not as dangerous as it sounds!Poison game
Get everyone in the group to make a circle and hold hands. In the middle, place a chair (or similar object).
The concept is simple - if you touch the chair (which is "poisonous"), you're out. It doesn't take long before one side of the circle will try and pull the other side of the circle onto the chair.
Gradually as people are eliminated, the circle will get smaller and smaller. The last person standing is the winner!
Obviously given this is a physical game, you need to keep an eye on safety here to make sure people do not get hurt.
Photo night
Split into groups of 4-5 (make sure there's one leader in each group), and give each group a camera.
Draw up a list of things / objects / situations they need to try to capture on film. Be creative with the list - make sure you include some simple tasks, but also some tricky things to find (or do). Allocate points to each item depending on the difficuty.
For example:
Points Photo of...
10
A red four wheel drive
20
Members of your group in a phonebox
20
A members of your group on a swing
30
A member of your group shaking hands with an old man
5
A McDonalds sign
10
A cat
5
A stop sign
10 A personalized numberplate
5 Members of your group at a bus stop
5 Members of your group on a pedestrian crossing
15 A member of your group with an animal of some sort
10 etc
Be sure to set a time limit when people need to meet back and then share the photos.
Other variations include using a video cameras (rather than still photos)
Make sure to add all the photos to Facebook or your youth group web site!
Draw up a list of things / objects / situations they need to try to capture on film. Be creative with the list - make sure you include some simple tasks, but also some tricky things to find (or do). Allocate points to each item depending on the difficuty.
For example:
Points Photo of...
10
A red four wheel drive
20
Members of your group in a phonebox
20
A members of your group on a swing
30
A member of your group shaking hands with an old man
5
A McDonalds sign
10
A cat
5
A stop sign
10 A personalized numberplate
5 Members of your group at a bus stop
5 Members of your group on a pedestrian crossing
15 A member of your group with an animal of some sort
10 etc
Be sure to set a time limit when people need to meet back and then share the photos.
Other variations include using a video cameras (rather than still photos)
Make sure to add all the photos to Facebook or your youth group web site!
Mine Field
This game teaches kids the value of communication and trust.
It works best if you have a large area, indoor or outdoor. Setup a series of obstacles (chairs, tables, balls, etc).
Ask the group to pair off - one person is blind folded and must make their way through the 'mine field' by listening to their partner. Their partner verbally talks them through but cannot enter the mine field. If the person hits a 'mine' they must return to the start. After everyone has gone through, swap roles.
At the end of the game, talk about what they learnt about communication and trust.
* what was helpful communication and what wasn't
* was it easy to trust your guide
* what were some of their feelings - fear, safety, etc
* was it easier going first or second
It works best if you have a large area, indoor or outdoor. Setup a series of obstacles (chairs, tables, balls, etc).
Ask the group to pair off - one person is blind folded and must make their way through the 'mine field' by listening to their partner. Their partner verbally talks them through but cannot enter the mine field. If the person hits a 'mine' they must return to the start. After everyone has gone through, swap roles.
At the end of the game, talk about what they learnt about communication and trust.
* what was helpful communication and what wasn't
* was it easy to trust your guide
* what were some of their feelings - fear, safety, etc
* was it easier going first or second
Magic Carpet
Split into teams of 8 to 12 people.
Each team will be given a large piece of paper, towel, or rugas a magic carpet and all team members will be standing on it. You start out the game by telling teams the following:
You are on a magic carpet, thousands of feet up in the sky. But you're not going anywhere because your carpet is upside down. The object is to flip the carpet back upright without anyone falling off into the abyss. You can use your hands.
The team that reverses its carpet first without anyone stepping off is the winner.
Each team will be given a large piece of paper, towel, or rugas a magic carpet and all team members will be standing on it. You start out the game by telling teams the following:
You are on a magic carpet, thousands of feet up in the sky. But you're not going anywhere because your carpet is upside down. The object is to flip the carpet back upright without anyone falling off into the abyss. You can use your hands.
The team that reverses its carpet first without anyone stepping off is the winner.
Keep the Balloon up!
Everyone stands in a circle, and throw a balloon in the middle.
Round 1: Keep the balloon off the floor, people in the circle have to run in and hit the balloon up while saying their name (the same person can't hit the balloon twice).
Round 2: The same, but when you hit the balloon up in the air, instead of saying your own name, you say the name of someone else and they have to come in next to hit the balloon.
Round 1: Keep the balloon off the floor, people in the circle have to run in and hit the balloon up while saying their name (the same person can't hit the balloon twice).
Round 2: The same, but when you hit the balloon up in the air, instead of saying your own name, you say the name of someone else and they have to come in next to hit the balloon.
Monday, February 1, 2010
I didn't catch your name
A simple get-to-know-you game, ideal for groups where people don't know each other's names that well. The aim of the game is to learn people's names.
Start by having everyone stand around in a circle. One person has a ball and must throw it to someone and say their name as they throw it. Continue until everyone has thrown the ball at least three times (by then, everyone should know at least some people's names!)
Start by having everyone stand around in a circle. One person has a ball and must throw it to someone and say their name as they throw it. Continue until everyone has thrown the ball at least three times (by then, everyone should know at least some people's names!)
Here I Sit
All people sit in a circle on chairs. There is one extra chair in the circle. A person sitting next to the spare chair starts by moving into the spare chair, saying "Here I sit". The next person moves along a chair and says "In this chair". The next person moves up a seat and says "With my friend... and names someone else in the circle, who comes and sits in that person�s old chair. The people on either side of the new spare chair have to race to sit in it (probably best to play this on carpet to avoid serious injuries if people fall off chairs!). The game then continues with whoever made it into the spare chair saying "here I sit" etc.
Heads down, Thumbs Up
YET ANOTHER GAME FOR ART EXCEL
I can clearly remember playing this game when I was about 9 or 10 years old. It was my favorite game to play at school (in the classroom that is).
Ideally this works best if you have kids sitting down at desks. Depending on the size of your group, pick 3-4 people to stand at the front of the room. Everyone else then puts their "heads down and thumbs up". By "heads down", we also mean eyes closed so they cannot see what is happening in the room. By "thumbs up", we mean having their thumb pointing up so it can be grabbed.
The 3 or 4 people up the front sneak up and squeeze the thumb of someone in the room, and then sneak back to the front of the room.
Once that's done, everyone opens their eyes and the people who's thumbs were squeezed have to pick which one of the 3/4 people it was that squeezed their thumbs. If they guess right, they get to go up the front and the person who was 'guessed' sits down.
Repeat as many times as necessary (or until it gets old)
It's a pretty simple game and thus works best for younger people - as I said, I loved it as a kid :)
I can clearly remember playing this game when I was about 9 or 10 years old. It was my favorite game to play at school (in the classroom that is).
Ideally this works best if you have kids sitting down at desks. Depending on the size of your group, pick 3-4 people to stand at the front of the room. Everyone else then puts their "heads down and thumbs up". By "heads down", we also mean eyes closed so they cannot see what is happening in the room. By "thumbs up", we mean having their thumb pointing up so it can be grabbed.
The 3 or 4 people up the front sneak up and squeeze the thumb of someone in the room, and then sneak back to the front of the room.
Once that's done, everyone opens their eyes and the people who's thumbs were squeezed have to pick which one of the 3/4 people it was that squeezed their thumbs. If they guess right, they get to go up the front and the person who was 'guessed' sits down.
Repeat as many times as necessary (or until it gets old)
It's a pretty simple game and thus works best for younger people - as I said, I loved it as a kid :)
Gifts for the Journey
Form pairs.
Say: "Imagine that you're going on a long journey and that you'll need lots of supplies.
Now introduce yourself to your partner and describe one of your own possessions that you'd like to give to your partner to help on his or her journey. (Don't worry, you won't actually have to give up this item.) Explain that the gift can be either tangible (eg, a jacket) or intangible (eg courage).
After pairs finish, have kids find new partners, introduce themselves and describe the gifts they received from their previous partners. Anyone who can't remember either the name or the gift is eliminated from the game. Then have partners exchange gifts as in the first round. After pairs finish, form new pairs. But this time, teenagers must repeat the names and gifts of their two previous partners.
Continue until three or fewer people are left.
Say: "Imagine that you're going on a long journey and that you'll need lots of supplies.
Now introduce yourself to your partner and describe one of your own possessions that you'd like to give to your partner to help on his or her journey. (Don't worry, you won't actually have to give up this item.) Explain that the gift can be either tangible (eg, a jacket) or intangible (eg courage).
After pairs finish, have kids find new partners, introduce themselves and describe the gifts they received from their previous partners. Anyone who can't remember either the name or the gift is eliminated from the game. Then have partners exchange gifts as in the first round. After pairs finish, form new pairs. But this time, teenagers must repeat the names and gifts of their two previous partners.
Continue until three or fewer people are left.
Giant sneeze
Ideal for ART EXCEL
Divide the group into three. Assign each group one of these sounds: Hishee, Hashee, Hoeshee. Have each group say them separately, then have all the groups say them together. After that, assign each group one of the following sounds: Hish, Hash, and Shoo. Have each group say their word. Have them say them together and see how funny they sound. Then have Hish immediately followed by Hash and Hash immediately followed by Shoo.
Divide the group into three. Assign each group one of these sounds: Hishee, Hashee, Hoeshee. Have each group say them separately, then have all the groups say them together. After that, assign each group one of the following sounds: Hish, Hash, and Shoo. Have each group say their word. Have them say them together and see how funny they sound. Then have Hish immediately followed by Hash and Hash immediately followed by Shoo.
Five around the circle
Have everyone sit in a circle. Ask a volunteer to introduce themselves and the four people on their left, to the rest of the group. Then the volunteer may ask one of the four people he or she has introduced to switch places with anyone else in the circle (except for the five just introduced.) The person who takes the previously introduced person's place must then introduce themselves and the four people to their left. Continue until everyone is able to introduce everone else. For smaller groups, have kids introduce just one or two people.
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