Incredibly Hot Games and Community Builders - Les Christie

bubblefish · #1 12th November 2007, 05:37 PM

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Incredibly Hot Games and Community Builders – Les Christie

Every culture plays games. Games are popular. Games are an entry level into a youth group. Games help develop tolerance and patience. Games help develop problem solving skills. Games let you have fun without causing trouble.

Pick games that:

are fun to watch
are fun to describe
are fun to play
have easy directions and few rules
are competitive, but require little skill
do not have an emphasis on winning, but on having fun
bring people closer together
are age appropriate
are appropriate for the number of people participating
are appropriate for the personalities, physical interaction, location, amount of time and space, and weather

Tips:

Explain the game quickly and clearly.
Make sure you have played the game or have seen it played.
Demonstrate the game if possible.
Explain the game with excitement or enthusiasm.
Put students in the game playing position before playing the game.
Safety is crucial. Games such as “Chubby Bunny” and “Ice Broom Hockey” are not appropriate games.
If games will be messy, tell people to “Dress for the Mess.”
Get referees that are fun.
If at all possible, have kids lead the game.
Include the physically challenged kids.
Stop a game at its peak. Kids remember the last ten seconds of a game.
Don’t force participation.

How to divide kids up:

Do not count off
Alphabetically by first or last name
Give each a jawbreaker as they enter the door, and then separate them by the color jawbreaker
Play barnyard – as each kid comes in, give them the name of an animal written on an index card or a piece of paper. Turn the lights off and have them make the noise of the animal on their card and find their groups by doing this. If there is a kid that really likes you and can take a joke, write “jackass” on his/her card. After all are in their groups, and they are still making the noise, turn the lights on and ask what they are. They’ll say that they’re a jackass and watch the reaction.
Give each kid a colored dot as they come in the door and divide them up by the colors.
Have them fold their arms and divide them by the people that have their right arm on top and right arm on bottom.
Have them fold their hands and divide them by the people have their right thumb on top or on bottom.
Ask them about their toilet paper – if they are folders or scrunchers – divide them by that.

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Give lots of points.

Points do not cost anything.
Give lots of points.
People would rather win 1,000,000 point than ten.
Make sure the point spread is close. If first place is 10,000 points, don’t make second place 1,000 and third 100. Make second place 9,000 or 9,999 and third 8,000 or 8,9999 or 9,998.

Remember: all games are adaptable

Adding a strobe light to any game makes it a new game.
Adding a fog machine to any game makes it a new game.

Changing the rules to any game makes it a new game. You may be able to change:

equipment
boundaries
objects
how to move
location
amount of time
any combination of these things.

Back to back
Have people sit back to back in pairs of two. Have them interlock their arms and try to push each other up into a standing position. This can also be done in groups of four. You can also do “front to front.”

Coordination Clap
The leader moves left and right hands up and down, oppositely, at any speed they wish. When hands cross, the others have to clap. The leader may stop or change the speed or pattern at any time they wish.

Buzz Fizz
Separate the people into groups. They have to count from 1 to 50 as a group. However, the catch is that at all multiples of five they must say “buzz” and at all multiples of seven and at any number that also contains the name seven, they must say fizz. If the group messes up, they must start over again. As the groups finish, have them stand up and cheer.

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Pattern Toss
Split the people into groups. Have them toss a ball in a pattern. The rules are that they cannot toss to the person who tossed them the ball or a person who has already had the ball. After all the groups have figured out a pattern, see who can complete their pattern the fastest. You can add a second and even a third ball. Each ball starts when the previous one reaches the third person in the pattern and the group is done when all the balls reach the first person who threw the ball.

Giant Sneeze
Divide people into three groups. 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 immediaitely followed by Hash and Hash immediately followed by Shoo.

Fastest Straw in the West
Give each person a drinking straw. Have them put one end in their mouth. The object of the game is to get the straw turned around to the other end in their mouth, however, they cannot use their hands or arms. They may only use their lips and teeth in order to do this.

Making Rain
Divide the people into four groups. Assign each group one of these actions:
Rubbing hands together in a circular motion, Snapping fingers, Slapping thighs, stomping feet. Have the people rubbing their hands start, then add the people who are snapping their fingers, then add the people who are slapping their thighs, then add the people who are stomping their feet. Slowly have the people who are stomping their feet stop, then the people who are slapping their thighs stop, then the people who are snapping their fingers stop, then the people who are rubbing their hands stop.

Sit Down
Have everybody stand. Then say “Sit down if. . .” come up with some wild things, not normal things like ear “wearing red” but things like “if you can ride a unicycle” “if you’ve ever fainted in public” “if you’ve ever broken a bone.” If it’s with a smaller group, have the person tell the story if they are comfortable telling it. Do not force them to tell the story.

Pennies in Balloons
Get 11” clear diamond latex balloons or similar clear latex balloons. Give everybody a balloon and a penny. Have them drop the penny into the balloon by stretching the neck and dropping the penny into the balloon. Have them blow up the balloons while holding it so the penny will not fall back into their throats and tie it off. Once everybody has the balloon tied, have them start rolling the balloon around in little circles to get the penny rolling around. It should continue for a bit. You can have them continue to roll the penny because it will wear the balloon and the first to have the balloon pops win.

Get the Most Balloons on the Other Side
If you’d rather not have them try to pop the balloons in that way or you want to play another balloon game, just split the group in two and have them try to get the most balloons on the other side of the room.

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Bubble head
Get lightly powdered latex surgical gloves. Make sure that the people playing are not allergic to latex. Have them put the glove on their head by stretching it out and putting it over the back of their head. Then have them bring it over their ears. Then have them bring it over their eyes and their noses, but not over their mouth! Have them breathe in through their mouth and out through their nose. See who can get the biggest bubble on their head.

Jell-O Tube
Get a few pieces of 3-4 feet 1” diameter surgical tube. Put about two teaspoons of liquefied Jell-O into the middle of the tubes. Have a person on each end blowing into it to keep the Jell-O away from them.

Flour Glove
Fill a surgical glove with flour. Clamp the glove with a metal clamp to one end of the surgical tube. Have the person hold the surgical tube so the glove is behind their back and blow into it. They will not know how big the glove has gotten. Have them keep blowing until one of the gloves pops and flour will go all over the place.

Broom Twist Relay
Divide people into teams. Give each time a broom and have spotters along the way. One person at the end where they have to run has the broom. Have them run down to the room, then spin around with it seven times. They have to run back and tag the next person. They will be extremely dizzy and this will be hard and also gives the need for spotters along the way.

Balloon Pop
Have small balloons tied onto ankles with about 10” of string. People have to run around and try to pop the others balloons while keeping theirs from not being popped. If theirs is popped, they are out of the game.

Sock Tail Relay
Make a tail out of a pair of long socks. Wad one up and stick it into the other. Sew up the first sock and then have participants wear something where you can pin the sock to their clothes. Have them try to hit a tennis ball down a path using only the sock through their legs. The first team to complete the whole relay wins.

Great Banana Relay
Divide into teams. Have lines facing the center. Each person must pass the banana in a designated way. Once the last person gets the banana, they must go to the front. Once the banana reaches the first person again, the first person must eat the banana. The first team to complete this wins.

Flour in Pantyhose
Get some waste hose. Cut off one leg and put flour in the foot of the other. Tie this off. Have participants put the waist on their heads. They can twirl the pantyhose using only their heads. Have them try to remove the other people’s pantyhose this way.

Sparrow Fight
Have everybody squat and hold their ankles from the back. They must walk like this and try to knock the others over. If you are knocked over you are out of the games. The last one standing wins.

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Duct tape to the wall
Split people into teams. Have each team pick the lightest most willing person. Give them plenty of duct tape and let them figure out how to duct tape this person to the wall by having the person stand on a chair against the wall at first – and then removing the chair once they are secure. If they do a good job, this person may be stuck to the wall for a good 20 minutes. The fun of it is, the team who makes their person stay up the longest wins.

Volleyball variations

change the height of the net

change the ball

have people sit on the ground and lower the net

require people to hold hands

have people kneel

use a solid cloth for the net

add a black light

use a beach blanket and a water balloon

If on a racquet ball court, use the walls and ceilings as well

Double vision (use two volleyballs)

Group Impressions
Divide people into two or more groups. Give everybody a scenario such as “teens at a rock concert” or “dying” or “waking up” and decided which group performs it best as a group.

Tape Head
Get some waste hose. Cut off the legs and place it on the head of preferably somebody with little to no hair. Wrap duct tape around his head where the nylons are sticky side out. Once the top of his head (down to right above the eyes – where the pantyhose should also be) is covered, either have a box where he has to run and get as many things to stick to his head as possible without using his hands and run back or have the people who were on the team have to stick what they can find to “Tape Head” once you call it out – such as “loose change” or provide packing peanuts for this.

Poopdeck
Divide the room in three so the middle of the room is the Main deck, one side is the poop deck, and the other side is the quarter deck. Call out the deck where you want people to be. If they are caught going to the wrong deck or standing on the wrong deck, they are out. A certain way to get there can also be assigned.

Question Game
Divide people up into teams (if wanted). They may only ask questions. They may not ask a question to the person who just asked them a question. They may not answer the question and they may not ask a question that has already been asked. If one of these rules is broken, they are out of the game.

Triangle Tag
Put people into groups of three and have one person be “it.” They are only trying to tag one person and the other two are trying to protect that person, or divide into groups of four and have more than one person trying to tag certain people.