Teen Games Young Teen Games Junior Games Primary Games Sample Only Beginner Games Kindergarten Games Preschool Games

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1 Game Book Teen Games Young Teen Games Junior Games Primary Games Beginner Games Kindergarten Games Preschool Games... 41

2 Game Book Written by David Keeling David Keeling was born September 1, 1962, in Visalia, California. He was saved October 1968, and called to preach April 14, Brother David has interned at Dominguez Baptist Church, Long Beach, been Associate Pastor at Landmark Missionary Baptist Church, San Jose, CA, pastored at Tully Road Missionary Baptist Church and Unity Missionary Baptist Church. He attended Northwest Baptist Institute, California Missionary Baptist Institute and William Jessup University. He is married to Lisa Paslay and has one son Jared Keeling. Brother David has been involved in youth ministry and leads worship at the Hume Land Retreat every year. He has written the VBS Game Book for six years. Editor in Chief: Kyle W. Elkins, Business Manager: Wayne Sewell, 2016, Bogard Press, 4605 N. State Line Ave., Texarkana, TX

3 LESSON 1 Supplies: 1 large Nerf ball Set up: Have the players stand in a circle with two players in the middle. One player in the middle is the boss and the other is the bodyguard. Time: 5 to 10 minutes Teen Games MIGHTY MOAB S Play: The players in the circle have the Nerf ball and throw it at the boss. The bodyguard may do anything to block the ball with his body: jump, squat, dive and so forth. The ball may never touch the boss. If the ball touches the boss in any way, the player who threw the ball (or the last player to touch it) then becomes the bodyguard, and the bodyguard becomes the boss and the boss goes back into the circle. Hint: What makes this exciting is that from the moment the boss is hit, the new boss is at risk because the transition is instantaneous. The new bodyguard must be quick to get into the circle and defend the boss. This sometimes makes the boss transitions pretty fast and exciting. This game will wear them out, especially if the people in the middle are athletic! Be ready to sweat if you play. One strategy for the shooters is to pass the ball around the circle and keep it moving to wear the players down. They will eventually tire, and the boss will get hit. As the players get more experience at the game, they will develop strategies and tactics, so let the game play through a few evolutions and let everyone have fun. Point: Certainly this game teaches the value of pairing up with another to get through difficult situations. What matters most is how skilled the person defending is at his craft. In Joshua s case, he was abiding with one who was perfectly capable to take care of Joshua. Teen Games 5

4 LESSON 2 JOURNEY TO ELAH Supplies: Duct tape, whistle, several stations around your facility, 1 adult for each station, butcher paper, golf pencils, 1 12-ounce water bottle with a sports cap (to be used as a squirt gun), ribbons, 25' ropes, and 2 2" 4" wood studs that are 8' long, table, real tree. Set up: Create several team-building stations around your property. The supplies list will give you all the material needed for these stations. Station 1: Make starting and finish lines about 25' apart. Place a piece of butcher paper (18" 18") at the starting line. Give the players these instructions. You are trying to travel to Elah. The piece of butcher paper on the ground is your boat. You have to keep one foot on the boat and use your other foot as an oar to row the boat across the sea. Each team will probably need a new piece of butcher paper exactly the same size (the boats tend to rip). The paper is small enough so that they will have to work together. Station 2: Set the three golf pencils on their unsharpened ends so that the sharpened pencil leads point straight up in the air. Have the team think out a strategy before they begin. Do not allow a refill of the bottle! They have exactly 12 ounces of water to knock over all three pencils. Draw a line about 5' away from the table with the pencils and referee. Station 3: The sole criteria for winning this station is being on the team that is able to tie a ribbon around the tree (or fence post or basketball stanchion) the highest. They can jump and tie. They can climb on each other s back and so forth. All they have to do is tie their ribbon at the highest elevation of all the teams. Maybe different colored ribbons to establish each team. Station 4: Tell them there is a ravine marked by duct tape on the ground. The ravine should be about 22' across. Each person will need to bring one end of the rope across with him. When he is safely on the other side, he will then tie the boards together and have his teammates drag them back across to the starting point. His task is to get from one side to the other. Only one player can be on the 2 4 at one time. He will lay one board down and walk out 8 while carrying the second board. He will have to lay the second board out another 8', stand on it, pick up first board, and carry it the length of the second board to use as a third board to make it to the other side. The teammates will then drag the boards back across the ravine with the rope tied around them. Each person does this until everyone is safely across. If a person falls, he needs to start over. Station 5: You can add more stations as your setting and participants allow. Time: 15 to 20 minutes Play: Escort everyone around to every station and tell the players how many potential points each station offers. Assign a starting station for each team. Tell them they will get the instructions for each particular station when they arrive at that station from the adult attendant. Each station can have a different scoring system according to the level of difficulty. After the first station is completed, each team needs to decide its next station to attempt. The team cannot repeat a station. It is better to get through as many stations as possible rather than wait in line for another team to finish a station. Add the total points awarded at the end to determine a winner. Hint: The goal of this game is to force players to collaborate. They need to work together as a team. Arguing will not win the day and neither will one individual. They all need to do their part. Gear the game difficulty level high enough to force them to work together and encourage them to work together at every station. Point: No one is able to live without help. God has designed us for relationships. The most important relationship is to be with Him. It is not possible to play this game alone! Every station should serve as a reminder of our need to trust others as they work with us. Ultimately we can always trust the Lord to go with us and work with us in every situation of life, especially when we are fearful. 6 Game Book

5 Supplies: A clean plastic garbage can (about 3' tall), one 2' length of rope per player Set up: Tie a knot in each rope at each end. Each rope will have two knots. Place the garbage can in the center of a clear grassy area. Give each player a rope. Have each player grab the loose end of the rope from the player next to him making one connected circle around the trash can. Time: 5 to 10 minutes young Teen Games LESSON 1 MOAB MANUEVERS Play: Have the group form a circle around the garbage can. The players then begin to tug and pull one another, but they cannot let go of their ropes. They are trying to get others to bump into the garbage can. If a player touches the can in any way, he is out. If anyone breaks his grip with his neighbor, he is out. Play pauses after each person s elimination. The remaining players grab each other s rope and play resumes. Hint: Depending on your group, this might not be a good coed game. Play alternating rounds of boysonly and girls-only competitions if you think it is wise. Safety first at all times! It seems to play best with less than twenty-five players at a time. Make multiple circles or add multiple trash cans to keep the game lively. Point: Would it not be great to have someone else helping you hold on when you need a good grip? The strength we have is limited, and while we can lift weights to strengthen our bodies, there will always be needs that are greater than our abilities. Thankfully we have the Lord who abides with us, gives us strength and helps us accomplish the tasks before us. Young Teen Games 11

6 LESSON 2 COMPASS CALIBRATIONS Supplies: 8 golf pencils, 2 32-ounce glasses of water, 2 chairs and 1 table Set up: Set the table up and place one chair, one glass of water and four golf pencils at each end of the table. Time: 2 to 5 minutes Play: The object is to drink your entire glass of water, but you can only drink when your four golf pencils are standing on end facing north, south, east and west. They need to be oriented with the small, round, unsharpened side touching the table and the sharpened point aimed straight up in the air. The players cannot use their hands for anything other than drinking water or resetting their pencils. Each one has only three options: to drink, run down to the other end of the table and blow down the opponent s pencils or set up his own pencils when they get blown over. Explain clearly that there are no other options. You referee to keep everyone on task. Hint: You must enforce the rules strictly! If one tries try in any way to hinder the other player, maneuver his body position or shield his pencils, he is out. Make sure all distances are fair and set the pencils off to the player s side so that there is no misunderstanding of someone s intentions. He is either using his hands to set up his own pencils or he is using them to hold his glass. He is either using his mouth to blow over a pencil or to intake water. Point: This game requires compliance with the rules. Fear can often come from our interaction with the natural laws God has put in place around us. Either we try to gain an advantage by breaking the rules ourselves, or we are so threatened by the project before us that we are paralyzed into inaction and do not follow the clear steps laid out for us. We can eliminate fear in our lives by trusting Him. Scripture instructs us not to fear but just believe. Do not be threatened by the giants in your life so that you do not follow the instruction God has laid out for you. Trust God and do not be afraid. 12 Game Book

7 junior Games LESSON 1 Supplies: None Set up: If your group has over fifteen players, divide them into two teams. Time: 5 to 10 minutes LANDMARKS Play: This is a nice easy game with a lot of action. Announce that the teams will be making themselves into various shapes. For example, if the leader shouts out the word football, the first team to get into that shape is the winner of one point. The first team to ten points is the winner. Hint: Be creative and have fun with this game. Play some carnival-style music in the background. Shapes to try can include the local school mascot, airplane, map of the United States, the state of California, map of Israel, a dog, a pair of sunglasses, a baseball bat, a shark and the VBS director! Be generous with the points and keep it moving! Point: This game definitely requires a group of people working together. When faced with challenges beyond our capabilities, it is good to know we are not alone. We have a helper who knows all and is always by our side, especially when we are afraid. Junior Games 17

8 LESSON 3 TELESCOPES AND OTHER RANDOM THINGS Supplies: Items of various shapes and sizes. The items need to be light enough for anyone to hold but completely random from each other. Examples would include: telescope, bowling ball, trash can, shoe, kite. Set up: Hand out one item to each player. Have each person stand in a circle facing each other. Time: 5 minutes Play: The entire group forms one circle. Everyone is given an object that is large, small or of any shape. On Go! everyone passes his object to the right keeping the objects moving at all times. When a person drops any object, he must leave the game, but his object stays in play. As the game progresses, more people leave the game making it harder and harder to avoid dropping an object since there are more objects than people. The winner is the last person remaining. Hint: Speed up the game to make it more challenging. Try playing Anticipation or Sixteen Tons in the background. Point: Sometimes our problems just keep coming and coming! As the problems stack up, we start to worry and eventually, something falls. Is it not good to know that we do not even have to try to handle all of life s problems and challenges by ourselves? The God whom we serve loves us, cares and provides for us. He also gave us the Holy Spirit to remind us of His presence with us. Pray for Him to sustain us, and He will! Junior Games 19

9 LESSON 1 Supplies: None Set up: Players will be falling down in this game, so find a grassy area or a carpeted area. Time: 7 to 10 minutes primary Games JUMPIN JOSHUAS Play: Have all your players stand up and find a partner. Next, have them stand next to their partners and link arms at the elbows. On Go! each player is to stand on one foot and turn around by jumping or hopping. Whoever puts his other foot on the ground or falls over loses. Everyone can bump into each other without penalty. The winners find new partners and advance to the next round. Play continues until there is a winner. Hint: I always like to play music in the background of games like this. Give the players plenty of space and watch them get faster and more efficient at turning in circles. Point: All of us need a partner to play this game. When we are facing new challenges, it is good to be alongside another whom we can lean on and draw strength from for the task. God promised Joshua He would abide with him on his journey. Primary Games 23

10 LESSON 4 STANDING TOGETHER Supplies: 1 index card and 1 pencil for each team Set up: Divide the players into teams of three to six participants. Time: 5 minutes Play: The game is to list everything that all team members have in common. For example, team members might all attend the same school or all like the same brand of shoes. The only rule is that they cannot list similar body parts, such as we all have eyes. They have three minutes to create their lists, so they need to work quickly. When time is up, find out which team has the longest list and ask team members to read the similarities they listed. Hint: You can ask at the end of the game if any players have similarities not already listed. Help them broaden the list into areas they may not have thought of themselves. The goal is for them to see all the many ways that they have commonality. Point: It is nice to have things in common with others, especially when the common trait is a godly thing. God s people have the same Heavenly Father in common. Just knowing there are others who think like you can make it easier to take a stand for God. Remember that there are others standing together for the same principles and truths as you because you all have the same Christ. 26 Game Book

11 LESSON 1 Supplies: 50' of rope and blindfolds for each player Set up: Tie the two ends of the rope together to form a 50' loop. Time: 3 to 5 minutes Beginner Games ABIDING ANGLES Play: Blindfold the players and have them form a square with the rope. When they think they have a perfect square, they are to lay the rope on the ground and take off their blindfolds. The players can then replace their blindfolds, announce a new shape and play can resume. Hint: Some games should just be simple and fun. Not every game needs to have winners and losers. Play this and let everyone experience the fun of the game. Give a lot of encouragement and help them as much as possible without touching them. The idea is for them to be successful with your help. Point: Can you imagine how difficult this would be to do all by yourself? It is always better to have someone help especially when you cannot see what is ahead of you. When you put your trust in Him, God will always be with you when you are in difficult situations. Beginner Games 29

12 LESSON 3 WORRYWARTS Supplies: 1 pair of white queen size pantyhose, scissors, flour, 8-ounce measuring cup, 2 Hula Hoops, and 1 large, evenly divided playing field Set up: This will require a little effort the night before the game. Use the white pantyhose and flour to make the worrywarts. The number of worrywarts depends on your group size (about one to one and one-half per person). Cut the two legs off of the pantyhose. Take 8 ounces of flour and pour into one pantyhose leg. Tie off the pantyhose with two square knots, cut the pantyhose in between the knots and you have one worrywart and an empty hose with a knot at the bottom. Repeat the process until you have used the entire leg. You should get about eight bags per leg from queen size hose. Now you have worry warts that leave powdered flour marks when they hit you. You can throw them over and over again. With these worrywarts, you can play any number of games. Put a Hula Hoop in the middle of each divided area of play about 15' from the dividing line. Time: 10 to 15 minutes Play: Divide the players into two teams with a brave adult as the target for each team. Put one team in each division of the area of play and have the two adults stand in the Hula Hoops. Each team tries to hit the other team s adult with a worrywart. You can pick up worrywarts from your side of the field and reuse them. You can cross over the dividing line, but the enemy can then throw worrywarts at you. If a person is hit with a worrywart while on the enemy s side, he has to drop his worrywart and return to his territory. If the adult can catch or reach any worrywarts without leaving his circle, he can throw them back at the player who threw it until the player has said, In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me, Psalm 86:7 (the memory verse). The team whose adult has the least flour on him is the winner. Hint: To make the game a little more interesting, surprise everyone by entering water balloons in as ammunition halfway through the game. Move the Hula Hoops back farther forcing everyone to cross the line in order to get off a shot. Add more Hula Hoops and more adults. Point: We all need help, especially when we are in trouble. In this game protection comes from saying the memory verse. Sometimes emotions like fear and worry cause us to look for protection. Prayer is a source of help. We need protection from the devil when our enemies surround us. Pray and God will protect you and help conquer your fears. Beginner Games 31

13 Supplies: None Kindergarten Games LESSON 1 Set up: Make a starting line and a finish line at least 30' apart. Time: 5 to 10 minutes MAP OF MOAB Play: This is a relay race. Line up all of the teams on the same end of the playing area. Two members of the same team are to stand back-to-back and interlock their arms at the elbows. At the word Go! they will run or walk to the other side of the field without unlocking elbows. It is okay for the person facing the front to carry the person facing backwards. It is the elbow lock that is necessary. At the other side of the field, they will spin around three times before going back and tagging the next set of teammates. Hint: You can spin a story about following the map that says they must run from start to finish and turn around three times. Then they are to run back to the starting line. Watch the three spins, as this is what makes the crazy steps as they run back! Point: There are times in life where you have difficulty in moving ahead. You are confused and cannot seem to stay straight. In those kinds of times, remember your connection to the Lord. Abide in Him, and He will help you overcome your fears. Kindergarten Games 35

14 LESSON 4 WALKING AROUND BABYLON Supplies: 2 12" playground balls or 2 12" balloons Set up: Make two parallel lines on the ground about 15' apart. Time: 5 to 10 minutes Play: Put the players into pairs. Each team gets a balloon. The team players must stand back-to-back and hold the balloon between their shoulder blades. They cannot touch the balloon with their hands. Players must walk across the field, count aloud from one to ten and only then walk back to the starting line. Each player will walk backwards one direction and forward the other direction. Any pair that drops their balloon must reset the balloon between them before advancing. The fastest time wins. Hint: Help them to get a good position on the balloon before they begin. Give a lot of encouragement. Point out how much easier it is to walk forward than backwards and let them understand the difference between standing and walking with the balloon between them. Point: The people in today s story stood with God instead of following anyone else. Sometimes it is hard to see where you are going and very often you mess up when you follow someone besides God. He wants us to stand with Him instead of getting tempted to follow others. It is so much easier to stand with God than try to follow someone else. 38 Game Book

15 Preschool Games LESSON 1 Supplies: 1 bowl, slips of paper and a pen Set up: Write one simple command on each piece of paper like hug three people, walk around the table and sit against the wall. Put the papers in the bowl. Time: 3 to 5 minutes MO-ABIDE-ERS Play: Tell each player to pick a partner and hold his hand. Tell them they need to hold on to each other s hands all the way through the game. Remove one piece of paper and have the players perform the task. Everyone who can do the task without letting go of his teammate wins. Hint: Give lots of encouragement and help them as much as possible without touching them. The idea is for them to be successful with your help. Point: We need to remember God abides with us just as He promised. God will walk with you and be there for you in every event of life. Preschool Games 41

16 LESSON 5 OBEY Supplies: None Set up: Clear the area that you are playing in so that the players have room to move. Time: 5 to 10 minutes Play: This is just a different name for the game Simon Says. One dictionary defines this game as: Simon Says is a game for three or more players (most often children). One person is It (Simon). The others must do what Simon tells them to do when asked with a phrase beginning with Simon says. If Simon says, Simon says jump, the players must jump. Players who do not jump are out. However, if Simon says simply jump without first saying Simon says, players do not jump. Those who do jump are out. In general, it is the spirit of the command, not the actions, that matters. If Simon says, Simon says touch your toes, players only have to show that they are trying to touch their toes. It is the ability to distinguish between valid and invalid commands, rather than physical ability that matters here. It is Simon s task to try to get everyone out as quickly as possible, and it is everyone else s job to stay in for as long as possible. The last of Simon s followers to stay in wins (although the game is not always played all the way through). It is considered cheating to give impossible commands, Simon says lift your left leg and Simon says lift your right leg. Simon did not say put your left leg down or phrase the commands in such a way that the other player has no option but to go out. (Another example, Simon says jump up. Come down. ) However, at least in some versions, it is allowed for Simon to eliminate players by asking them to do something seemingly unrelated to the game (example: Anyone remaining join me up here. ) Have the students follow you if you say, Simon says touch your nose, then the students have to touch their noses. If they do not, then they are out, but if you just say touch your nose without saying Simon says and they do touch their noses, then they are out and the last student still in the game wins. For consistency with the lesson theme, you can use the phrase, Obey God. For example, Obey God and touch your nose. Hint: With this age-group, this game is useful to reinforce the lessons of the week and give them a joy for play. Do not worry about winning and losing with them. Just let them have fun following your lead. Point: Obey. It is such a simple word but can be so hard to do sometimes! Remember, God is not trying to trick us. He wants us to obey and would never call us to do something unless it was necessary for our good. Believe in Him and obey. Preschool Games 45