Divisional Games Divisional games are all the activities that do not fit any other categories and are the most common amongst youth divisions. These are the 10 to 15 minute long games that have a main focus of fun and use most equipment found in a youth division. These general games are an essential component of any successful youth programme. Included Divisional Games Submarines Octopus Ouch! Dead Ants Battleships Trees, Greenies and Chainsaws Humpty Dumpty (pro stuntman) Ultimate Chicken Drill Ironman Challenge Team Dodge Ball Communication Activities Yay or nay? Cartoon Cadets You ve lost your Marbles Triangulation Poor Farmer John Artistic Challenge Relays / Competitions Last Updated - 2014 Page 2
Submarines 2 chairs placed 2m apart (facing each other) 2 triangular bandages Two volunteers sit on the chairs blindfolded. These players are known as the Sonar Stations. Each player (submarine) must try to get through the space between the chairs as quietly as possible. If the sonar picks up a noise, they must point in the direction of the noise. If they point to a player that person must try again. If they miss, the submarine may continue through. Start 2m Finish Sonar Station Octopus Submitted by: Benjamin Roberts None Two volunteers to be taggers (octopus). This is run in a similar style to the tackle game Bull rush. Players have to make it from one side of a court to the other without being tagged. If they are tagged they have to stand where they were tagged and become seaweed. An octopus can move freely to tag anyone, and seaweed can tag, but must remain stationary in the spot they themselves were caught from. Last Updated - 2014 Page 3
Ouch! 1-2 cushions 1 blanket 1 hitting device (rolled up piece of paper, soft bat ) This is a game similar to the traditional murder except with a little twist. Everyone sits down in a circle, and a volunteer sits in the middle. They put the cushion on top of their head, and the blanket on top so they cannot see. A player from the circle is then nominated to whack the person on the head with the soft bat, and return to where they were sitting. Everyone in the circle puts their hands behind their backs, and the hitter puts the bat behind their back. The player in the middle then takes off his protective equipment and has three guesses to find the hitter. If the player cannot guess the hitter, they then have to repeat the process and are hit again (a maximum of 2 hits)! Points: The harder the hitters, the more cushions needed! A player should not be hit more than twice in a row. Ensure quiet during the hitting process for the player in the middle to locate the hitter by their footsteps. Dead Ants 2m x 2m marked square Two volunteers to be taggers (spiders) and the rest (ants) moving freely. Once tagged, ants must drop to the ground dramatically and wave their legs in the air (like a dead ant) in the hope for rescue. It is up to the ants that are alive to take the dead ants back to the Dead Ant Hospital. Spiders cannot tag ants that are attached to dead ants. Once dead ants arrive in the hospital, they are revived and can continue with the game. Last Updated - 2014 Page 4
Variations: Integrate this with your first aid programme by having Dead Ant Hospital Staff to fix the ants before they are arrived. (ie: every dead ant must have an elevation sling put on before they can revive.) Safety Precautions: Make sure dead ants are not dragged by having a rule like two ants are required to move a dead ant. Battleships 2-3 tables 4 chairs 1 ball roughly the size of a soccer ball Set up a square court for the game to take place. Split the boundary in half by placing the tables sideways in a line, so players on the ground cannot see the other side of the court. Divide the group in half, and send the two into the two sides. Everybody must stay on the ground so they cannot see over the net. The game is played by a player on one team throwing the ball over the net into the other side in an attempt to sink a player on the other team. Teams take turns at throwing the ball over the net, and the team that is left with the most battleships is the winner. For a player to sink they need to be hit on the full with the ball. Even if they catch the ball, they still sink. If the ball hits a player, and then rebounds onto another player without touching the ground, both players sink. Sunken ships could either be kicked out of the game (which is not very friendly especially if you are the first person sunk), they join the other team, or a score is recorded of sinking s. Points: Players can move around to dodge bombs as long as they cannot see over the net. Last Updated - 2014 Page 5
Variations to speed up the game: More than one ball. A shorter court. Table barrier Note: shorten the boundary as more people get out Trees, Greenies & Chainsaws! Submitted by: Mark Skene None An active version of paper-scissors-rock. Divide the group in half, for them to decide their action. Once decided, both teams line up in one rank facing each other. On the count of three, they reveal their action, and the loser has to run back to their end before they are caught by the team that won. Players caught, now become part of the opposite team. At the end of the game, the winning team is decided by the team with the most players. Actions and sounds: Trees Greenies Chainsaws hands in the hair, fingers spread out, yelling, Check out my leaves! palms together, with an angelic/harmonious, Aaaaaaaaah! one hand holding the chainsaw, the other pulling the cord, screaming, Rmm! Rmm! Rules: Chainsaws beat trees because they cut them down, Greenies beat Chainsaws because they take them to court over how many trees they murder, and Trees beat greenies because when they re not looking, trees squash them! Last Updated - 2014 Page 6
Humpty Dumpty (professional stuntman) Equipment (per group): An egg Sellotape Scissors String 20 straws + anything else you deem to be creative Preparation: Divide into groups and hand out materials, even to each group. Briefing: Your group has been assigned the problem of protecting Humpty Dumpty in his next stunt. His stunt involves falling from a height of X metres without breaking. Using the materials provided you must create a jumping suit for Humpty to jump in so that the stunt will be a success. Once each group is ready, have a dropping ceremony to see which group has created the best jump suit. If there is more than one winner, you could have finals by increasing the height, or give Humpty a bit more pace by throwing him at the floor! (It might pay to put some newspaper on the floor to stop messes and dents from Humpty s shell.) Variations: The groups could start off by creating their Humpty, using craft-type materials as part of a beauty-pageant for the most attractive Humpty. This extends the exercise, and makes youth members more enthused to protect their gorgeous looking egg. Last Updated - 2014 Page 7
Ultimate Frisbee or soft ball Rules: Split the group into two teams. (Offence = holds possession of the Frisbee) There is no offside rule. If the offence holds the Frisbee for longer than 3 seconds it is a turn over. If the Frisbee hits the ground, possession goes to the opposite team of the player who touched it before it hit the ground. An offence player cannot move if they are holding the Frisbee. The defence can intercept the Frisbee if it is caught on the full. The defence must keep a distance of 3 feet of the player with the Frisbee (as per Netball). To score a goal, the offence must throw the Frisbee to someone who is in the goal area, who must yell, YEEHAW! GOAL AREA GOAL AREA Last Updated - 2014 Page 8
Chicken Drill None Form up your group as for parade. Youth members can only follow a command if it has a pre-requisite command: squad, Simon says, or division. Execute a variety of commands in an effort to trick youth members into following commands that do not have the chosen pre-requisite. You will have to use your best drill voice and trickery to get your senior cadets. Possible Methods: If the pre-requisite command was squad : Division shun! Squad, saluting by numbers one! Two Squad Right Dress. Eyes Front! Stand-at Ease Ironman Challenge An object of your choice (sensibly soft) Split the group into two teams. Have the players find a pair of relatively equal size and strength on the opposite team. Place the object in the middle of a circle. Give each pair a number and have the pair lying next to each other with their feet on the outside of the circle. Call out the numbers separately. When the pair s number is caller, the players must get up and run for the object. The first person to touch the object gets a point for their team. Safety Issues: If the pre-requisite command was squad : Make sure pairs are lying next to each other instead of opposite to prevent head clashes This can get very physical Watch out for carpet burns Last Updated - 2014 Page 9
Team Dodge Ball A soft ball Mark out a square or circle court relative to the size of youth group. This can be done in two ways: Primitive Dodge Ball One team stands on the outer perimeter of the circle, and the dodging team is in the middle The team on the perimeter has to hit the dodger on the full below the knees to get that player out Time both teams to see which team is the quickest at demolishing the other team Elite Dodge Ball Both teams are in the middle and you will require a scorer Have some way of determining which team is which (arm bands, ties, etc) A team starts off by either passing to a friendly or trying to hit an opposition player below the knees Elite Dodge Ball Rules: If the throwers hold the ball for more than 3 seconds it is a turn over If the ball is dropped it is a turn over to the opposite team of the player who touched the ball before it hit the ground If a player is hit, the ball returns to the throwers as the player who was hit would have touched the ball before it hit the ground The dodgers can intercept the ball as long as they catch it on the full. If they drop the ball during the intercept, it remains with the throwers A point is awarded to a team every time they hit a player. Experts: Introduce two balls (you may need two scorers) To hit a person the thrower must be airborne Primitive Dodge Ball Elite Dodge Ball Last Updated - 2014 Page 10
Communication Activities Yay or nay? Post-it notes or sticky labels Think of a theme for the activity (famous people, foods, feelings) or it could be related to the content of a current badge or lesson. On your labels, write a different thing, person or whatever, as long as each is in the same context. Set up players in a circle, with you in the middle, and the player s backs facing you. Go round and place the labels on the backs of each player so that they cannot see their own label. Players can now exit the circle, and must now question other players to find out what they are. Players must ask closed questions only, so that the responder can only answer yes or no. Cartoon Cadets? None Ask your group to think of a significant experience i.e. an embarrassing moment, a time when they felt scared, happy, etc. They then have to pick some volunteers to put in poses, to create a comic strip. As they create each scene, they must explain what is happening, what is being said (by moving people s mouths), where it took place, etc. (This is great for youth members to gain confidence in expressing themselves) Variations: For a different approach, have a bunch of stunt dummies onstage. These can be posed by people, or in a camp concert volunteers from the audience. A player or two have to tell a story based on these poses. The volunteers can change their pose, and move the dummies every time the page of the story is turned. Last Updated - 2014 Page 11
Possible Themes: Spot the dog goes walkies. A documentary on the everyday life of an ant. A movie genre (wild west, action, horror, etc.) You ve lost your Marbles! Submitted by: Shanelle Johnston 3 marbles per number of players (or something similar) This games is great for promoting conversation and questioning skills. Hand out three marbles to each player. They now have five minutes to see how many marbles they can retrieve from others. To do this, everyone must go around asking tricky questions. If a player gets a yes/no response from the person they are talking to, they receive one of their marbles. After five minutes, see who has the most marbles, and who has lost theirs! Triangulation Triangular bandage per player A rope tied together to form a loop Blindfold the players. Get each player to hold the looped rope. Rules: You must create an isosceles triangle out of the rope. The team must stay holding the rope, but are allowed to slide their fingers along the rope. Last Updated - 2014 Page 12
Poor Farmer John (Farmer John has lost his voice, the sheep are blind, and his dogs don t speak English!) Blindfolds for every player An obstacle course of some kind A marked out square at the end (the sheep pen) This can be done through many ways. The easiest (for the players) is to pair them up, and blindfolded one from each pair. The blindfolded player is a sheep, and the player who can see is a dog. The dog must navigate the blind sheep through the obstacle course using only sounds that dogs make. The dog cannot touch the sheep at any time. Give the animals a few minutes to work out how they are going to communicate, then send them off. Variations: For a different approach, instead of using dogs, you can use Farmer John to direct blind sheep. Farmer John cannot speak because he s lost his voice, but can stamp his feet, clap his hands, tap shoulders, etc. Give Farmer John a little while to work out how to communicate with his blind sheep, and send them off. Increase the Challenge: Allow only one Farmer John (or dog) and the rest can be sheep For a competition, have two Farmer Johns (or dogs) with two herds of sheep, and the first farmer to get all their sheep in the pen will win! Poor Farmer John A pencil each for half the group, blank paper for everyone Draw two simple designs on two sheets of paper. Make enough copies so half the group has one design and the rest have the other. Fold them in half. Adapt these designs so they are appropriate to the age and abilities of your players. Pair up players and sit them back to back. Let them choose amongst themselves whether they want to draw or explain. Give all the explainers the folded copy of the Last Updated - 2014 Page 13
design and give the drawers a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. The explainer must tell their peer what to draw. Once finished, they can compare drawings and either celebrate an exact match, or laugh at how different it is! Once all have compared, discuss the different methods for communicating the image. Some may use math terms from geometry, some may be quite original. Pairs can swap over, and have a go at a different image. Last Updated - 2014 Page 14
Relays / Competitions When running a games night, or you need a bit of haste and enthusiasm in your games and activities, there is nothing better than a race where teams have to compete side by side. This can be done through a relay of a task, a round robin of events, or which works better with more preparation; a staged course (where the whole team must complete each task before continuing onto the next task). Ideas for Tasks: Fill the bucket Egg and spoon Stretcher carry Under a Sheet Balls in a bucket First Aid task Adapt games Obstacles Hinder the teams effectiveness Set up two buckets opposite each other where competitors must pick up the water with a glass and fill the bucket until the water reaches a marked line. Competitors have to run with an egg on a spoon to a cone and back without dropping the egg. Competitors have to carry a person to a marker Place a big sheet or tarpaulin that competitors have to crawl under. Place a bucket at one end, and a large amount of balls and other bits at the end. The competitors must get all the balls in the bucket. Competitors have to complete a first aid orientated task (i.e. treat an injured collarbone, resuscitate a manikin, make a scene safe, recovery position, etc.) Change games to be quicker and put them in a stage. Place an amount of obstacles that the competitors must navigate through (i.e. under a table, over a bench, etc.) Blindfolds are a great way to increase the challenge of a competition with a focus on communication. You could also tie competitor s feet and arms together. Ideas for Tasks: Indiana Jones Challenge: Save the Damsel in Distress (Staged Relay) 1 2 3 4 3 3 Fill the bucket Cross the river Stretcher Carry Blindfold running in lanes Under sheet crawl Revive the manikin Last Updated - 2014 Page 15