GAMES and MAGIC Games Mention the word "game" to most boys, and their eyes light up. Whether they are physical outdoor events or simple mental challenges, games are an important part of Cub Scouting because they help a boy Learn good sportsmanship, self-confidence, and patience Develop consideration for others Learn to follow rules, to wait their turn, and to respect the rights of others Learn give-and-take and fair play Improve his physical and mental health Many games combine fun and fitness. They provide a chance for every Cub Scout to learn the basic skills of a sport, game, or competition while learning good sportsmanship and habits of personal fitness. And all of this takes place in an environment where participation and doing one's best are more important than winning. Games are an important part of Scouting. They can make Scout meetings more fun while allowing children to work off extra energy all while forming friendships within the Scout unit. Scout leaders need to take the motto Be Prepared to heart when it comes to keeping young Scouts interested, occupied and entertained during meetings. Boys especially need to play games to keep Scouting fun and exciting -- and to keep them coming back for more. If a meeting is nothing but badge work and lectures, children will become bored and run the risk of dropping out of Scouts. Seeing Spots (MAGIC) You hold a cardboard with dots in front of your friend and ask how many dots are on the card. He ll say One. Fine you say, flipping the card over. Now, how many on this side? He ll look and say he sees 6 Dots. Exactly, you say. But let s check that other side again, shall we? You flip it over and now he sees.three Dots! And the other side? Again, you flip the cardboard over and NOW he sees FOUR Dots! By this time, your friend is seeing spots. Set Up You will need to prepare a big piece of cardboard first. On one side, use a marker to make two dots like this:
On the reverse side, put five dots in this pattern. Here s how to confound your friend: First, show him side A, but with your hand and fingers hide the TOP dot. All he will see is that center dot, so he ll say that side A has One Dot. Now flip the card over, holding your fingers over the middle bottom space where there is NO dot. Your friend will say there are 6 dots, because he ll assume there s a dot where your finger is. Now, flip your card over to side A, but hold it right below the center dot, where a THIRD dot might me but isn t! You friend will see Three Dots on the card. Again, in his mind, he completes the pattern. Flip over to Side B, and hold the card so the top center dot is masked and he will see ONLY Four Dots! It will seem to be quite a magical card you have there! The Amazing Rubber Pencil (Magic) Cub #1: (holding up a pencil) Can you change this wooden pencil into rubber? Cub #2: (takes the pencil, looks perplexed) That s impossible! Cub #1: Using my magical powers, I can change this wooden pencil to rubber. Just watch! Lightly hold a pencil at the eraser end between your thumb and index finger. As you quickly bounce the pencil up and down, it will appear to others as if it has been made of rubber Knot Likely (Magic) With great fanfare, ask for a neckerchief and then spread it out on a table. Ask if anyone can tie a knot in it while holding one corner in one hand and the opposite corner in the other hand WITHOUT letting go of either corner! Let several people try. When everyone has failed, show them the secret: Cross your arms in front of you as shown BEFORE you grab the opposite corners of the neckerchief. Now, WITHOUT LETTING GO of the corners, uncross your arms the neckerchief will be knotted!
THE FIVE GLASSES PUZZLE (Magic) Arrange five glasses in a row, with the center three filled with water; the end glasses are empty. The puzzle is to rearrange the glasses so that they are alternately empty and full. The glasses will end up so that every full one is next to an empty one. You are allowed to move only one glass. Solution: Pick up the middle glass, drink the water, and put the glass back where it was sitting. Every full glass is now next to an empty one; the difference is that there are only two full glasses instead of three. LEVITATING ARM (Magic) Tell a friend that you can create a powerful force that will invisibly raise his arm. Ask your friend to stand up straight with one shoulder leaning against a wall. Tell him to push hard against the wall with the back of his wrist and to keep pushing while you slowly count to twenty-five. Then ask him to step away from the wall and relax. Within a short time, he will be astonished to find that his arm is floating up and away from his body as if something were pulling it up. Secret: The secret lies in the muscles. During the time that your friend is pushing against the wall, the shoulder muscles that would normally raise his arm out to the side are tensing. Later, after the arm is free, the muscles automatically respond again in a delayed reaction. But to the person doing the trick, his arm feels as if it is moving magically on its own. Bet you can t step through piece of paper Give each boy an index card and a pair of scissors. The goal is to be able to step entirely through a hole cut in the paper. (If cut as shown in the diagram, the index card will expand enough that even a fairly large man or woman will be able to step through the resulting hole.) HUNT THE MAGIC KEY Object: To conceal the Magic Key from the Magician. The clever part of this game is the teamwork! All of the players except for one, who is the Magician, sit in a tight circle. The magician sits in the middle of the circle. The Magician closes his eyes and counts to ten out loud while the other players pass the key around the circle, keeping it hidden in their hands. When the Magician reaches ten he opens his eyes and, while the key continues to be passed, tries to figure out which player has it. However, the key needs to continue being passed. While one player is actually passing the key, the other players in the circle pretend to pass the key. The Magician watches carefully until he is ready to guess who has the key. When the Magician calls the suspect s name the passing of the key stops and the suspect opens his
hands for everyone to see. When the key is discovered, the Magician changes places with the holder of the key and a new game starts. HUNT FOR MAGIC BEANS Supplies: Clear container, Multicolored jellybeans Have a treasure hunt where the players solve a series of cleverly cryptic clues to find a stash of magic beans (a fancy container filled with multi-flavored jellybeans the boys can divide and take home). 1. First choose four to six successive hiding spots around the house or yard (the last spot is where you hide the treasure). 2. Write a clue that leads to each spot. 3. Some ideas for clues: The first clue, which might lead the boys to look under a pot of marigolds, could be printed backwards so that they will need to hold it up to a mirror to read it. The second clue, hidden under the doormat, might lead them to the mailbox. This time you could write the clue with a white crayon on white paper and leave it with a colored marker and instructions to scribble all over the paper to reveal the clue. For the other clues, you could ask a riddle, use a numeric code and a key to translate each number into a letter, or even create a word search puzzle. Use your imagination! Knot-tying: Challenge Scouts to tie knots using bits of rope from your Magic Bag, or from licorice laces. Bonus: it's both a snack and a game. Memory Games: Pull out some items from your Magic Bag and show them briefly to the Scouts. Cover the items with one of the Scout's neckerchiefs and challenge them to correctly name all the items under the neckerchief. Balloon Pop: Each Scout is given an inflated balloon which they must pop by sitting on. They can t use their hands or any sharp objects. Make the game educational by inserting a slip of paper into each balloon ahead of time with a fact that relates to that meeting s badge work or a part of the Scout Promise. After the balloons are popped, each child reads his/her piece of paper to the group LAME CHICKEN Divide the boys into two teams and give each team 10 sticks about 10 inches long. The sticks are placed about 10 inches apart like the rungs of a ladder. On signal the first boy in each team hops on one foot over all 10 sticks. He then reaches down and picks up the 10th stick and hops back over the other 9 to his team. The second boy then begins, hopping over the 9 sticks, picking up the 9th and returning. Continue until all have raced. The last boy in line hops over all remaining sticks and then picks up all of them as he hops back to the finish line. If a player steps on any stick, he must start over from the starting line. First team through wins.
TRIO RACE Instructions: This variation of the "two legged" race teaches coordination and cooperation. Tie a rope on each end of the broomstick. Have three (or more) boys straddle the stick, while the boys on the end hold it off the ground by the ropes (adjust if necessary). Mark a finish line and have boys race towards the finish, keeping stick parallel to the finish. TARGET BOUNCE Equipment: egg carton, ping pong balls How To Play: Place an egg carton on the floor. Stand the players about six feet away and give them ping pong balls to bounce off the floor and into one of the egg compartments. Points may be assigned to each of the compartments for scoring. Whoever reaches a predetermined score first may be the winner. The Rattler Group forms circle around two blindfolded boys, each holding a can containing several pebbles. One is the hunter, the other the hunted. Each must shake his can every 10 seconds. The hunter has 2 minutes to catch his opponent. Variation: # 1 blindfold # 1 set of keys or tin filled with pebbles This is a similar game to 'Whomp'em'. The snake is nominated and must stand within the circle of players. Another player is the hunter. The hunter calls: 'Rattlesnake!' and the snake must 'reply' by jangling the keys or tin. The snake may move within the circle to avoid the hunter but doing so may create enough noise for the hunter to find him. After the hunter has managed to find the snake (or after 2 minutes) a new hunter is nominated and the old hunter becomes the snake. Bang the Can Relay Game 4 metal garbage cans, or coffee cans, or other items that can be hit and make noise. 2 dowels or sticks about 1 foot long for batons Set the 4 cans out in a large square raceway Divide in 2 teams. One team has a starting line halfway between 2 cans. The other team's starting line is halfway between the 2 opposite cans. One team runs clockwise, the other counter-clockwise around the course. One scout from each team starts with their baton in hand. He runs around the square and
must hit each can with his baton. If he fails to hit a can hard enough for the judge to hear, he must repeat his lap. When the scout finishes his lap, he hands off the baton to the next scout. The scouts waiting in line must stay out of the way of running scouts. Pickin' Cotton Game Hundreds of cotton balls. A plastic spoon for each scout. A cardboard box for each team Have teams line up around the defined play area. Give each team a cardboard box. Give each scout a plastic spoon. On 'GO' signal, everyone tries to pick up the cotton using only their spoons and put them in their box. No hands allowed once the cotton ball is on the spoon. After a time limit, have each team count their collected cotton balls. Soda Bowling Game 10 1 liter plastic soda or water bottles 2 softballs or similar size ball tape Mark 10 spots with tape where the pins (bottles) are to be set up. Mark a foul line about 10-15 feet away. Set up the pins. Each scout rolls the two balls at the pins, gaining points for himself or his team for those knocked down. Optional: Have each scout decorate a bottle or two with markers before playing. Put coloring book pictures or other character pictures on cardstock, cut them out, color, and tape on bottles Ping Pong Air Hockey Game card table ping pong ball 2, 4, or 8 scouts Put a scout on each end of the table or 1 scout on each side or 2 scouts on each side. Place the ping pong ball in the center of the table. The object is to blow the ball off any side of the table but your own. (If only 2 scouts, then you must blow it off the far end). You may not touch the ball or table with any body part or clothing. Score 2 points if the ball falls off your side of the table. Score 1 point if you touch the ball or
table. Scout or team with the lowest score after a time limit is the winner Marble Drop Game 4 marbles per scout Fun game for indoors. May reduce the number of marbles each scout starts with as they advance to speed it up. Each scout has 4 marbles. Split in pairs. One scout stands with heels together and toes apart at 90 degrees. Other scout stands 5 feet away and tosses or rolls a marble between the first's feet. If it does not stay between the feet, then the marble is lost and the first scout gets it. If it stays between the feet, then the first drops a marble from waist height to hit it. If he misses, his marble is lost. If he hits it, he gets both marbles. Now, first scout tosses marble at second scout. Repeat until someone losses all marbles. Winners advance to finals to find the Marble Drop champion Snowman Toss Game White poster board Pencil Crayons Black marker 1 Large Button of each color - Red, Blue, Green, Pink, Orange, Yellow & Black (or Just five of one color) Masking tape On poster board, draw Snowman with a pencil, including hat, face, cheeks, three large buttons, & scarf. Have scouts color the parts of the snowman - Color in the buttons one Red, one Blue, & one Green. Color the cheeks Pink, color the scarf Yellow, color the eyes, nose, mouth Black. Color the hat Orange. Outline Snowman parts with the permanent marker. Set poster on the floor about 5 or 6 feet away from the throw line. Have scouts toss large buttons the same colors as the parts or of one color toward the snowman. Score points if the right color button lands on the right part or if any land on a part of the snowman. SNOWBALL FIGHT Crumple up newspaper into Snowballs Divide the group into two teams. Put each team on opposite sides. Use a rope to divide the groups. Put pile of snowballs in the middle. On go, each team must try to get as many snowballs on the other teams side as fast as possible. After 1-2 minutes call Times UP. At stop, all of the snowballs are counted on each side. The team with the least snowballs is the winner.
MUSICAL HULA HOOPS Spread hula hoops out on the floor, when music starts everyone walks in a circle. When the music stops, everyone runs to stand in a hula hoop. Next Turn: 1 hula hoop removed. Music plays. Everyone walks. Music stops, run for a hula hoop. Must have both feet in. Next Turn: 1 hula hoop removed. Music plays. Everyone walks. Music stops, run for a hula hoop. Must have both feet in. Cub Scout Promise and Law This is a puzzle of sorts. Write out the Promise and Law in sections on paper or popsicle sticks. Have 2 sets. Boys try to get the promise and law in the right order PRISONER'S ESCAPE
APPLAUSES & CHEERS Magic Yell Pretend to reach up your sleeve. Pull your hand out and shoult ShaZamm! Disappearing Rabbit Hold hands to the side of your head like bunny ears and shout, Poof! Poof! Poof! Magician Applause Take the imaginary hat off your head, make a magical gesture over the hat and say Presto! Magic Hand Applause Applaud with your hands in front of you, then with your hands behind your back while you say, Now you see them, now you don t! HANDKERCHIEF CHEER Hold a handkerchief up and drop. Applause continues until the handkerchief hits the ground. MAGIC CHEER Group waves hands back and forth and says Hocus Pocus!! three times. MAGICIANS CHEER Pretend to take off top hat, reach into the hat with the free hand and pretend to pull out a rabbit, as they say TA DA!! MAGICIANS CHEER (REVISITED) Pretend to take off a top hat and wave your hand over the hat while saying Hocus Pocus. Then pretend to reach into the hat and pull out a lion with a ROAR!. Quickly stuff it back into the hat and say Whoops, wrong spell! THE MAGIC OF CUB SCOUTING To take a little boy and help him grow into a man, That s magic. To teach him how to make things and let him know he can, That s magic. To watch him learn the Promise and apply it to his life,
That s magic. To see him grow in mind and body, overcoming strife, That s magic. To watch his family beam with pride at everything he ll do, That s magic. And love him even if things don t go as he wanted them to That s magic. And his Scouting leaders, we also beam with pride, Because we know he s learning and growing up inside, That s Cub Scout Magic.