Plankton

What you will need: Cups (preferably plastic), water, bowls (2 per team), a timer.

Cost: Less than £5

Each team must line up doing the plank (horizontal with each other). Place a bowl full of water (1st bowl) and some cups at one end of each team’s line & an empty bowl (2nd bowl) at the other end.

When you shout “GO” the player nearest the empty bowl (2nd bowl) must run to the bowl of water (1st bowl), fill up a cup & pass it to the first player in the line (who should be planking). Without stopping their planks, the cup of water must be passed along from player to player to the other end of the line where the last player can get up from their plank, pour the water from the cup into the empty bowl (2nd bowl), run to the 1st bowl & start the process again. As the player runs to the 1st bowl, the rest of the players will need to shuffle down towards the 2nd bowl.  You can time this game to go on for as long as you like, once you shout “STOP” the teams must put down their cups. 

THE TEAM WITH THE MOST WATER IN THEIR 2ND BOWL WINS!!

There are different variations of the plank which players with lower core strength can adapt. I personally am not a fan of planking. I like to add fish to the 1st bowl & have a snack whilst umpiring.

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Gingerbread House Game

What you will need: a gingerbread house making kit (available from IKEA among other shops), icing sugar, sweets (milk buttons, dolly mixtures etc)

Cost: around £5 per kit

Split your group into smaller teams. Usually 5 people per team is the largest number I would use. Provide each group with a gingerbread house kit, a bowl of icing (pre-made) & some sweets for decorating. Give the teams a set amount of time to decorate their houses.

THE TEAM WITH THE BEST LOOKING HOUSE WINS!

An optional prize for the winning team is that they are allowed to smash the worst looking house. Or everyone else’s houses. Which then lends itself to everyone scoffing on the broken houses. I always go with this option.

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Duck Duck Goose: Extreme Outdoor Edition

What you will need: A large building that people can safely run around.

Cost: Free

Exactly the same as Duck, Duck, Goose, only there is a building in the middle of the circle.

Peace and love,

Nigel x

Who's Changed Their Shoes?

What you will need: Space to stand up in. Players who are all wearing shoes.

Cost: Free

A simple, yet effective game that I sadly can't join in with as I don't wear shoes. 

One person will leave the room whilst the remaining players decide on two people to swap shoes with each other. Once the swap has been made the player outside is called back in & must work out which two players have made the swap. This can then continue for as long as you wish.

Peace and love,

Nigel x

The Teeth Game

What you need: 0

Cost: Free

This game requires everyone to be in a circle. Each person chooses an animal & an action to go with that animal. One person will start by saying their animal outloud with their action, but without showing their teeth as they speak. They then select another player’s animal to pass the ‘go’ onto by saying that player’s animal & performing the animal’s action. EG: “Squid to Dodo”. That player then repeats their own animal & action, then another animal to pass the ‘go’ onto and so on and so forth. Players must not show their teeth, nor are they allowed to point. If a player shows their teeth the other players are allowed to shout (without showing their own teeth) “TEETH! TEETH!” and by pointing with their elbows. If someone points with their hands then the other players may shout “POINT! POINT!” etc etc. If a player violates the no teeth & no pointing rule they are elimated. 

THE LAST TWO REMAINING PLAYERS WIN!!

Peace and love,

Nigel x

Too Little Too Late

What you need: 0

Cost: Free

This game can be played over & over until you run out of themes, which is neigh-on impossible. Have everyone sat in a circle-ish arrangement, once you have picked a theme (EG: Animals) choose someone to start. The person starting must say an object/animal/mineral/etc that goes with the chosen them (EG: Giraffe), moving clockwise each person takes it in turns to say another object. Each object must be smaller than the previous object but not TOO small. EG: “Giraffe > Horse > Dog > cat” is good, but “giraffe > cat” is too big of a jump. If someone takes too large a jump or hesitates then everyone must shout “TOO LITTLE TOO LATE!”

You can choose to eliminate players or to change theme when this is shouted.

This sounds easy, but the harder the theme the more challenging it gets.

Theme suggestions:

-  Cars

-  Containers

-  Buildings

-  Fruit

-  Food

-  Animals

-  Office equipment/stationary

-  Dogs

As you can see the options are endless, I’m going to go & bake a soufflée now.

Peace and love,
Nigel x

Let Them Eat Cake

What you need: Some medium sized cakes

Cost: Less than £5

The youth group should be divided into teams of 4-5. You should have bought enough cakes to have one cake for each team. You can buy value Victoria Sponges cheaply in most large supermarkets. Bear in mind when you buy your cakes whether there are any nut/dairy/gluten allergy sufferers in your group. When you say ‘go’ the teams must race to be the first to eat their cakes (no utensils are to be provided. Cakes must be eaten ‘caveman style’). 

WHICH EVER TEAM FINISHES THEIR CAKE FIRST WINS!

Peace and love,
Nigel x

The Frozen Peas Game

What you need: Cups, frozen peas and kitchen scales (optional)
Cost: 80p

Divide the group into teams. Give each member of your youth group a cup. Take your bag of frozen peas, open it, and pour the peas on the floor. If you spin on the spot whilst you do this, the peas will spread out further. When you say ‘go’ the players have race to collect as many peas as possible in their cups.

When all of the peas have been collected (and you’ll need to check this if you meet in a hall where people might get upset at finding peas everywhere) measure out which team has the greatest amount of peas. This is when having a set of kitchen scales might be useful as you can easily prove which team has collected the most peas. 

WHICH EVER TEAM HAS THE MOST PEAS WINS!

Peace and love,
Nigel x

Getting To Know You

What you need: Downloadable PDF, a receptacle such as a cup or a hat, stopwatch or timer.
Cost: Free

I was asked to come up with an ice breaker/getting to know you game which wasn't cheesy. Some of you may appreciate how much of a challenge this was, due to my great penchant for cheese.

Have everyone sat in a circle. Take turns to pass the cup round with the cut up questions folded up inside (download PDF with questions here). When someone pulls out a question, they must introduce themselves and then spend the next full minute speaking on the question or topic that they pulled out. The aim of the game is to speak non-stop without too many hesitations during the minute.
This is harder than it sounds, but I can guarantee you it will be a lot of fun and you will discover very interesting facts about each other.

WHOEVER HAS THE MOST FUN WINS!!

Peace and love,
Nigel x

Blindfold Chair Maze

What you need: a blindfold (or scarf..etc)
Cost: Free

I came up with this game on the spur of the moment having only chairs & my own pashmina scarf to work with. I think I did pretty well. And yes, I can rock a pashmina.

Create a maze (or ‘route’) using chairs either side of a space. Kind of like a bowling alley when the barriers are up, only not in a straight line and the barriers are chairs. 
Have 2 teams Team A & Team B. Start with 1 person from Team A blindfolded on their hands & knees at the start of the maze, the aim of the game for them is to reach the end of the maze without touching any of the chairs on either side.
Team A’s job is to shout the correct directions to their player, whilst Team B’s job will be to try & direct them into a chair.
Once the 1st player has completed the maze, the roles are reversed and a player from Team B will enter the maze.
Repeat as many times as you like.

Peace & love,Nigel x

Ninja

What you need: a large space
Cost: Free

On my travels I have the privilege of meeting many youth groups. They often like to share with me their favourite games, as they know it is a passion of mine. I discovered this game during a visit to Poland.

Everyone starts in a circle facing inward. (for the sake of this game explanation we shall name each person 1,2,3,4,..etc. but all you really need to do is remember who stood to your left & to your right at this point in the game). Huddle the circle facing inward, get as close as possible so that you are able to reach the person opposite you. Have everyone place their hands in a “prayer” position, then on the count of 3, everyone must jump away and out of the circle, crying out in a ‘ninja’-type fashion (ie: “haaiiiiyaaah!”).Choose someone to start (in this case: number 1), this person has one move to try and tap someone’s hand (left or right hand). One move can consist of an arm movement (swipe) with a step, a jump or a roll (in any direction). You can do all 3 but it must be done simultaneously in the move.If player 1 attempts to swipe a player’s hand in this move, that player may move their hand ONCE as an attempt to dodge the swipe. If they are unsuccessful and player 1 taps their hand, they are out and the move goes to player 2 (the player who was directly to player 1’s left at the beginning of the game) if the player was successful in dodging player 1s attempt to tap their hand they are ‘in’, the game continues and the move still goes to player 2. Once you have moved/dodged you must stay in that position until your next move/dodge.It is best to play this game once or twice slowly until everyone grasps it. But a good game is a fast game!THE LAST PLAYER IN THE GAME WINS!!!

You can watch a very short clip of this game here.
And a clip of two finalists here.

Peace & love, Nigel x

Popcorn Wheelbarrow Race

What you need: A large space, cups, plates/bowls & (popped) popcorn.
Cost: <£5

Split every one into teams of 4 or more. Across the room, opposite each team, place a plate/bowl of popcorn. Give each team a cup. The 1st two people in each team must pair up into a human wheelbarrow, “wheel” across the room to the bowl of popcorn where the “barrow” person must collect as much popcorn in their mouth as possible. Then they must go back to their team to deposit the popcorn into their team’s cup. Once the deposit has been made the next two continue the relay race. It is best to time this game. THE PERSON WITH THE MOST POPCORN IN THEIR CUP WHEN TIME IS CALLED WINS!!

Peace & Love,
Nigel x

THE HUMAN LOG GAME

What you need: at least 6 boys & 6 girls
Cost: FreeDivide everyone into 2 teams (separate boys & girls). 


One person from each team is nominated to be ‘rolled’ from one end of the room to the other. This person lies across their teammates who act as human ‘logs’, by lying on the floor next to each other and rolling towards the other end of the room. 
As the team members roll along, the top person will be moved along with them. To keep the line going people will need to run from the end of the line to the beginning (see video).


Cardigans, scarves & other garments that can get caught up should be removed. The more rigid the person on top is, the better. After a few attempts the teams should have worked out a good strategy/rhythm.THE PERSON WHO GETS TO THE OTHER SIDE FIRST WINS!!

(this game can be shaken up by getting the team to roll to one end of the room, collect an item (such as a banana) & transport it back to the beginning)


Peace & Love,
Nigel x

Snowballs

What you need: Some old newspapers

Cost: Free if you buy newspapers anyway, <£2 if not

Before the game scrunch up sheets of newspaper to make ‘snowballs’ (alternatively you could get your youth group to do this). Then, split the group in half and mark a line down the middle of the room. When you shout, ‘Go,’ the teams must then throw the snowballs across the line, aiming to have as few as possible on their side of the room. After 2 and a half minutes (the same length as the theme song from Rocky...just saying), shout, ‘STOP.’ The snowballs are then counted up.

THE TEAM WITH THE FEWEST SNOWBALLS ON THEIR SIDE OF THE ROOM AT THE END WINS!

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Bring Me A...

What you need: A list of readily available items

Cost: Free

The group are divided into even teams. The person running the game (me) sits at an equal distance from all of the teams. I will then call out, asking for an item (such as an individual key, a shoelace, an earring, a watch) and the teams must get one, whether from the room or on their person, and race to give it to me. The team that puts the item I asked for in my hand first receives a point.

This is then repeated for around 10-15 objects depending on time constraints. This game can get competitive, as the teams race each other to give me their object, so watch out for shoving!

THE TEAM WITH THE MOST POINTS AT THE END WINS!

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Skit Game

What you need: Some random objects e.g. book, pencil, apple, Sellotape

Cost: Free

The group are divided into teams of about 4. They are then allowed to choose from the items assembled – provide enough for around 4-5 items per team. Each group is then given ten minutes to put together a skit using their objects. These might be themed, for example each team is given a movie to act out, or an historical event.

The groups act out the scene that they have put together, and the other groups must guess what they are acting out. It's fun seeing how the young people have interpreted the task, and seeing the creative ways that they have chosen to use the objects.

THERE ARE NO WINNERS, BUT YOU GET A SENSE OF CREATIVE SATISFACTION!

Peace & love,

Nigel x

The Tables Have Turned

What you need: A lot of space, 15+ tables, Blu-Tack

Cost: Free

The tables are put out all over the room, and a piece of Blu-Tack is put on one end of each table. The group are divided into 2 teams. One team is placed on the left side of the room, and the other on the right side of the room. When you shout ‘THE TABLES NEED TURNING’ the teams must turn the tables so that the dot of Blu-Tack is on their side of the room.

This game gets rambunctious fast, so it’s best to lay out some ground rules, e.g. no grabbing tables that a member of the other team is turning, no hovering by tables that are being turned, no moving the Blu-Tack.

After a while, the leader shouts out ‘THE TABLES HAVE TURNED,’ and the teams must return to the sides of the room while the leader counts up whether there are more Blu-Tack dots on the left or right hand side of the room.

THE TEAM WITH THE MOST BLU-TACK DOTS ON THEIR SIDE OF THE ROOM ARE THE WINNERS!

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Ice Ice Baby

Things you need: Lots of ice, some bowls

Cost: Free if you make the ice yourself, under £5 if you buy the ice

Each player is given a bowl of ice. They put their hand into the bowl of ice and keep it there for as long as possible. Possibly play ‘Ice, Ice, Baby’ by Vanilla Ice while the game is being played.

THE WINNER IS THE PERSON WHO HAS HIS/HER HAND IN THE ICE LAST!

Warning: If it gets to like 5 minutes and hands have started to go blue, call an end to the game and declare it a draw. We don’t want frost bite in our youth group.

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Safari Race

Things you need: nothing

Cost: Free

Divide everyone into 2 teams. Each person must choose an animal (you can’t have more than 1 of each animal, so it’s best to make let each person choose one at a time).

Once everyone has chosen their animal, they are told that they must race each other 2 at a time across the room, in the style of the animal they have chosen. Each team nominates who will race 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc...

The aim of the game is to beat whoever you are racing, but the real fun is for everyone watching each person’s interpretation of how they think their animal would race (some of the best animals have been: eagle, tortoise, sloth, squid & t-rex), This game give new life to the phrase “it’s not the winning, but the taking part which counts.”

THE WINNERS ARE THE TEAM TO COME FIRST IN THE MOST RACES

Peace & love,

Nigel x

Shoes and Socks Off

Things you need: nothing

Cost: Free

Shoes and socks off is similar to British Bulldog. Each person leaves 3 items of (appropriate) clothing at one end of the room (shoes, socks, cardigans etc.) and stands against the wall at the other end. One person stands in the middle. After the middle persons shouts out “shoes and socks off!” everyone must run past them, grab an item of their own, put it on and run back to the other side without getting tagged. If they are tagged by the middle person, they join them.

The game continues until either everyone is caught, or someone manages to get all their items of clothing back on.

THE WINNER IS THE FIRST PLAYER TO GET ALL OF THEIR CLOTHES BACK ON AND TO SHOUT “SHOES AND SOCKS ON!”

Peace & love,
Nigel x