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