WA!!!

Start out in a circle.  The "it" raises both their arms over their head with their hands together and bring their arms down with their hands pointing at somebody else in the circle while looking at them and crazily yelling "WA!!!."  The person they're pointing/looking/yelling at is the new "it."  The new "it" then raises both their arms over their head with their hands together and brings their arms down with their hands pointing at somebody else while looking and yelling at the same time.  Also, both people on either side of the new "it" raise their arms above their heads quickly and then bring their arms down with their hands pointing at the new "it's" stomach and yell "WA!!!" with the new "it."  The 3 keep yelling "WA!!!" until the next group starts yelling "WA!!!."  The point of this game is to yell "WA!!!" as crazily as possible and look foolish.  I like it.

Taught by: RTQ

Zip Zap Zup

This is a game in which everyone is sitting in a circle.  The first person starts off and says “Zip” and puts one of their hands on their stomach.  The person they are pointing to (the person on the left or right) then says “Zap” and puts one of their hands up like they are saluting.  The person they are pointing to (the person on the left or right) then says “Zup” and claps their arms together straight out pointing at someone across the circle.  That person then immediately starts with “Zip” and a hand on their stomach.  If a person messes up by saying the wrong thing or doing the wrong motion, he or she is out and must scoot back from the circle.  The faster everyone goes, the more people get out and the more fun this can be.  Encourage them to hurry in this game.

Taught by: Brian

Wink

Everyone sits in a circle.  One person is secretly selected to be the winker and another is secretly selected to be the detective.  Once this is done everyone opens their eyes and the detective scoots into the middle of the circle.  Everyone else then begins to look around the circle at each other.  The winker then begins to wink at people.  If the winker winks at you then you must wait about 5 seconds (so that you don’t give the winker away to the detective) and then dramatically die and back out of the circle.  The detective gets 2 or 3 guesses as to who he/she thinks the winker is.  Once the winker has killed everyone off or the detective figures out who the winker is … then you start a new round. 

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Varroom

Have everyone sit in a circle.  This is a game of car sounds and there are three sounds someone can make: “Varroom” just passes to the next person, “Eeerrk” stops and reverses the order, or “Bump Bump” skips the next person.  Have the leader start the game going in a certain direction and if someone goes out of turn or takes too long to say something … then he/she is out and scoots back from the circle.  

Taught by: Brian

Stand a Minute

Everyone stands in a circle facing out and takes off any watches they are wearing.  The leader then explains that they are to try and figure out when a minute is up.  The leader then will say “go” and when someone thinks it has been a minute … he/she sits down.  The leader watches for who sits down closest to the minute mark, and that person is the winner. 

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Squeeze Test

Sit in two lines of equal length.  The person at the back of each line can open their eyes, but everyone else must have their eyes closed and holding the hands of the people next to them.  The leader flips a coin and if it is tails, then nothing happens … but if it is heads, then the people at the end of the line must squeeze the hand of the person next to them and send “the squeeze” down the line until it gets to the person at the front and they must try to grab the ball/ toy/ spoon/ etc before the person from the other line does.  Try this again and try to switch up the order. 

Taught by: Brian

Spell My Feet

Spilt the group into teams of five people and write the following letters on the soles of their feet:  first person – A & N, second – E & T, third – G & R, fourth – O & M, fifth – S & P.  The leader calls out a word and the first team to arrange their feet to the correct spelling gets the points.  If a letter is not used, that foot must be flat on the ground so the letter is not visible. 

5 point words        10 point words
    master                  ten proms
    roast                     get spam
    smear                   great son
    togas                    more naps
    snore

Taught by: Brian

Sanctuary/Fellowship Hall Foosball

Split the group into two teams.  Designate pews for these teams to occupy (alternate pews and skip them to make more room … 2nd pew for team A / 4th pew for team B / 6th pew for team A / etc).  Put two big trashcans in the aisles or at the end of the pews for the goals.  For the balls use about 3 half-inflated beach balls (they don’t go as far when thrown).  Tell them they must stay inside their pews, but can lean or reach for the beach balls if they fall out or in-between pews.  The way they score is by throwing a beach ball into their trashcan … and they want to block the other team from getting it into that teams trashcan.  Try to mix up the pew order every 5-10 minutes and let the team discuss “strategy” just so that the game can go longer and people can move from offense to defense.  [This game can also be played in a fellowship hall if the leader marks out lines with masking tape and each player has a folding chair to place on one of their teams lines.  Tell them that they cannot move their chair and their bottom cannot leave the chair once the game has started.]

Taught by: Brian

Role Your Role

In teams of two or three, the goal is to completely unroll a roll of toilet paper and roll it back onto the roll as neatly as possible.  If the paper tears, the team is disqualified.  The first team done wins.  If it comes down to comparing neatness of rolling, final judgment as to the winner rests solely with the leader. 

Taught by: Brian

Honey, If You Love Me & Poor Poor Pussy Cat

Honey, If You Love Me

Everyone sits in a circle and one person is the "it."  That person then goes up to someone in the circle and asks them “Honey, if you love me won't you please please smile?”  The person in the circle must say “Honey, I love you, but I just can't smile.”  If the person in the circle can say that without smiling or laughing, then the "it" has to pick someone else and try again.  If the person in the circle does smile or laugh, then they are the "it" and must go up to someone else. 

Poor Poor Pussy Cat
Everyone sits in a circle and one person is the "it."  That person then goes up to someone in the circle and gets 3 chances to “meow.”  After each “meow” the person in the circle has to say “Poor Poor Pussy Cat.”  If the person in the circle can say that three times without smiling or laughing, then the "it" in the middle has to pick someone else and try again.  If the person in the circle does smile or laugh, then they are the "it" and must go up to someone else and “meow.” 

Note: Depending on the group set up rules while teaching the game.  "Poor Poor Pussy Cat" doesn't have people sitting on each others' laps usually, while "Honey, if you love me" usually does.  So, use good judgment about what is appropriate and what your group can handle.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Pass the Squeeze

Everyone sits in a circle and holds hands.  Someone goes and sits in the middle and closes his/her eyes while the leader starts the “squeeze” by squeezing the hand of someone sitting next to them.  That person then passes the “squeeze” by squeezing the hand of the person on his/her other side.  The person in the middle is told they can open his/her eyes after a while and he/she tries to figure out who has the “squeeze."  If the person in the middle catches someone with the “squeeze” by calling his/her name before he/she can pass it, then that person is the new person who goes in the middle.



Taught by: Brian

Look

Players stand in a circle with their heads looking down.  The leader then says “1…2…3…LOOK”  and everyone then looks up at someone immediately.  Everyone must look at another player’s eyes and cannot have their eyes wander after “look” is said.  If you are looking at someone and he/she is looking back at you, then both of you are out and step back from the circle.  If you are looking at someone who is not looking at you, then you made it to the next round.  The leader then says "heads down" and then says “1…2…3…LOOK” again.  The game keeps going until there is either one or two people left and they are the winners.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

The Round-Table Hand Game

This game is best played at a circle table.  Everyone puts their hands face down on the table, putting your right arm over the left arm of the person next to you.  The goal is to tap the table when it is your turn.  The leader begins by tapping the table and the hand to the right then taps, and then the next hand taps and so on.  The order can be changed up by one of these two special taps:  double tap – reverse the order, pound with a fist – skip the next hand.  If you do not tap when it is your turn or tap when it is not your turn, that hand is out and you remove it from the table.  The last person with a hand on the table wins.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Hagu

Split the group into two teams and get into lines facing each other but leaving a walkway about 5 feet wide for people to walk down.  Have the person at the very right side of their team move to the end of the walkway and turn so that these two people are facing each other from opposite ends of the walkway.  They both must say “Hagu” to each other.  Then they walk to the middle and meet again and say “Hagu” to each other again.  Then they continue walking to the end of the walkways and turn to face each other and say “Hagu” for a final time.  The point of this game is to get the other person to smile/laugh.  If they smile/laugh before "you" do, then they must come to "your" side and join "your" team and "you" both go to the end of the line.  If neither person smiles then they both just return to their team at the end of the line.  The other people in the line are hecklers trying to get the people to laugh as well.  The one rule is that no one can touch them in anyway, other than that people can make faces/walk funny/dance/etc.

Easy Group Making:

1. Have everybody choose a buddy.  
2. Tell each pair to choose one person to be Mickey Mouse and another to be Donald Duck. (or whatever you think up) 
3. Tell the Mickey Mouses to go to one side and the Donald Ducks to go to the other side.  Now you have 2 groups.  Woot Woot.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Frisbee Bowling

Using 10 cups set up a pyramid on a table.  Each person gets a turn to throw a Frisbee at the pyramid.  The person gets one point for every cup that falls over. 

Taught by: Brian

Follow the Leader

Everyone sits in a circle and one person leaves the room.  The remaining people decide who is going to be the “it.”  The person is invited to come back into the room and must sit in the middle of the circle.  The “it” then begins to do something (ex. cross their legs, pat their neighbors head, etc) and everyone else then has to imitate this action.  The person in the middle tries to guess who the “it” is.  It is also important to point out to everyone else participating that they should not stare at the “it” or their stares will give him/her away to the person in the middle. 

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Flinch-Master

The “flinch-master” stands in the middle of the circle and either throws a tennis-ball or pretends to throw a tennis-ball to someone in the circle.  If the “flinch-master” throws the ball to you, then you must catch it - if you drop it then you are out.  If the “flinch-master” fakes throwing it to you, you cannot move – if you flinch in anyway then you are out.  The last person remaining is the new “flinch-master” for the next round.  Some other tips for this game are to make the participants keep their arms at their sides and make the circle smaller if it is too hard to get people out. 

Taught by: Brian

Change 5 Things

Split the group into two teams and have them line up facing each other.  Give them two minutes to study each other and try to memorize the other team.  Then have them turn their backs and change five things as a group.  Have both teams line up again at the same time and first team to figure out all five changes wins. 

Taught by: Brian

Caught You Peeking

Have everyone sit in a circle with their heads down and their eyes covered.  Then the game begins.  You can look up and if you see someone with their eyes open, then you can say “Caught You Peeking __(name)__!”  Then that person would be out.  The goal is to be one of the last ones left in the game.  You normally need to have someone be the judge on who said it first and if someone was really looking or not, so have someone watching the whole time. 

Taught by: Brian

Catch/Don't Catch

Everyone stands in a circle with the leader in the middle.  The leader has a tennis ball and will throw it to someone in the circle, and either say “catch” or “don’t catch.”  But whatever the leader says, the player must do the opposite.  So if the leader throws it to you and says “catch”, then you don’t catch it and just let it fall to the ground.  If the leader says “don’t catch” then you try to catch it.  This game is a lot harder in a smaller circle.

Taught by: Brian

Captain Video

This is the game telephone with actions.  Begin by forming a large circle and then have everyone turn around facing outside the circle.  There is no talking during this game.  Have the "it" start the game in the middle of the circle by touching one of the participants on the shoulder and having them turn around.  The "it" then does some weird dance (I recommend 3 simple moves: 1. grapevine right then grapevine left.  2. 3 jumping jacks.  3. then a thumbs up).  That chosen participant can only see the dance once and then they become the "it" and have to go up to someone else who hasn't been chosen and do the same dance for them.  They try to remember it as accurately as possible and do it the same way.  This continues until each person has been selected and the last person the dance is shown to goes to the dance creator and shows the finished product.  The dance creator then shows the original and everyone laughs and the game starts over with a new dance creator.  Once the "it" chooses someone who hasn't gone and shows them the dance, the person just shown the dance steps out and becomes the "it" and the previous "it" takes the new "it's" spot.  Once you've been the "it" you can stand looking inside the circle and watch everyone else do the dance.

Note:  This is a great game to do with a group who is struggling with rumors.  Use it to show the group how the original dance becomes something else completely after it has gone through so many people is a good lesson about rumors and can start a really good dialogue.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Big Booty

Have everyone stand in a circle and figure out who they are - the leader starts off as “Big Booty” and the person to his/her right is “number 1” and the next person is “number 2” until it gets all the way around the circle.  The last person in the circle (the person on the left of “Big Booty”) is “Little Booty.”  Everyone then follows the tempo set by the leader when you hit your legs … clap … hit your legs … clap … etc.  Then everyone sings/says this song “Aaaaaaahhhhhh, Big Booty Big Booty Big Booty … ahhh yeah … Big Booty”.  “Big Booty” then starts and will say “Big Booty – Number 7” or any other number he/she wishes to say.  That person (Number 7) then must say “Number 7 – Number ?” or “Number 7 – Big Booty” or something along those lines.  Someone can get out in the following ways: by getting off rhythm, by not saying his/her number correctly, or by saying “number” if they are saying big or little booty.  Basically if they mess up or stop the rhythm they are out.  If you get out then you become the new “Little Booty” at the end of the circle and everyone who was behind them in the circle moves up and figures out what their new number is from counting down from “Big Booty.”  This is a fun game, but can be extremely difficult if the rhythm is taken too fast when you begin.  The rule of thumb is that you should say who you are when you smack your legs (Big Booty, Number ?) and then who you're sending it to when you clap your hands (Big Booty, Number ?).

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Bibity-Bop-Bop-Bop

Everyone stands in a circle with an "it" in the middle.  The “it” then goes up to someone in the circle and says one of the following words/phrases.  The chosen player/players on each side must respond accordingly, or they are the new “it” and must go in the middle and the current "it" takes the new "it's" spot in the circle.  The following are a list of responses the players need to know (PL stands for "person on left" and PR stands for "person on right" and P stands for "person" the “it” points to): 

“It” says:        Players do:
Bibity bop bop bop   Say “bop” before he/she finishes the full phrase
Bop                Can’t say anything at all
Elephant         PL – left ear, P – trunk, PR – right ear
Jello               PL/PR – make bowl around P, P – is the jello and shakes
Trees              PL – arms left, P – arms up, PR – arms right
Monkey         PL – left arm scratch ribs, P – tail, PR – r. arm scratch   
Cow               PL – Milk, P – hands up, thumbs down, PR – Milk
Charlie’s Angels        PL – aim low left, P – straight up, PR – high right
Fire hydrant   PL – dog lifting leg, P – arms to sides, PR – dog lifting leg


The leader for this game can be creative and make up additional actions for people to follow or only give them part of these.  Too many at a time can get confusing. 

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Beat the Bunny

You have two balls of different sizes.  The small ball is the bunny and the big ball is the farmer.  You start passing the bunny around the circle and when it’s about halfway, you start passing the farmer.  They can switch directions as they choose but you can only hold on to the ball for about a second.

Taught by: Brian

Balloon Mini-Golf

Set up an indoor golf course using inner-tubes, blankets, etc.  Use plastic clubs and balloons as balls.  Keep score like a real golf game. 

Taught by: Brian

Noodle Tag

The “it” has a fun noodle and can only tag people by smacking them.  After tagging someone, the "it" throws the noodle as far as possible and the person who was tagged has to get the noodle and is now the new "it."

Tag Boundaries: After the teacher finishes teaching the game and chooses an "it," make sure to set up boundaries for the game and give people 5 seconds to move to their desired position.

Taught by: Brian 

Hospital Tag

In this game, everyone is an “it” and can tag everyone else.  The trick is that you can only tag them on their legs and once you have been tagged on one of your legs, then you must hold one of your hands on that spot for the remainder of the game.  If you have been tagged twice, then you have both of your hands covering parts of your legs … and you can no longer tag anyone, but you can run and try to stay away from people.  Once you are tagged a third time, you just sit down where you are until the next game. 

Taught by: Brian

Head Butt Tag

Split the group into two even teams.  One team is the “heads” and the other team is the “butts.”  If you are part of the “heads” team, then both your hands must be on your head.  If you are part of the “butts” team, then you must put both of your hands on your butt.  You try to tag members of the opposite team, however, you cannot remove your hands from either your head or your butt.  If you successfully tag that person with your hand, while it is still touching your head or butt, then that person switches teams and continues to play. 

Creative Group Creation:

1. Have everybody choose a buddy.  
2. Tell each pair to choose one person to be Mickey Mouse and another to be Donald Duck. (or whatever you think up) 
3. Tell the Mickey Mouses to go to one side and the Donald Ducks to go to the other side.  Now you have 2 groups.  Woot Woot.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Giants, Wizards, and Elves

This game works by combining the rock, paper, scissors idea and tag.  Split the two groups creatively into two sides, and assign a meeting line that is about five feet wide (the 2 groups will line up parallel to each other and there should be at least 5 feet between them).  Then make an area about 25 feet behind the meeting line (on both sides) which will be the "danger zone" for each side.  At the end of the 25 feet there is another line which is the "safe zone" for each side.  Then both groups will meet in a separate huddle to decide what character they will be for that round (Giants: raise arms high above head; Wizards: stretch arms straight out; or Elves: crouch).  The two groups will meet in the middle on their respective meeting lines with their backs to the other group.
Option A:
Then both groups will shout in unison “Giants, Wizards, Elves, - [here they will insert the character they picked]”  As they say the character they picked they need to turn around and make the appropriate motion to the other team.
Option B:
A leader standing on the sideline counts out "1, 2, 3" and then both sides act out what they've chosen: Giants, Wizards, or Elves.

Giants eat Elves for breakfast; Wizards cut Giants down to size; and Elves bite the Wizard’s ankles. (giants beat elves, wizards beat giants, elves beat wizards).  If it's a tie, start again.  Whichever team wins the round chases the other team to their safe zone.  If someone on the winning team tags someone running in the danger zone, they switch to the team that won the last round … but whoever reaches the safe zone is free.  The groups will huddle again and the next round begins.  The game ends when one team has all the participants or you run out of time.
[This game can also be played using Elephant / Mouse / and Mousetrap or with a variety of other trios].

Creative Group Creation:

1. Have everybody choose a buddy.  
2. Tell each pair to choose one person to be Mickey Mouse and another to be Donald Duck. (or whatever you think up) 
3. Tell the Mickey Mouses to go to one side and the Donald Ducks to go to the other side.  Now you have 2 groups.  Woot Woot.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Flamingo Tag

There is one person that is the “it” in this game to start out, and in order to be "safe" everyone else must assume the flamingo position.  The correct flamingo position is having one foot up above your other knee holding your ankle with your hand and your other hand making a “beak” touching your nose. If a person falls out of this position the “it” can tag them.  Once tagged, a person becomes an “it” as well, meaning that the one who tagged them is still an "it" in addition to the new person who just got tagged.  You play this game until everyone has been tagged.

Tag Boundaries: After the teacher finishes teaching the game and chooses an "it," make sure to set up boundaries for the game and give people 5 seconds to move to their desired position.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Elbow Tag/Partner Tag

Have participants form pairs, locking arms with each other, and spread out in a circle.  The leader chooses someone to be the "Chaser" and someone else to be the "Chased."  Once/if the Chaser tags the Chased, they switch, and the Chased becomes the Chaser and the Chaser the Chased.  The Chased can stop being chased by linking arms with either person in a pair, but then the person on the other side of the pair is now no longer “safe” and becomes the new Chased.  Only the one being Chased can link on to a pair in the circle and force the person in the pair they didn't link onto to become the newly Chased.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Color Tag

The leader of this game calls out a color and everyone who is wearing that color becomes the “it.”  Then they begin to chase everyone who isn’t wearing that color.  If a person not wearing the color is tagged, then that person must crab walk until the next color is called out.  This is a great large group game that can fill time.


Tag Boundaries: After the teacher finishes teaching the game, make sure to set up boundaries for the game and give people 5 seconds to move to their desired position before yelling go or starting the game.

Taught by: Brian

Blob Tag

This game starts out by choosing one person to be the “it.”  Then once the "it" tags someone, the tagged person must hold hands with the "it" and then attempt to tag someone else while holding hands.  Once the next person is tagged, they join “the blob” by holding the "it's" hand and chasing after someone else.  Only the people on the ends of the blob can tag someone with their free hand.  The people in the middle can try to block and trap people, but cannot tag them.  Once a person is tagged by one of the ends, they must join hands with that person and they are the new end of the blob.  If the blob ever breaks (people let go of each others' hand) the blob cannot tag anyone until the blob reforms. 

Tag Boundaries: After the teacher finishes teaching the game and chooses an "it," make sure to set up boundaries for the game and give people 5 seconds to move to their desired position.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

This Side-That Side

This works well in large groups and small groups.

Have group stand in a line in the middle of the room. Then say if you like milk chocolate go to "this side" of the room (pointing to the right side of the room) and if you like dark chocolate go to "that side" of the room (pointing to the left side of the room). If people like both or neither they can stand in the middle of the room. Think of other "this" and "that" questions. Be careful with your questions and avoid big rivalries, especially if this is a first night activity.

Taught by: RTQ

Two Truths and a Lie

Have participant say their name and then give three statements about themselves. Two of the statements have to be true and one of them has to be false. Example … “I have been to Mexico. I have been to Hawaii. I have been to Canada.” Then all the rest of the kids would have to guess as to which one is the lie before the volunteer reveals it. If someone guesses which one is the lie then they are next (unless they've already gone then they can choose somebody who hasn't gone yet). If nobody guesses the lie then the volunteer or leader can choose the next person.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Stack 'Um

Form the group into a circle with chairs (one chair per person). The leader will then say, “move # of chairs to the right/left if you “‘are wearing [x] or have done [x].” If their statement applies to you, then you must move the proper amount of chairs in the direction they chose. If there is someone sitting in your seat then you must stack onto each other by sitting on the person’s lap/knees.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Pass the Beans

Each person in the group has about 6 beans of any sort. Say ‘go’ and everyone has to find a person and tell them something unique about themselves. Only give them a short amount of time before you say ‘go’ again and they pair up with someone else. Any round that a person can’t name something unique about themselves quickly, they have to give away one of their beans to their partner. When you’re out of beans, you’re out.

Taught by: Brian

Noodle Whack

Someone starts off in the center of the circle with a pool-noodle. The leader of the game then calls out a name. The person in the middle then tries to hit that person with the fun-noodle before the person whose name was called says the name of someone else in the circle. If the name is said before the person in the middle hits them, the person in the middle is then going after the newly named person. When the person in the middle hits someone before she/he says another name, then that person is in the middle. (Try moving the circle in closer once people can remember most of the names to make it harder).

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

Nice to Meet You

Sit in a circle. Say “Nice to meet you ___ (say the person’s name who is next to you)” and do the motion the leader does. So, for example, the leader could tap the person on their left on the knee and say the phrase … and then it would go all the way around the circle with everyone one at a time doing the motion and saying the phrase/name. Then the leader can touch the top of the head/ then tap the cheek/ then the nose/ then the ear/ etc. Be creative!

Taught by: Brian

Name Train

Have one person in the middle of a circle acting like a train (with sound effects) and have them stop in front of someone. The person in the middle says “Hi, I’m _____!” Then the person in the circle says “I’m _____!” The person in the middle then does a little dance from side-to-side and says their name 5 times. Then the person in the middle yells “SWITCH” and he/she turns around and the person from the circle grabs on to her/his shoulders. They are then the "train." The train then goes up to someone else and stops. Then one-by-one everyone in the train says “Hi, I’m _____!” Then the person in the circle says “I’m _____!” Beginning with the person in front each person whispers the person in the circle’s name to the person behind her/him and it is passed/whispered the whole length of the train. The person at the end of the train yells back “Hi _____!” Then the whole train does a little dance from side-to-side and says their name 5 times and yells “SWITCH”. This keeps going until everyone has gotten to join the train.

This has been many of my small groups favorite activity at retreats and camps. Teach it with enthusiasm and like it is the coolest thing since corndogs. Then throughout the weekend your small group can name train up to the keynoter/camp director and introduce themselves.

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

I've Never

Have everyone sit in a circle of chairs with one extra person standing in the middle of the circle. That person then must say a true statement that starts out with "I’ve never …" If that statement is true for someone, meaning they have never done/seen/heard/etc. that before either, then they stay in the seat that they are in and don’t move. If the statement that middle person says is false for you, meaning that you have done/seen/heard/etc. what they said, then you must stand up and try to find a new seat in the circle. A person may not sit back down in the same seat or in either of the seats directly next to her/him. The person in the middle also tries to get a seat while everyone is running around. The extra person after everyone else has found a seat is the next person to say “I’ve never …”

Taught by: Brian & RTQ

I Sit in the Grass

Sit in a circle of chairs with one more chair than the people playing the game. Have someone start sliding over and have the first person say “I sit” – then the second person moves over and says “in the grass” – and the third person slides and says “with my good friend … (name of someone in the circle).” When someone’s name is called, that person moves to the empty chair and the new empty chair is fought over. Whoever sits in the chair first then starts the phrase all over again with the phrase "I sit."

Similar to Shuffle Your Buns but a name game
Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Introduce Each Other

Split the participants up into groups of either 2 or 3 and tell them that they must introduce each other to the rest of the group. Give the groups a list of things to find out. Tell them they have 5 minutes to discuss. They are not allowed to write anything down and they have to try to remember as much as possible about that person. Then have everyone come back together and take turns introducing everyone in the group.

Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Family Portrait

Hand out cards that have different families on them (ex. Mama Smith/Baby Smith/ Smith’s goldfish/Mama Wallace/Baby Wallace/Wallace's goldfish/ etc.). Play music and have everyone go around and continually exchange cards with one another until they hear the music stop. Once this happens, they must look at their card and find their family. Have them sit with their families and share their name and answer some kind of question. Then they can pose for a picture as a family with everyone posing as their character on their card. If you have a Polaroid or digital camera it is fun to go around and snap a photo of each family and display them somewhere at the end of the retreat/in the youth room.

Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Commonalities

Have everyone split into groups of 2 and make a list of all the things they have in common with each other for a minute. Then share the lists with everyone and see who got the most. Then have everyone split into groups of 3-ish and do the same activity, however, they cannot re-state a commonality that was said in the last round. Then do the activity with the group in halves and then as a whole. On the last round give them as much time as possible to come up with a list of about 10 things that they all share in common that haven’t already been stated.

Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Ball Toss

Form a circle and explain that you are going to toss a ball to someone in the circle and that they will then toss it to someone else. As each person tosses the ball to someone, they must call out that persons' name loud enough for the entire group to hear. The ball continues around until each person has touched the ball without any repeats. When no one is left that person will toss it back to the leader. Tell each person to remember who threw the ball to them and who they toss the ball to.

Variations:

1. Get the ball around the circle in the fastest time without any drops.
2. Toss the ball in the reverse order/backwards
3. Toss one ball normal and one ball reverse order/backwards
   
4. Toss different objects
5. Toss different objects in different orders

Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Back 2 Back

Begin by forming partners and having partners stand together with one person in the middle. The middle person calls out “back to back” and everyone tries to get a new partner and has to stand back to back with them. The extra person then says “front to front” and the partners turn around and introduce themselves to each other and find out one new thing about that person. Then the extra person has to introduce her/himsef to the group and answer a “Would You Rather” question asked by the leader. Then the extra person calls out “back to back” and it starts over again.

Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Action Name Game

The first person says their name and does an action, then everybody says the first person’s name and repeats that action. Then the second person says their name and does an action, then everybody says that person’s name and does their action and then says the first person’s name/action. This keeps going until everybody says everyone’s name and does his or her action around the entire circle.

Taught by: Brian
Edited by: RTQ

Games O Fun List

Name Games

• Action Name Game
  
• Ball Toss
• I Sit in the Grass
  
• Name Train
• Noodle Whack

Ice Breakers

• Back 2 Back
• Commonalities
• Family Portrait
• I've Never...
• Introduce Each Other
• Nice to Meet You
• Pass the Beans
• Stack 'Um
• This Side-That Side
• Two Truths and a Lie