3D Kickball

This is a fast moving version of kickball for large groups. This version enables everyone to get
up to bat several times in a short period of time. The concept is the same as kickball except
that you have three pitchers pitching to three kickers simultaneously. Once you are on base
you do not have to advance a base unless you want. Therefore you can have several people on
one base at a time. Instead of there being three outs we make it nine outs before the next
teams gets up to bat. The defensive team can stand anywhere around the playing field. Try it
and modify it to suit the needs of your group.
Acid River
Source: YMCA Camp High Harbour
Age Group: Mid and Late Adolescents
Take the group out in the woods, or anywhere suitable. Make sure you have 3 coffee tin cans
that are strong and sturdy as well as two boards roughly 4 feet long and half a feet wide. Set
down two ropes about 10 to 12 feet apart. The object is to get everyone on the boards or cans
at the same time and then to get everyone off successfully without anyone falling off and
touching the ground with their feet - or else they fall in to the imaginary "acid river." If one
person falls off, the whole group has to start over. This activity will build communication skills,
leadership skills and fellowship skills.
Blob
The Blob begins innocently enough as a mere individual playing a game of tag. As soon as she
catches someone, she joins hands with him. Now he's part of the Blob, too, and they both set
out hand-in-hand in search of victims. Everyone the Blob catches (only the outside hand on
either end of the Blob can snatch at players) joins hands with it and becomes part of the
lengthening protoplasmic chain. And thus the insidious Blob keeps growing. Unlike your run-of-
the-mill mad scientist created Blobs, this one is not content merely to ooze along, seeking its
prey. It gallops around the field, cornering stray runners and forcing them to join up. (You'll
have to agree on boundaries for this game; some people will go to any lengths to avoid meeting
with an untimely end at the hands of the primordial slime). Moreover, the Blob can split itself
into parts and, with its superior communal intelligence, organize raiding parties on the lone few
who have managed to escape. The thrilling climax occurs when there's only one player left to
put up a heroic last-ditch stand on behalf of humanity. But alas, there is no defense against
the Blob, and humanity succumbs. (If that seems unfair, well, that's the plot.)
Capture The Flag
Age Group: All Youth
Divide your group into 2 teams, you also need to divide your playing area into 2 equal parts. (We
use a field for the younger youth and the entire camp ground for the older youth). Each team
has to designate an area to be used as a "jail" which can be guarded from 5 feet away. Each
team also has to hide their flag from the other team. If a player from team A crosses onto
Team Bs side, then a member of Team B can tag the member of team A. The Team A member
is then put into jail. Players can also rush or storm the opposite by running over the line to try
and find the flag -- but if you get tagged -- off to jail you go. People in jail can be rescued by
their teammates if their teammate makes it safely to jail. Once she/he does they lock arms
with the jailed teammate and walk back safely to the other side. They cannot be tagged by
their opponent if their arms are linked. Once a team member has picked up the flag and stands
still he/she can not be tagged. Only when they begin to run can they be tagged out. Then they
must drop the flag where they were tagged and does not move from that spot. After the
opposite team's flag has reached it's opponents side--the game is finished.
Centipede
* Source: The Outrageous Outdoor Games Book, page 97
Divide players into two teams. Mark the Start and Finish lines about 30 feet apart. Teams line
up with one person behind the other, facing the finish line. Next, players sit down and wrap
their legs around the person in front to form the body of the centipede. Players' arms become
the legs. When the leader says "Go," players lift with their arms and begin to push the
centipede toward the finish line. If players become separated, they must try and reconnect.
The winning centipede must completely cross the finish line with all its players connected
Dragon

Split the group into two parts. Get them into line and have them wrap their arms around the
waist of the person in front of them forming a long chain. Stick a rag or handkerchief in the
back pocket of the last person. The goal is for the front person of one group to get the "tail"
of the other, while the tail of the group tries to avoid getting caught. Can be done indoors as
well if you have enough room.
Electric Fence
Divide group into two teams. For each team, find two trees close together. Take a length of
rope and create a sort of web by cutting the rope and tying sections together with duct tape.
The teams must get their entire team through the holes of this fence without being
"electrocuted" (touching the rope). First one to do so, wins. A great activity that was a lot of
fun!
Flicker

This is a great large group game for all ages. You need a large playing field. Players should be
spilt into two evenly matched teams and go to different sides of the field. The game is played
like Ultimate Frisbee or Football Frisbee. You will need a volleyball sized ball to play. The
object is to score goals on the opponents end. Players run up and down the field passing the
ball between teammates. The ball cannot hit the ground or it is given to the opposing team. If
the team without the ball intercepts, knocks down, or blocks the ball from the offensive team
it then becomes their ball. The main rule is that they cannot maul the person with the ball.
There has to be four feet between the person with the ball and the defender. Once a person
catches the ball, he/she cannot run with it. He has to pass. The team eventually scores by
catching the ball in the opponents endzone. Both feet must be in the endzone to score. The
game is then restarted from the midfield by the team who just got scored on.
Four way soccer
Four teams are made up of 6 players each (this can be modified to accommodate different
sized groups). Each team needs one captain and one goalie and each team is also assigned a
color. Each team is given a ball which is painted with their "team color." The goalie of each
team wears a belt with three flags of the "team's color." When a goal is scored against a
goalie, a flag is removed from the goalie's belt and is given to the captain of the team which
scored (indicated by the color of the ball that went through the goal). The winner of the game
is the team that first receives a flag from every one of the other teams. Because defense is as
important as offense, the game can be played until all but one of the team captains has every
color. I was thinking of making each of the goals to represent gifts like "faith, hope, love and
charity" instead of using colors.
Iced Marbles Race
Form relay teams of 5-8 teens each (if teams get too large, the youth get bored waiting their
turn). For each team, put about 10-15 marbles in a large plastic dishpan, then fill halfway to the
brim with ice cubes. Then set a smaller container, like a coffee can, next to the dishpan. Set a
chair in front of each dishpan, and have the teams line up facing their chairs from the other
side of the room (so they will be able to see the person sitting there). Have each teen take off
one shoe and wait in their lines. On your mark, the first person from each team runs up to the
chair, sits down, and uses their bare foot to fish out a marble and drop it in the can (they may
not use their hands at all). When they have done so, they run to tag the next person on their
team to get another marble. Play to see which team finishes first (if your teams are not even,
someone will need to go twice). It's a good idea to keep several towels on hand for people to
dry their feet. This game works indoors/outdoors, and can be played any time of year - but is
especially refreshing on a hot summer day!
Movie Madness
Age Group: All Youth
Divide your group into teams. Give each team a video camera. An adult or responsible teen can
be chosen to film. Tell each team that they have several hours to make their own movie. You
can give them a type of movie to make (Action, Sci-fi, comedy) - most will be comedy, no
matter what type is given. They are to come up with the plot, write a script, and film the movie.
The movies should be 30 minutes long. Then have them meet back to watch and eat popcorn.
Give bonus points for getting strangers involved, soundtrack, special effects, etc. Give them as
much or as little help as you want. For more fun, allow no editing. These videos are great to
show at parent appreciation dinners or watchnight services.
Pantyhose Games
BANANA HOSE
Divide the teens into pairs
Give them one banana and half a pair of panty hose(i.e. one leg of nylon)
One puts the panty hose over their head
The other feeds the banana to them through the panty hose
The first team to finish the banana wins
[HINT: slowly works better as you have to strain the banana through the panty hose]
RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED FRESHMAN
Divide the teens into groups of three
Give them one pair of panty hose (with the toes cut out)
Give them lots of balloons (for them to blow up)-- same # of balloons for each team
One student gets to wear the panty hose on his/her head, while the other two blow up balloons
and shove them down the two legs to form Rudolph's "antlers" -- the first team to finish wins.
[HINT: don't blow the balloons up too big or they are difficult to get down the legs of the
panty hose]
Pac Man
This is a fun game for any age and it takes about 15- 20 minutes to play. Choose two
volunteers from the crowd. Have everybody else pair up with a partner and link arms. Then
after everyone has a partner, have the partners spread out a little. Then choose one of the
volunteers to be Pac Man and the other to be the ghost. Hand the ghost a hat or a towel. The
object of this game is for the ghost to touch Pac Man with the towel or hat. If the ghost
does this then Pac Man becomes the ghost and chases after the new Pac Man (old ghost).
There is a catch though. All these partners that are linked up are Pac Mans helpers. At any
time the Pac Man can link arms with a pair of people. When this occurs the person that is on
the far end of the link releases and becomes the new Pac Man. For instance, there is a pair 1
and 2. Pac Man comes along and links arms with partner 1. This means that partner 2 releases
and becomes the new Pac Man. This game continues until the leaders want to break it up. You
can also have 2 ghosts and 2 Pac Mans. The rule about this type of play is that ghost 1 must
chase Pac Man 1 and ghost 2 must only chase Pac Man 2! Have fun!
Sharks and Minnows

This game is good for all ages and it takes about 15-20 minutes. Choose a volunteer from the
group to be a shark. Then split the rest of the group into two sections. One group lined up 100
feet away from the other group, which is also lined up. The groups should be facing one
another and the shark should be in the middle. You should also set up sideline boundaries to
prevent cheating. When the sharks says swim both groups run across to the other side trying
not to get tagged by the shark. If a person is tagged then he/she stops where he/she is and
stands still. Now they become the sharks helpers. They cannot move their feet, but they can
reach with their arms to try and tag the other minnows (the people running across). Once
everybody is either across to the other side or tagged, then the shark says swim again. The
shark and his helpers tag more people. This continues until there is one person left. This
person becomes the new shark. This is a great game to put in for a break from the retreat.
Soap Shrink
* Source: Quick Crowdbreakers and Games for Youth Groups (Group Publishing) page 89
"Create in me a pure heart, O God" or other "cleansing" verses.
Good for any group size. Divide your group into any number of teams. Give each team a large,
new bar of soap. Provide one or more kiddy pools filled with water -- enough pools so that one
person from each team has access to one. (**I used water buckets-- one for each team**) On
"GO" have teams race to shrink their bars of soap without breaking them. Team members will
need to take turns furiously "washing their hands" to shrink the soap. If a bar of soap breaks,
it's disqualified. (**I allowed them to start over with a new bar of soap and try to catch up**)
Call time after five minutes. The team with the smallest bar of soap wins. (**This worked as an
indoor game pretty well -- although a little messy. But the clean-up was easy and fun with
mops**) Award hotel-size bars of soap to winning team members. Take this a step further
and add a brief study of Psalm 51:10
Tetherball Contact Dropout
Source: Serendipity Youth Ministry Encyclopedia, page 22
Age Group: Early and Mid Adolescents
Leader sits on the ground and swings a tetherball violently overhead like a lariat as close to the
ground as possible. Players join around in a circle within range of circling tetherball. When the
leader says "Go," all players must move within radius of the tetherball circle and jump the ball
and rope as it circles under them. If a player is touched or knocked down then they are out.
Tin Foot Two
Source: The Outrageous Outdoor Games Book, page 125
Age Group: Early Adolescents
On an open paved area, draw Start and Finish lines about 10 yards apart. Divide the group into
pairs. Players line up at the start line with partners standing on three tin can stilts, sharing the
middle stilt with their inside feet. When the leader says, "Go," the pairs of players race across
the playground to the finish line. The first pair to cross the finish line wins
Trout and Egg
Age Group: All Youth
Have guys pair up with girls and assume the "camel fight" position (girls on guys backs). Each
guy has a raw egg attached to his head with masking tape. Each girl is given a raw trout (frozen
trout kill people). The object of the game is to break all of the other guys eggs using only the
trout. Last team without a broken egg wins.