Bandaid Tag
One person is “it.” Whenever someone is tagged by “it” they must hold a bandaid (their hand) on the spot where they were tagged. Then the game continues. When someone runs out of bandaids, (they get tagged three times), they are frozen until two other people come over to them and “operate.” The two other people need to tag the frozen person at the same time and count to five. Let the game continue for as long as it remains exciting and fun. Switch the person who is “it” often.
Kingpin
Kingpin is similar to the game Jailbreak. This activity works well with groups sized from 14 to 50+ kids.
Each team has 5 cones or bowling pins set up roughly 20-30 feet from a mid-line. On each side, there is also designated a jail for the other team, a 6′ x 6′ mat works well. Line up all balls, rubber-coated foam ball are best, on the mid-line.
Teams should line up behind their cones or pins. On “go,” the teams rush the mid-line to gain control of the balls. After a countdown from 5, the players may start to throw the balls in an attempt to knock down the other team’s cones or pins. The first team to knock down the other side’s cones or pins is declared the winner. (Once a pin is knocked down, even by the team guarding it, it must remain down.) This is the FIRST way to win.
While attempting to knock down the cones or pins, players may also be knocked out by being hit with a ball OR having their thrown ball caught on the fly by the opposing team. Once out, the player must cross to the other team’s jail. While in jail, should any “jailed” player catch a ball thrown to them by their own team, everyone in the jail gets a free walk back to their side. If a team knocks out ALL the players on the opposite team, they win the match. This is the SECOND way to win the game.
Monarch
Set-up—Create boundaries for a playing area. Make it big enough for the group to have enough space to run around safely. Choose a ball that is heavy enough to be thrown but not so heavy that it could be painful to the players. Gator balls work very well.
Play—The game begins with one Monarch. This person starts with the ball and is technically the “It”. As the only Monarch, this person can run with the ball and try to hit another player with it. As soon as another player has been hit with the ball they become a Monarch as well and game play changes slightly. With more than one Monarch whoever is holding the ball can NO LONGER MOVE WITH IT. All the other Monarchs can move without the ball but the person with the ball must stand still. The ball can be passed from Monarch to Monarch in an attempt hit other players with it creating more Monarchs. Play the game until there is one person left.
Check- In—Occasionally, it will be necessary to find out who the Monarchs are and who they are not. The leader of the game will call out “Monarchs show yourselves!” At this point, the game is paused and everyone who is a Monarch must crouch down and touch the ground. The game continues when the leader says “Monarchs go get them.”
Jessica Herrell, Department Intern, loves to play games… in fact, that’s what she studied in college! Jess posts lots of games on the blog, so check them out to find some you can use.