GAMES
Indian and
Rabbits Game (for 2 players)
SCC Council
Materials:
Cardboard scrap
12 identical buttons (same size or color)
Tools:
Set Up: Cut a square
piece of cardboard, large enough to accommodate a row of the 5 identical
buttons in both directions. Depending on the size of the buttons, find a
large coin or other circular object to use as a pattern, and draw 5 rows of 5
circles each on the cardboard. Arrange the buttons on the circles as shown
below. The one different button is the Indian and the rest are rabbits.
Object: The rabbits
win if they corner the Indian so he cannot move, and the Indian wins if he
captures all but one rabbit.
Rules: One player controls all the rabbits and the other controls the
Indian. The Indian makes the first move. The Indian and the rabbit can move
one space at a time, either up and down (vertically) or left and right
(horizontally), to a vacant space. (Diagonal movement is not allowed.) The
Indian captures rabbits by jumping over one into a vacant space, and may make
successive jumps where possible. The rabbits cannot jump or capture the
Indian.
Pilgrim Went To Sleep
Heart of America Council
Everyone stands in a
circle. The first player begins by saying "Pilgrim went to sleep." The rest of
the group answers "How did pilgrim go to sleep?" The leader then says "Pilgrim
went to sleep like this, like this," repeating a small gesture such as nodding
the head or twisting the wrist. The rest of the group mimics the gesture and
answers "like this, like this." The entire group continues to repeat the
gesture as the next boy in line says "Pilgrim went to sleep," and the others
respond as before. The second boy adds another gesture to the first, so that
now there are two movements to keep going. The game continues around the
circle, each player adding a gesture. By the end of the game, the entire group
should be a foot- wiggling, eye-blinking, head-shaking, nose-twitching mess.
Try to add as many gestures as possible before the game totally falls apart.
Since it is difficult to do more than ten gestures at once, you may not get
everyone in the group, but the challenge is to see how far you do get. Start
off slowly with small things, such as toes and fingers, and work up to the
bigger things, such as arms and legs. But whatever happens, don't get too
shook up !
Corn
Pitching
Goldenrod
District, Mid-America Council
You will need a good-sized bowl and 6 kernels of corn.
Each player takes turns pitching the corn kernels, one at a time, into the
bowl from a set distance. The leader must keep score of how many kernels end
up in the bowl. The winner is the one with the highest score after three
rounds.
Turkey
Feather Relay
Goldenrod
District, Mid-America Council
Divide into relay teams. The first player of each team
is given a long turkey feather. At the word "Go" each throws his feather,
javelin style, toward the finish line. As soon as it comes to earth, he picks
it up and throws it again, and continues until he crosses the finish line. He
then picks it up and runs back to his team to give the feather to the next
player and play continues until the first team has all players finish.
Fox and Food
SCC
Council
Materials: Handkerchief, stick, beanbag or other distinctive object.
Objective: Fox is to guard its food while predators try to steal it.
How to Play: One person (fox) stands guard over food source
(distinctive object). Everyone else (predators) forms a circle around him and
tries to steal the food without being tagged by the fox. The fox can move as
far from the food as he dares. When tagged by the fox, the predator is frozen
in place unit the end of the game (when all are tagged or someone steals the
food).
Variation: Blindfold the fox, forcing it to use other senses besides
sight. Rather than tagging the predators, the fox has only to point directly
at an intruder to freeze him.
Cornucopia
Goldenrod District, Mid-America Council
This is essentially the old "Fruit Basket Upset" game
with a Thanksgiving name. The players sit on chairs facing toward the center
of the circle. There should be one more player than there are chairs. The
player without a chair is the center. An adult should name each of the
players with a Thanksgiving related name like Squash, Corn, Apple, Turkey.
After everyone is named, the center calls out two of the names, "Corn and
Apple." Those two players must leave their chairs, and with the center, try
to get to an empty chair first. The one left standing is the new center. At
any time, the center can also call "The cornucopia has tipped over!" Then
everyone scrambles for a new chair. Again, the one who ends up without a seat
is the new center. A player keeps his same name throughout the game. A name
can be given to more than one person to make the game even more exciting.
Turkey
All eyes closed (option: use
blindfold or sacks over the heads). The leader whispers in one boy's ear,
"You're a turkey." Keeping eyes closed, each boy finds another's hand, shakes
it and says "gobble gobble". If both boys say gobble, the two boys drop hands
and go on to someone else. The turkey remains silent throughout the game. A
boy who gets no response to the gobble has found the turkey, and becomes part
of it by holding on the turkey's hand and remaining silent from then on.
Anyone shaking hands with any member of the turkey becomes a part of it, and
the Turkey grows larger and larger until everyone in the playing area is
holding hands. Once the group has become one giant turkey, the leader asks
that all eyes open.
Old Time Picnic Games
Southern NJ
Council
SNJC recommends you have a pack picnic, maybe immediately following the
Scouting for Food events and play some good old time picnic games. The picnic
can be a Pack Thanksgiving celebration for all the food collected for Scouting
for Food. Commissioner Dave
Sack race: use gunny
sacks from a granary or sew part of an old sheet into large sacks, boys get in
sacks and hop to finish line.
Three-legged race:
partners stand next to each other, left leg of one tied to right leg of the
partner.
Wheelbarrow race: One
cub moves on his hands as partner hold up his legs.
Potato on a spoon:
participants race to line holding large potato on wooden spoon, transfer it to
next team member, continue until entire team has raced with the potato.
Tug o' war: match
teams by number and size, use a long, heavy rope with a bandanna tied in
middle. This is great fun if a mud puddle is used between the teams.
