GAMES

Blue & Gold Stringer

Baltimore Area Council

People at each table form a team.  Give each team a blue or gold chenille stem and several buttons (as many as will fit on the stem).  At the signal, the first person strings a button on the stem and passes it to the next player, who does the same.  Continue until all buttons are on the stem.  First team to finish is the winner.

Lean-Too

Baltimore Area Council

A good game for the Pack meeting to get the parents involved.  The boys and parents stand in a circle by Dens holding hands.  Everyone numbers off alternately one or two.  On the signal, keeping legs and backs as straight as possible, the players who are “ones” lean forward toward the center of the circle, while the “twos” lean outward.  Players counterbalance each other for support.  Once the group has gotten its balance, slowly reverse the leaners.  Then have the players see how smoothly they can alternate.

Table Upset

Baltimore Area Council

Can be played in a circle or with people sitting at tables (although this can be a little hectic).  The leader stands in the middle of the circle or room and gives each person the name of something connected with a Blue and Gold banquet, such as a dish, knife, spoon, plate, place card, napkin ring, placemat, etc.  More than one person can have the same name.  The leader then makes up a dramatic story of a Blue and Gold Banquet.  As he names each banquet item, the players with that item must rise, turn around and resume their seat.  The leader may mention these items as many time as he chooses.  Suddenly he says:  “The table turned over.”  At this signal, all players must change seats.  The leader sits in an empty chair and the player left standing becomes the new leader.

Blue & Gold Smile

Baltimore Area Council

Divide the group or table into two teams and line them up, facing each other about 10 feet apart.  Name one team “Blues” and the other “Golds.”  Then flip a coin and call out the side that turned up, heads means Blue and tails mean Gold.  If it comes up heads, the Blues laugh and smile while the Golds try to keep sober faces.  The Blues, of course, try to make the Golds laugh.  Any who do laugh must join the other team.  Then flip the coin again.

Toss the String

Baltimore Area Council

You will need a ball of yarn or string for each circle.  Have the group form one or more circles of 15 or less players.  The boy with the yarn starts by calling out another boy’s name in the circle and tosses the yarn to him, being sure to hold the end of the string in his own hand.  The boy who catches the ball must call out another name and toss him the ball, while keeping hold of the string.  The object is to include everyone and create a spider web with the yarn.  The leader then asks one boy to pull on his string while everyone else holds on.  Ask how many boys can feel the string being pulled.  Ask another one to let go of his string and see what happens to the web.  Experiment with the web, have everybody pull or half of them pull.  This would be a good time to talk to them about the importance of cooperation and team work.  It is also an excellent time to discuss the need to help each other when help is needed, and doing it with a positive attitude.

Dressed for the Blue and Gold

Baltimore Area Council

Have the Dens line up for a relay, each with a suitcase filled with the following clothing: old hat, trousers, shirt, jacket or overcoat and tie.  On signal, the first boy in each line races with the suitcase to the center of the room, puts on the clothing, and then scrambles back with the suitcase to the starting point.  He then takes off the clothing and repacks it in the suitcase.  The second boy repeats the performance and so on until all have finished.  First team wins.

Bean Pick Up

Baltimore Area Council

Arrange the players around a table or kneeling in a circle on the floor.  Give each a saucer with two toothpicks and 12 beans.  On signal, see who can be the first to lift out five beans.

Blue and Gold Toss

Baltimore Area Council

One blue team and one gold team.  Have two butter dishes, one blue and one gold.  Each team has a specified amount of change to toss into the dishes.  Team with the most points wins.

Catch A Bear, Wolf, Or Etc.

Baltimore Area Council

Equipment: cup, cut out figures of bears, wolves or etc.

Cut out figures you want to use.  They must fit into the cup.  Place numbers on the figures.  Players all toss several figures in the air and try to catch them with the cup.  Add the numbers on the figures caught.

Blue and Gold Balloon Bang!

Baltimore Area Council

 Relay teams line up at equal distance from group of balloons. Each player races to the group of balloons in front of his line, blows up a blue or yellow balloon, sits on it to pop it and then races back to touch off the next player.

Blue and Gold Source

Baltimore Area Council

 This game is played in pairs. A number of pieces of colored blue and gold construction paper are scattered around the room. Boys are in pairs, some are blue and some gold. Boys are tied together as a pair at ankles with blue ribbon for blue’s and yellow ribbon ‘ for gold’s. Have only as many paper pieces on the floor as you have pairs of boys. A tape player or radio is used for music. When the music stops, each pair must find their color paper and stand on it (only one pair on each sheet of paper). During the music, the Leader removes one sheet of paper so one pair will be without a color. The pair who cannot find their “color” when the music stops is eliminated. Action is repeated until one pair remains.

Nonverbal Birthday Line-up

Santa Clara County Council

This game can be played with children and parents.  Have all the players try to line themselves up according to the month and day of birth, without any talking.  The game is a lot of fun with a large group of people.

Long, Long, Long Jump

Santa Clara County Council

The object of this game is for the group of children to jump collectively as far as possible.  The first player begins at a starting line and makes a jump. The next player starts his jump where the previous person landed.  The players can attempt to improve their total collective distance on successive tries.  This can be played indoors or outside, with a backward broad jump, forward long jump (standing or running), hop-skip-and-jump, and so forth.

Wagon Wheels

Santa Clara County Council

A wagon wheel is created by having about seven children facing each other and joining hands to form a circle.  The wheel then moves in a circular motion around the walls of gym.  Two or three children (the bottom of the wheel) have their backs touching the wall momentarily as the wheel spins along the wall.  The fun increases as the wheel picks up speed.  Try putting the wheel into reverse or changing the speed. 

The wheel can stop by turning itself into a human hubcap.  One child lets go of his teammate’s hand on either side and begins to turn toward the inside of the circle, drawing the line into the center.  This coiling process continues until everyone, still holding hands, is wrapped into a human hubcap.

Pass the Baton

Santa Clara County Council

Have the group form a circle.  Give one person a baton-like item, such as a paper towel roll. Have the group members say the words of the Pledge of Allegiance, a song, cheer, prayer, etc.  The first person says the first word, and pass the baton to the person on his left. The second person says the next word, and passes the baton, and so on until someone makes a mistake. If a mistake is made, that person steps out of the circle. The next person says the correct word, and play continues until only one person is left.  Repeat the game with the Cub Scout Oath, or a new song or prayer.

Tug of War in the Round

Santa Clara County Council

Get a large rope about 24-feet in length and tie (or splice) the two ends together to form a large round rope. 

Four teams line up on the four sides of a square that is drawn on the ground. 

In the center square, the rope is placed opened out into a circle. 

The teams should be equal in size and each team member is numbered off. 

The leader then calls a number, and the four kids (one from each team) with that number grab one side of the rope and try to get back across their team’s line. 

As soon as a player crosses the line (pulling the rope), he is declared the winner. 

Continue the game until everyone has had a try.

You can also try calling out several numbers at once.

Blind Sardines

Santa Clara County Council

This is a good game for large groups.  You will need a blindfold for each player – neckerchiefs work great for this.

To play, one person volunteers to be the sardine.  The sardine may choose to wear or not wear a blindfold. 

All the other players wear blindfolds, and their objective is to come in contact with the sardine. 

As the players roam around the room, when one player touches or bumps into another, he grabs the other player and asks, “Are you the sardine?”

The sardine must answer, “Yes” if asked.

Once a player finds the sardine, he must hang onto the sardine for the remainder of the game and becomes a sardine too. 

Eventually more and more players are bumping into the line of sardines and adding themselves to the chain.

 The game is over when everyone has become part of the sardine chain.

Domino

Santa Clara County Council

This is a game that is as fun to watch, as it is to play.  It’s also easy to play and requires no props. 

Teams line up in single-file lines parallel to each other. The lines should have the same number of people, and everyone should be facing toward the front of the line. 

At a signal, the first person in each line squats, and then each person in turn squats, all the way to the end of the team’s line. (You cannot squat until the person immediately in front of you squats first.)

The last person in line squats and then quickly stands up again, and in reverse, each person stands up in succession, instead of squatting. 

The first team with the person standing at the front of the line is the winner. 

This game works best with at least twenty people in each line (the more the better).  Have the teams try it several times for speed.

Alphabet Pong

Santa Clara County Council

This is a good game for a den activity. Have the boys from a circle, with each boy holding a book (hardcover) with both hands.  One player takes a ping-pong ball, hits it with the book across the circle, and calls, “A.”  The person on the other side then returns it to someone and calls, “B,” and so forth.  The circle works together to see how far down the alphabet then can go before they miss.  There is no particular order for hitting the ball.  Anyone can hit the ball when it comes to him or her, but no one may hit the ball twice in a row.

Blind Volleyball

Santa Clara County Council

Split the boys into two equal teams. The two teams then get on each side of a volleyball court and sit down either on chairs or on the floor in rows, arranged like regular volleyball. Hang a blanket over the net so that a solid barrier is form and obstructs the view of the other team. The divider should also be low enough that players cannot see under it.  Then play volleyball, using a big, light plastic beach ball instead of a volleyball.  Regular volleyball rules and boundaries apply.  A player cannot stand up to hit the ball.

Trust Tag

Santa Clara County Council

This game is played like regular tag, except that the players play in groups of two. One partner must wear a blindfold. His teammate guides him by keeping his hands on his blindfolded partner’s waist and shouting directions. The object is for the blindfolded player to tag another blindfolded player.

Bumper Box Relay

Santa Clara County Council

For this game, you will need a large refrigerator box for each team. Each player stands with the box over his head and the open end at his feet. At a signal, the players race to the opposite wall (or goal) and back while their team shouts directions to them from behind the starting line.  The boxes can be decorated ahead of time at a den meeting.

Human Obstacle Course

Santa Clara County Council

Each team lines up single file behind a starting line. Ten additional team members are used as the obstacle course: a standing pole to circle around, a leg tunnel to go under, kneelers on all fours to leap over, sitters with outstretched legs to step in and among, another standing pole to circle around and back to the starting line. At the signal, the first person runs the course, then the next person, and so on. If an obstacle is missed or improperly executed, the runner must repeat that obstacle.

Ping-Pong Ball Relay

Santa Clara County Council

This is a good party game for a den meeting.  Give the boys a ping-pong ball and a party blower (the type that uncoils when you blow it), and have them line up at the starting line. Each boy is to push their ball across the floor using only their blower.  He cannot blow directly on the ball or touch it in any way with the party blower.  The first one across the finish line wins.

PASS YOUR INSTRUMENT

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials Needed: none

How to Play:

Players sit on the floor in a circle.

Each player chooses an instrument they want to represent. He must then decide on an action that will represent that instrument.

To begin play, have everyone demonstrate their instrument's action. Then one player is chosen to be the Conductor and stands in the middle.

One player begins by making the sign of his instrument and then makes the sign of another player's instrument.

The player whose instrument's action was made must then make the sign of his instrument and then the sign of still another player's instrument and so on.

This is to be done without letting the Conductor see any of the actions. If the Conductor catches any player making the actions of an instrument that player becomes the new Conductor and the old Conductor sits in that player's place.

THE HANDY BALLOON GAME

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials Needed: Many balloons of various colors inflated

How to Play:

On the signal "go" all balloons are tossed into the air. Players then try to keep them in the air as long as possible by batting them up with their hands. You may want to give specific directions to go with different colors of balloons. For example, red balloons may only be hit with the left hand, green balloons may only be hit with the head, all other colors must be hit with the right hand.

Any balloons that fall to the ground are considered out of play and cannot be picked up and restarted.

After 30 seconds the game director sounds the signal to "stop" and the balloons still in the air are caught and counted.

Compare how many your group has left to other groups or the last time you did it.  Or do it again and try and improve.

This is really fun when done as teams.

CUB SCOUT DRESS UP RELAY RACE

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials Needed: 2 sets of large or extra large Cub Scout, Boy Scout, den leader, or Scout leader uniforms, 2 American Flags in stands

How to Play:

ü                   Flags in stands are at one end of the playing area. The two sets of clothing are in a back pack, bag or suitcase about half-way down the playing area.

ü                   Divide players into two teams and have them stand in lines at the beginning of the playing area.

ü                   On the word "go" the first boy in line runs to one set of clothing. He opens the container and puts on the clothing. He then runs the rest of the way to the flag.

ü                   The player salutes the flag and runs back to the clothing container. He removes the clothing and puts it back into the container making sure to close and fasten the container.

ü                   He runs back to the beginning and tags the next boy in line. The next boy repeats the process. This continues until everyone on the team has had a turn.

ü                   The first team completely finished is the winner.