Mike and Phil’s pocket

No Prop

Human Rock Paper Scissors – The group is split into 2 teams and they will be shown the “proper” Rock, Paper, and Scissor positions. For rock the group is to drop low to the ground and try and make themselves “ball like”. For paper, you will stand as tall as you can with your legs spread apart and arms reaching up and out as high as you can resembling the letter “X”. For paper you will reach your arms straight out in front of you and clap your hands and arms together, resembling the “Gator Chop” (BOOOOOOO!!!!).

The 2 teams will have 1 minute to huddle and come up with a position that they will portray 1st with 2 back ups in case of a tie. Both teams will stand at the center of the field on opposite sides of the mid line. On the count of “rock, paper, scissors, shoot” the teams will demonstrate their symbol. Whichever team wins will then try and tag as many of the opposing teams players as possible before the successfully cross the end line behind them which is located about 20-25 feet from the center line. Any player that is tagged before they cross the line will become a part of the other team. In cases where a tie is reached then the teams will “recount” and use their 2nd choice and 3rd if necessary. If all 3 rounds end in a tie then the teams will re-huddle and come up with 3 new options.

The ends when all players are on 1 team. All players on each team must show the same sign at the line.

Giants Wizards and Elves - This game is played just like human rock paper scissors only the positions are different. A giant is portrayed by standing straight upright with your hands extended directly above your head as high as you can reach. The Wizard is shown by extending one arm out in front casting a spell and the elves is shown by squatting down low to the ground. Giants beat wizards, wizards beat elves and elves beat giants.

Same You’re Outta the Game / Tie-U-Die

Number of players: Any number

Equipment needed: None

Activity time: 7-10 minutes

How to play: This is a clever variation to the Rock, Scissors, Paper game. In "Same You’re Outta the Game," players play until there is only one player left in the group. To begin, have all participants get a partner. Play using basic RSP rules. Have all participants with their partners turn back-to-back and on 3 they turn around and display one of the above signs. If you lose, you sit-down. If you win, you go and find another player that has won and will challenge them. If, at any time, two players "Tie" (do the same sign), they both die and are out of the game. Variation: Instead of RPS, you can use the following signs:

• Gorilla - Up on toes, arms raised, and growling • Bow & Arrow – Squat down as you act like you are shooting a bow & arrow and say, “ Boink!” • International sign for Mankind - Hands folded across chest, head tilted

Determining the winner follows these progressions:

• Man controls the Bow & Arrow so the man wins. • Bow & Arrow can “Boink” (shoot) the Gorilla so the Bow & Arrow wins over the Gorilla. • Gorilla can crush/hug the Man so the Gorilla wins over the Man.

“Photo” hunt - This game is played with a partner. One person is the photographer and the other is the camera. The camera stands in front of the photographer with their eyes closed. The photographer will “trust walk” them around the area with their hands on the camera’s shoulder. The photographer will walk them around the area and take 3 pictures. To take a picture the camera will be hear “click” or some other camera cue noise. That is their cue to open their eyes for 2 seconds and then to shut them. After all three pictures are taken the camera will be walked around in a confusing manner back to the start. It is now the job of the camera to see if they can find the exact locations that they took their pictures.

Silent interview -For this game, participants will be split into groups of 2 and given 3 questions. One person in the group will try and “answer” those 3 questions without any verbal communication. It is the job of the other participant to try and figure out what they are being told. Once the partners have switched roles and both have had their opportunity to answer the questions they can share to see if they were correct. For added fun if anyone has a really good demonstration feel free to allow them to showcase it for the whole group. Some examples of questions are favorite food, book, movie, etc…

Yee Haw -

Camouflage - This is a game that can be played anywhere and kids love it. Establish some kind of boundaries, for example you can not go more than 25 feet from where I am standing. The way the game is played is one person screams “camouflage” and then they begin counting with their eyes closed for a predetermined amount of time, lets say 15 seconds. Those that are not counting are running out and trying to camouflage or hide from the counter or “it”. Once the 15 seconds is over “it” will try and look around them to see if they can find anyone. “It” is not able to move their feet, they must stay in one place at all times. After “it” has found as many people as they can they will count again with their eyes closed, this time lets say for 5 seconds. During this recount those hiding will try and make their way closer to “it”. The game is won when a person can successfully avoid detection and tag “its” foot during the countdowns. You can recount as many times as you would like or until all players have been seen or won. Avalanche - This game can be used in transit from one location to another. As your group is making their way to an area someone will scream, “avalanche.” Once this happens campers have 5 seconds to get them selves out of the way of the avalanche. This is achieved by getting yourself off the ground for a full 3 seconds. This can be by balancing on a rock, hanging from a stable tree limb, or any other safe and creative way campers come up with.

Cherokee sticks - This is one of those mental teasers. You can tell a story about how the Native Americans needed to communicate but they all spoke different languages. In order to trade the “Cherokee’s” developed a number system that all of the tribes understood. Tell them that you have learned this system and would like to see if they can figure it out.

Start out by gathering a few small twigs or rocks. What you will do is assemble the sticks or rocks in some type of pattern in front of them. The real number is not shown by the objects in front of them, it is represented you the # of fingers that you are showing in the background. For example, I place 6 rocks in a circular pattern, when I ask them what number they see I have placed 3 fingers on the table or ground behind my pile of rocks. The answer to my question is 3 because that is how many fingers that I am showing, the rocks are just a distraction. It doesn’t matter how many objects are in front of them, it is fun to change it up each time. Let them see if they can figure out the secret.

Polar bear game - This is a mental teaser. The phrase Between ______, and ______, and ______, how many polar bears do you see. The goal is for campers to figure out “how many polar bears there are”. The answer is in the questions. It is determined by the number of words said after your third boundary marker. So the answer to my example is 7. Another example is, between beber, Perlman and dc, how many polar bears are there. The answer is 6. Give the phrase a few times and then give answers, over time kids will start to see the pattern.

Minute mysteries- There are many different riddles that can be solved by using yes or no questions. I will try and make a book of them. I have a book that we can give title too

Johnny woops - This is a repeat after me game with a mental twist. You will demonstrate to campers a pattern and tell them that they must do everything that you do. Start out by holding your left hand out in front of you with your fingers spread apart. With your right hand and starting with your pinky you say the name Johnny. You repeat Johnny for each finger on your hand making your way towards your thumb. After your index finger and before you reach your thumb you say the word “woops” as you slide your right index finger down and back up towards the tip of your thumb. Once at your thumb you say Johnny and make your way back towards your pinky making sure to slide up towards the top of your index finger again saying the word woops. Your phrase will be, “Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, whoops, Johnny, whoops, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny.” Once you complete the phrase you cross your arms. This is the trick to the game. Campers were instructed to do everything that “I” do. This is the small detail that will drive them nuts. If they perform the task correctly, tell them that they are correct but they should not tell anyone else the answer.

Hand pass game, no idea what the real name is - This game is hard to word on paper, but it is a lot of fun. The game starts out with everyone sitting around a table in a circular fashion. Everyone takes their right hand and places it on the in front of the person on their right. Then you place your left hand in front of the person on your left make sure to place it over the right hand of the person to your left. The game starts with someone clapping a hand on the table and saying either right or left. Once the direction is established the beat or clap on the table is passed down the row of hands in order. An important note is that the order is determined by hands on the table and not by where you are sitting. Once the group has practiced and is getting the hang of it you can add the twist of the double clap. When this happens the direction is reversed. There are a few ways in which players are eliminated. First off, if a player claps out of turn: for example I clap before the hand on my left and it was actually their turn or direction was reversed and I was no longer next in line and I clap. Another way to be eliminated is a delay in the game. This is a fast paced game and if you take more than 2 seconds to go you will be out.

Finger jousting - This is a two person game, but tournaments are easily created. Two players will square off; to start them will each put their right hand out in front of them and grab their opponents thumb. To play you will extend the index finger of you right hand. The object is to tag your opponent with your index finger anywhere on their person that is not their right arm from the elbow to the adjoined hand.

High - Shake - Down

Number of players: Any number

Equipment needed: None

Activity time: 1-3 minutes

How to play: This is an interesting way to have your group mingle and be in touch with each other in a low risk fashion. Begin by sharing that all participants will be welcoming each other using a repeating series of three different physical and verbal greetings. The first physical greeting of the cycle used is the classic “High 5,” the second, a regular handshake, and the third a “Low 5” (hand below waist with palm forward). Explain that all physical greeting will be accompanied by a verbal greeting. When “High 5ing,” participants will greet the person with a “Hi!” When shaking hands, participants say: “what’s shakin,” and when “Low 5ing,” participants say: “waz goin dooooown!” Start by having all participants in the “High 5” position and then remind them that the greetings are done in a cycle (High 5, hand shake, Low5, High 5, Hand shake, Low 5, etc.) and that the greeting position must be held until finding another participant with the same physical greeting before cycling to the next greeting.

Props

Monster/Ultimate… (large sheet of paper and writing utensils) - Campers can be split in groups of 2-6 for manageable group’s sizes. Each group will be given a large sheet of butcher paper and writing utensils. To start campers will take their sheet of butcher paper and lay it on the floor. One person from the group will lay down on the paper and have their outline traced. Once their person or “monster” has a shape there are a few different directions you can go. For monster have the group come up with things that they all have in common and try to combine them for a group total. For example, shoe size. Have all the members of the group add their shoe sizes together and our monster has a shoe size of 25. All the members of my group like to hike so our monster has hiked 3589 miles, and so on. In the end give groups an opportunity to share the highlights of what makes their monster unique.

For the Ultimate… campers will be asked to demonstrate what their definition of the ultimate ____ would have. For example, what traits do you think the ultimate counselor has? As groups come up with these things they will label what it is and where is comes from on the body. Some answers might be ears because great counselors listen. Campers will be creative and in the end let them share what they have come up with.

Nose Jousting (masking tape) - This game starts out with each person getting a piece of masking tape. Have them roll the masking tape into a circle with the sticky side exposed outwards. The tape will then be placed on the tip of each person’s nose and the jousting will begin. To joust players will approach an opponent and without the use of anything other than their tape they will attempt to remove the tape from their opponent. As players lean in and make contact tape to tape they will pull away and one person will have tape and the other will have a blank nose. The winner moves on to another opponent and the loser will become part of the cheering squad for the winner. The cheering squad lines up in conga line fashion behind the winning person. In the end there will be 2 jousters left in a winner takes all event.

Warp Speed (tossable) – Warp speed is a good goal setting game. It starts out with a group tossing an item and establishing an order. Before the object is thrown to someone they must say the person’s name that they are throwing it to. For example, I have the object and I wanted to throw it to Michael, I would say “Michael” and then throw him the ball. Each person in the group needs to get the ball one time and the ball can not be thrown to the person directly next to them. Once the last person has received the ball it is returned to the person that started off with it.

Now that the pattern is set ask teams to set a goal, “how long will it take you to pass this ball around the circle using the same pattern that you just established? The rules are that if the ball is dropped you must start over with the 1st person and time does not reset. If a person name is not said and you throw the ball to them we will restart.” The group will set their goal and see if they can make it.

The next time I like to say, “Ok, this time how long will it take for all of you to touch the ball, remember you still need to say each others names.” Let them work on goal setting and see if they can beat their time. Sometimes there is someone in the groups paying attention and if you allow it, my directions allowed for them to hold the ball as a group and all together shout their persons name.

Group Juggle (tossables) – This game can be set up the same way that warp speed is set up. Once the pattern is established we will start to add objects to the system. For example round 1 there is 1 ball, and round 2 there is a ball and a chicken. Round 3 you may bump up to 3 items moving forward and then you add 1 item moving in reverse. The goal of this game is to talk about juggling your schedule and how do you set priorities. Clouds (webbing) – This is a good game to play after Pizza toss. Have the groups throw their pizza as high into the air as they can and then they need to get out of the way. The webbing will land on the floor and create an outline. It is very important that no one touches the webbing from this point on. Explain to your group that they are not to talk from this moment on. It is important to say that immediately so they do not say things during your directions.

The next step is to talk about cloud watching on a nice day. “in front of you we have our cloud. I want you all to look at our outline and try and see if you can see anything in front of you. When you see something put your thumb up and we will share in a moment. Feel free to move around and look at the webbing from different angles.”

Once people have had enough time to look and a majority of the group has an answer we can start sharing. Express to campers to explain what they see so we all can see their vision. For the debrief talk about perspective and why we saw what we saw. Some people say the same things, others saw different, why is that?

Supportive name tags (paper, writing untensils) – Start with a name tag or a piece of paper. Tell each person to write their name. Once the group has written their name on their paper have them pass the paper around in the circle. Each person is to write 1 or 2 positive words or things about the name on the paper. In the end the person will have a nice keep sake that tells them what people think of them.

Light House (blind folds, objects) – This game takes groups of 3. We will start out by calling them person A, B, and C. Person A looks out onto a field or space. Their job is going to be to see, but they can not use ANY verbal communication. Person B will stand about 3 feet away and facing person A. Their job will be to speak, but they can not turn around and look at the space behind them. The final job of person C is to have a blind fold on and listen to person B. The game is played by placing an object out in the field or space. Each group will have an object that they are responsible for and their goal is to direct person C to their object and bring it back to person B.

One team one beat (rope) – For this game a rope will be set out in a straight line and the whole team will stand on the same side of the rope. The goal is for the whole team to tap their foot at the same time 5 times consecutively and there can be no verbal communication of any kind. If the team is not in unison they must start over. Some extra rules can be that 1person can cross the line and speak at a time; however, the beat can not start until all members of the team or on the silent side of the line. Also, you can limit the # of times that a person can cross the line.

Soft and Slam (penny) – This game is played by splitting a group into 2 teams. One team starts out with the penny and the pass the penny back and forth among their team until the opposite team say stop. At that point all hands must be put in front of them and the opposing will ask for “soft or slam”. A soft reveal is done by all the members of the team slowly opening their hands and laying them flat on the table. A slam has the team slamming their hands down on the table. Once all hands are on the table a guess is made where the penny is located. If the team is correct they will get a point and the game will be played to a determined amount. Pulse (coin, object) – The group will be split into 2 teams. They will sit in a straight line facing one another. At one end of the line there will be an object and at the other will be a facilitator with a coin. Starting with the end of the line with the facilitator each person in line will place their hand on the knee of the person next to them heading down towards the object. The instructions are that every time I flip the coin and heads is showing you will send the pulse down the line. There can be no verbal communication at all, the pulse, or squeezing of the knee of the person next to you is how the signal is transmitted. The goal is that when the pulse is properly sent to the end of the line the first team to grab the object will win that round. A properly sent pulse is when heads is showing, if tails is showing and someone grabs the object it does not count. When a team wins a round, the person that grabbed the object makes their way to the front of the line to where the facilitator is and takes that first slot and the team shifts accordingly. The game ends when a team has made it through the entire team in all locations.

Clothes pin game (clothes pins) – There are a few different versions of this game. One is that each person is given a clothes pin with their name on it and they are to attach it to their person and it must be visible at all times. The game can last as long as need be and the goal is to steal everyone’s clothes pin without them knowing. If you are caught removing the pin then it doesn’t count. Also any pin that is successfully stolen is to be worn in a visible location and is eligible to removal as well. At the end of the game the person with the most cloths pins is the winner.

Another version is to hand each person multiple clothes pins and establishes a boundary area. There will be an allotted amount of time for players to try and attach their clothes pins on other people as well as any clothes pins that are attached to them. At the end of the game, the person with the least amount of clothes pins on them wins. If a clothes pin does not successfully attached and immediately falls to the ground then the person that attempted to attach it has to pick it up and it still counts for them.

Personality crisis (index cards, pens) – For this game there are to be index cards labeled in pairs with famous duos or pairs of people. For example, 1 card will be labeled batman and the other will be robin. To play, you will affix a card to the back of each player without them know what the card says. The game begins when all players have their cards. The object of the game is for people to find their pairs without the use of verbal communication.

“6”

Number of players: Any number in small groups

Play site: Any area

Type of game/activity: Energizer / Just-4-Fun

Equipment needed: Paper, Pencils,

Activity time: 5-7 minutes

How to play: To begin, place 1 pencil/marker in the center of a table/circle, give each player 1 piece of paper, and select a person to start the game. This player takes the die and starts the game by rolling the die to the person on his/her left. If a six (6) is rolled, the roller quickly grabs the pencil/marker and starts to write as fast as s/he can numbers sequentially from 1 to 75. If a six (6) is not rolled, the next person rolls the die and this action continues until the first six (6) is rolled by one of the participants. As a player is writing numbers other participants in order quickly roll the die trying to roll a six (6) for themselves. As soon as the next six (6) is rolled that person grabs the pencil/marker from the writing player and s/he begins writing numbers on their piece of paper. The above action continues with the next player rolling a six (6) grabbing the pencil/marker and starting to write their series of numbers. If a player who has already started writing his/her numbers rolls a six (6) again, they pick up where they left off writing numbers in their quest to reach 75. Play continues until someone reaches 75. Remember . . . roll quickly and get that pencil/marker as fast as you can. This is a quick game and it draws quite a bit of excitement and laughter! The winner must have his/her paper checked to see if they wrote all the numbers.

“33”

Number of players: Any number in small groups

Play site: Any area

Type of game/activity: Energizer / Just-4-Fun

Equipment needed: 1 Die per group

Activity time: 5-7 minutes

How to play: Players sit in a circle close enough to take turns throwing a “die.” The object of the game is for each player, in turn, to roll the die and as a group, add up the spots as quickly as possible to reach “33” or more before the other groups do so. If any player in the group rolls a 6, the whole group must shout out “Unbelievable!” After this shout out, the group continues to play, but must start again at “0.” The first group to make it to “33” (or over) assumes the dead bug position (on back with arms and legs in the air) and starts to chant, “33, 33, 33 . . . “

Cup Up

Number of players: Any number

Equipment needed: 20-30 plastic cups

Activity time: 7-10 minutes

How to play:

Divide all participants into 2 or 4 equal teams (depending on your numbers). Once divided, explain that one team will be designated as the “cup up’s” & the other team as the “cup down’s.” What does this designation mean? Simply this . . . if you’re on the “cup up” team your responsibility is to turn cups up and if you’re on the “cup down” team you turn cups down. Scatter all cups into the center of the play area and explain that on the “GO” command participants are to either turn individual cups up or down as quickly as possible. Play for .30 to .45 seconds and stop the action. Count the number of cups that are up vs. the number that are down and the team with the most is declared the winning team for that round. Play several round or to a predetermined number of points to determine the Cup Up Champion.