Action Games
Below are Samples from “The Games Box”
When you pre-order this fantastic resource you you will automatically receive a 50% discount on that purchase, a free guide on how to organise a games session and these sample games from “The Games Box” in a form that you can print out and use as individual cards.
ALL CHANGE!
Players sit on chairs in a circle. Each player is given a number. The player with the highest number removes her/his chair from the circle and stands in the middle. That player calls out any two numbers and the players with those numbers must exchange seats. While they are changing seats, the caller tries to sit in one of their chairs. Whoever is left without a seat is the next caller. After a few plays, tell the “caller” that s/he can call out more than two numbers at a time. On the call, “All Change!” every person has to change seats.
Required: 1 chair per player
ANACONGA
Ask players to get into a line, one behind the other, with hands on the hips of the person in front. Explain that this is a “conga” line and the object is for everyone to move around together as if they are all parts of a rhythmic anaconga snake.
- Get them to stretch out the line fully and compact it tightly, (while still keeping hands on hips) at slow and fast speeds as if it is a spring. Get them to sway, lean, ripple, wriggle and undulate.Get them to experiment at moving around the space harmoniously.
- The next stage is to ask everyone to think of a song, a rhythm or a step. Explain that the person at the head of the line will lead the line by, singing, sounding or stepping, and that all the other members of the “anaconga” will follow this lead and perform the same sounds and movements as a harmonious part of the whole “creature”.After the leader has completed a lap or two of the space, depending on the size of the area, he or she must peel off and join onto the back of the line leaving a new “head” to take over with a new rhythm, song, sound or movement.Continue until everyone has had a turn at the head. For small groups you may want to run through the line more than once.
ANYONE WHO
Players sit in a circle on chairs. The leader is in the middle and explains the rules of the game. When the person in the middle calls out something participants have on, have done, have seen etc, they must leave their chair and move to another one, but must not sit on the chairs either side of the chair they are on. The person left without a chair (the leader is participating) becomes the person in the middle, and calls out the next criteria for moving. The person in the middle must speak quickly and clearly.
VARIATIONS: Participants crawl, moonwalk, walk backwards (start with hands on chairs), run, twist, skip, jump to chairs.
Required: chairs (1 less than the number of players)
BLACK AND WHITE
Players are divided into 2 teams: “Black” and “White”. The teams stand in lines facing each other. The leader throws a cardboard disk (one side of which is black, the other is white). Depending on the side of the disk that faces up (white or black) the players of one team try to catch the players of the other. The team that has the greatest number of captives wins. The players may begin catching their rivals only at the leader’s command “White!” or “Black!”
Required: a cardboard disc coloured white on one side and black on the other
CITIES
Some circles should be drawn (1.5 m in diameter) on the ground. The circles should be at a distance of about 2m from each other. Each circle has the name of a city: Moscow, Washington, Berlin etc. The number of the circles is one less than the number of the players. At the leader’s command, players take their places in one of the circles. One of the players ‘the refugee’ has no ‘city’ of his/her own. The object of the game is for ‘the refugee’ to occupy any vacant cities. The object of the players is ‘to tease’ ‘the refugee’. They decide to exchange cities behind his/her back with the help of gestures and then run to each other’s circles. In this moment ‘the refugee’ can take up any of these circles. The player who loses his/her circle becomes ‘the refugee’.
Required: chalk circles with the names of cities drawn on the ground (one less than the number of players)
DROP THE HANKY
All players except for one (player A) are seated in a circle. Player A walks around the outside of the circle holding a handkerchief behind her/his back. At any time s/he chooses, s/he drops the handkerchief behind one of the players. That player (player B) gets up, picks up the handkerchief, and runs after A trying to tag her/him. If s/he succeeds before A gets back to player B’s seat after running around the circle, A must once again go around the circle. If A reaches B’s seat without being tagged, B must go around with the handkerchief and the game starts all over again.
Required: a handkerchief or similar
FRUITBOWL
Players sit in a circle on chairs. Each one is given the name of a fruit in sequence, e.g. apple, orange, pear, banana /apple, orange, pear, banana / and so on until everyone has a fruit name. Select one player to stand in the middle of the circle. The person in the middle calls out the name of one of the fruits allocated and all players with that fruit name must dash out of their seats and run to another chair. They are not allowed to go back to their own chairs, and in large groups they are also not allowed to simply move to the seat next to theirs. As the ‘fruits’ are changing places, the person in the middle must also try and find a seat. When everyone has swapped seats, there will be one person left in the middle again. S/he calls out the name of a fruit and the whole process begins again. When ‘FRUIT SALAD!’ is called everyone changes places.
Required: chairs (1 less than the number of players)
HIDDEN NAMES
Players form a circle in the middle of the room by placing one foot towards the centre. Each player has been allocated a chair that has been placed around the perimeter of the playing space. The leader calls out a statement or sentence in which one of the student’s names is disguised. Upon hearing his/her name this person tries to tag the other players as they run for the safety of their allocated chairs. Anyone tagged is out. If no one is tagged, the player whose name was called is out. The leader may use the names of any of the players. If the leader calls out the name of a player who is out the players in the circle are supposed to remain where they are -any players who try to run back to their chairs are out. The players should be made aware that tagging is done gently.
Required: 1 chair per player
HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR NEIGHBOURS?
Players are seated on chairs in a circle. One player is selected as ‘middleman’ to start the game. S/he goes up to someone and asks “How do you like your neighbours?” That player has a choice of 2 answers:
1) “I like them very much”, at which everyone must get up and switch chairs while the ‘middleman’ tries to get a chair. Or
2) ” I don’t like them at all” at which the ‘middleman’ replies,
“Who do you like?” The player replies giving the names of any two people in the circle. Those 2 people must exchange seats without allowing the ‘middleman’ to get their seats.
Whoever is left without a chair asks the next question.
Required: chairs (1 less than the number of players)
KITTY IN THE CORNER
This is a classic children’s game. 4 to 6 players stand at corners of a square marked out on the playing area with tape or chalk. One player stands in the middle. 2 players try to make eye contact, and switch places. The player in the middle tries to capture a corner.
MONKEY IN THE MIDDLE
Players stand in a circle. One person is chosen to be the ‘monkey’. A ball is thrown around. The ‘monkey’s’ objective is to get the ball and the group’s objective is to stop her/him from doing so. If the ‘monkey’ catches the ball then the person who threw the ball takes his place as the ‘monkey’.
Required: a ball
For a comprehensive set of games cards for every age group, every occasion, in 11 different categories, look at “The Games Box” .
Harry Tawse | 
July 16, 2009 11:59 am
1 Comment
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By Nagaraju, January 21, 2011 @ 4:08 pm
very very good.