Tag: Circle Games

Charades…with a Twist

Phil Houtz May 6, 2016 Uncategorized

The game of Charades is huge fun for a group. But some people – particularly high school age people – don’t like being put on the spot. Here are two twists on the classic parlor game that will help you keep things moving, active and tons of fun.

Charades Relay

Divide your group into two teams, and have them line up on opposite sides of a large room. The teams should face away from each other so that neither team can see what the other is doing. There should be enough room so that each team’s Actor can stand in front and perform.

Game play starts with one player from each team racing to the center of the room where you are standing with a list of titles of books, movies or plays. This player must race back to the area in front of their team and quickly act out the title. As soon as a team guesses the title correctly, the next player races to the center of the room and gets a title. The game ends as soon as one team has successfully guessed the titles presented by each of their Actors.

Because the game is fast-paced your Actors will have little time to feel self-concious about standing in front of the group and acting silly.

[Idea courtesy Playworks]

Reverse Charades

This is a simple twist on classic Charades – instead of one person acting out a movie or book title while the rest of the group guesses, you have the entire group doing the acting and one person guessing.

What you need: large, easily readable cards with the title of a book, movie, or play on each one.

To play the game have your Actors form a line or semicircle and your guesser sits or stands in front of the group. You stand behind the guesser and show the group the card, which they then must act out.

To keep your game moving you can combine this with Charades Relay.

[Idea from Youth Leader Stash]

Game of the Day: You Go Find It

Phil Houtz August 25, 2010 Games, In a Pinch

They say that your attention span is like a muscle – the more you exercise it, the better it gets. Here’s a game that will help your youth group get in shape…or just have a lot of fun.

For this game have everyone sit in a circle close enough to reach your neighbor. Choose one person to be “it,” standing at the center of the circle.

The game starts when “It” closes his eyes and counts to ten. The group begins to pass a small object such as a marble around the circle from hand to hand. “It” tries to catch people in the act of passing the object…but there’s a twist. Other people in the group are pretending to pass the object as well.

If “It” catches someone red-handed with the object then that person becomes “It.” However, if “It” guesses wrong he can delegate his “Itness” to his hapless victim by saying “you go find it.” Here’s where it pays to pay attention. If the person chosen to “go find it” has been alert it should be no problem for her to find the marble. If she finds it, then she doesn’t have to be “It.” If not, she takes her place at the center of the circle.

Game of the Day: Signs

Phil Houtz August 20, 2010 Games, In a Pinch

Signs is a great game to play with your youth group whenever you have a few people sitting around without much to do. It’s a basic circle game with one person who gets to be “it.” The object is for the people in the circle to pass a hand signal from person to person without getting caught in the act by the person who is “it.” This may seem like a simple challenge, but it’s a lot trickier, and funnier than you might imagine.

To start off, everyone needs his or her own “sign.” This sign could be a tug of the earlobe, a scratch of the chin or a flash of a peace sign. The simpler the gesture the better – a lot of arm flapping will make you easier to catch.

The play starts with “it” in the center, eyes closed and counting aloud to ten. The last person who was “it” starts the game by catching a neighbor’s eye and flashing that person’s sign. The neighbor accepts the sign by flashing her sign in return. She is now vulnerable to be caught by “it” until she can pass the sign to someone else in the circle, which she does by making that person’s particular gesture. It’s pretty simple and the sneakier you can be, the better.

Once the person who is “it” has counted to ten he can open his eyes and start guessing who has the sign in her possession. There is no penalty for making a wrong guess but it’s not good form to fire off names machine-gun style. The game is more fun when “it” uses deduction, observation and quick ninja-like spins to see what’s going on behind his back.

Say, for example, that Chad is “it.”

As he counts to ten Trudy tugs her ear to pass the sign to Luke. Luke tugs his ear to receive the sign.

Chad opens his eyes facing Luke but doesn’t guess Luke’s name. Luke waits until Chad is looking away and then flashes Susan’s sign – making crossed eyes.

Now Chad is looking straight at Susan. “Do you have the sign?” he says.

“No,” she answers honestly. Susan hadn’t yet “received” the sign from Luke. So Chad, figuring that the sign is behind him, spins and looks straight at Luke.

“Luke, you’ve got the sign!” Chad says. But while his back was turned Susan crosses her eyes, receiving the sign and then points her finger like a gun to pass the sign to Dana.

This game is easier to play than it is to write up. And it’s a lot of fun.

Game of the Day: Odds and Evens

Phil Houtz August 18, 2010 Games, In a Pinch

Odd or Even? | Image Sarah Tanti via Slideshare

This is a quick little mixer for those times when you have a lot of people who don’t know each other.

Form a circle and have the players count off “Odd” or “Even.” Players should learn the names of the people to their right and to their left.

Pass a ball around the circle while playing music. When the music stops the person holding the ball must introduce the people to her right and left. After the introductions are made, have the Odds move clockwise one person and the Evens move counterclockwise one person (practice this a couple times before starting the game.)

Keep the game going a few rounds until you think a sufficient number of people have been introduced.

To make things more lively you can have the players bat a beach ball back and forth. In this case the last person to touch the ball when the music stops is the person to make the introductions.