Bowling Elimination

Number Of Players
8+

What You Need
Two cones or posts
Football

How To Play
Players line up and take it in turns to bowl a ball between two posts set out about 20ft away from the bowling line. If the players gets the ball he re-joins the back ready for the next round. If the ball touches the post or goes wide then they are out. After each round the posts get closer. Continue until you a left with a winner.

Duck , Duck, Goose

Very simple game, nothing required, great for burning off some energy.

Number Of Players
10+

What You Need
Nothing required

How To Play
The children sit in a circle, facing inwards. One child is chosen to be the 'Picker'. The 'Picker' then walks around tapping each player in turn on the head or shoulder, calling each a 'Duck' until finally picking one to be a 'Goose'. When this happens the 'Goose' gets up as quickly as possible and chases and tries to catch the "Picker", while the "Picker" tries to return to and sit where the 'Goose' had been sitting. If the picker gets back to where the 'Goose' was sitting the 'Goose' is now the new picker and the process begins again.

If the 'Goose' catches the picker then give the child a big cheer and choose another 'Picker'

Minute Monkies

Fantastic game if you need to calm things down a little.

Number Of Players
Any

What You Need
A watch with a second hand or mobile phone etc

How To Play
All the children sit down, crossed legged with their hands on their heads. Explain that after you've said 'Go' the children must count out a minute in their minds and when they think a minute is up put their hand up quietly. The winner is the one who is guesses closest to sixty seconds.

Snow Balls

We play this game at our Christmas Party. This game has two parts, the making of the snow balls and the throwing of them. Great ice breaker (excuse the pun)

Number Of Players
Any group above 8

You Will Need
Several old newspapers cut into single pages. Two ropes or long garden canes

How To Play
Split the group into two equal halves. The two groups are placed at each end of the room. Place the rope or canes in the centre of the room about 8 foot apart. The ropes / canes represent a river bank. The two groups are therefore on opposite banks with a river dividing them.  On your command each group has 5 minutes to make as many snow balls as possible. Then after five minutes you shout 'Snowball fight!'. The two groups then throw the snowballs at each other. Any falling in the 'river' are deemed to have melted and you remove them from the game. Continue until the children are exhausted (unlikely) or all the snowballs have melted.

Noah's Ark

Number of Players
Any even number. Ideally 8+

You Will Need
A bowl, hat or box in which are placed cards with matching animal names on. Same number of cards as players.

How to Play
Best to prepare this game before hand. On each card write down the name of an animal which makes a distinctive noise. Each animal must have a partner so each animal should be written on two cards. Put the cards in your container. Each child then picks out a card and looks at it without anyone else looking at it. The children then impersonate the animal written on the card and try to find their partner. This game is very noisy buy great fun.

Hunt the Thimble

This is a very old classic game, but it still works and is great fun for small children

Number of Players
Any number

You Will Need
A thimble or any other small object

How To Play
All the children except one leave the room. The child left hides the thimble in the room. The others return and 'hunt the thimble'. Whoever finds the thimble has the next turn of hiding the thimble.

Flappy Fish!

Number of Players
2+

You Will Need
A paper fish cut from a piece of paper for each group playing plus either a book, carpet square, newspaper etc for each child playing.

How to Play
Split the children into groups of about 3 or 4. For each group cut a fish shape from an A4 piece of paper. Give each child a book, a newspaper or something to flap to make a wind with. (At Beavers we use carpet squares that the children sit on). Each group stands behing their fish. The object is to 'flap' at the fish without touching it from one end of the room to the other. The winner is the team to reach the other side of the room first.

This game is best on a non carpeted floor.