Ready-to-use Games + Ice Breakers: Outside Games

For a free pdf download of this resource click here

MEGA DODGEBALL

Imagine if dodgeball was… bigger.

Take the basic rules of dodgeball, but expand it to a bigger playing arena. Split your group in two and place a few balls in the middle of your playing space, with teams at either end. When you start the game, everyone and every ball is in play; don’t split your field in two, but allow everyone to run everywhere. Players can be dismissed by being hit beneath the shoulders or by having one of their throws caught. The last team standing wins.

CAPTURE THE LEADER (IN A WHEELBARROW)

Flags are SO 1990s.

Capture the flag is a youth work staple – we’ve all played it and all love it, but who cares about flags these days? Has anyone ever looked at a flag and thought, ‘Well that definitely needs capturing’? You know what do need capturing? Leaders… welcome to Capture the leader (in a wheelbarrow). Simply take the rules of capture the flag, but replace the flag with a leader in a wheelbarrow.

Split your group and your big space in two and give each team a leader in a wheelbarrow whom they have to hide and protect somewhere in their space – give each team five minutes to do this. Once that time is up the game begins with each team in their half. Their task is to capture the opposition’s leader and bring them and the wheelbarrow back to their half without being caught (tagged). Anyone who is caught is out of the game and in ‘jail’ (a place of your choosing). At any point you can declare a jailbreak to free all the prisoners. The game ends when a leader is captured and taken to the other side.

YOU CAN’T MAKE AN OMELETTE WITHOUT FINDING SOME EGGS

In Britain omelettes might not make a whole meal but in France they are un-oeuf.

We often talk about breaking eggs to make an omelette, but we have to find them first, and this game will test your group’s seeking and cooking skills. Simply split your team in two and provide each with rudimentary cooking equipment. When you say go they have to search the area to find the ingredients for a simple omelette; obviously these include eggs but after that it’s up to you – personal favourites include cheese, ham and mushroom or spinach and goat’s cheese. The first team to find the ingredients, cook and eat a three-egg omelette wins.

BOOBY-TRAPPED HIDE AND SEEK

Everyone likes hide and seek (kind of), but what if it could last longer?

Start a normal game of hide and seek in your space but inform people that once they’re found, they should then count to a number of your choosing while the person who found them goes off to hide and the process repeats. This goes on until a particular person if found. This young person – who you will have prepared beforehand – should be hidden with a water pistol; when they are found they should attack the seeker with the liquid shooter and the game starts from scratch.

SHELTER BUILDING

They’ve only got themselves to blame…

This is a simple one: split the group into teams of five or so and give them some shelter-building equipment (bamboo canes, bin bags, tape or a tarpaulin if you’re feeling generous). Tell the group they’ve got 20 minutes to create a shelter (using what you’ve given them and anything in the space you’re playing in) and at the end of the time their dens will be ‘tested’ to see how strong and waterproof they are. Leave them to build and at the end of 20 minutes tell them to get in their shelter. Gather buckets, water pistols and anything else you can to launch water at the shelters – the better their den is, the dryer they’ll stay!