YMCA SUMMER CAMPS LOW ORGANIZATIONAL GAMES A Low Organizational Game is just what it sounds like, it is any game (active or passive) that can be played with a group of children that requires little or no equipment and has few rules. These games are a perfect way to begin and end the day, they can be used during transitional periods and can keep even a large group of children excited and involved. The focus of Low Organizational Games is FUN and not skill development. The following is a list of strategies to keep in mind when facilitating Low Organizational Games and sports; Plan Ahead - be organized by having all equipment ready. Avoid making children wait as they will lose interest quickly. Always End on a High Note - Always end the game when the children are having the most fun. This will leave participants anxious and excited to play the game again. Do Not Allow Children to Choose Their Own Teams - When children are given the responsibility to choose their own teams, someone is inevitably "last" and will feel left out. Do Not Eliminate Anyone - This does not mean that you cannot play elimination games. Those who are "out" should start their own game or be involved in some other way. Keep a List of Popular Games - By keeping a list of all the games you know and referring to it often, you will avoid playing the same games over and over again. Create Your Own Games - By changing the rules or lingo, or adding props you can spice up old games. Involve the children in creating new games and adapting old rules. Have FUN - Remember that games are intended to be FUN, use your sense of humour and appreciate the funny side of things. Let s Get Started! Blob Tag You won t need any equipment or set up for this variation of tag Ask someone to volunteer to be it, this game is great for all group sizes and any age will do! Once the person who is "it" tags someone, they hold hands. The two of them try to catch someone else who will join their chain. This continues until everyone is caught. During this game the group must not let go of each others hands.
Partner Tag You won t require any equipment or set up for this variation of tag Ask campers to choose a partner (you may need to help them!) After everyone has a partner, ask a partner group to volunteer to be it AND get ready to go!!! This game works best with older children Have participants choose a partner and "loop" arms with one another. One set of partners starts the game, one being "it" and the other being chased. Once tagged they reverse roles. If they are tired, they may loop onto one set of partners, and the person on the far end is set free, becoming the one who is being chased. Variation; The fox and the hound is a similar game except the stationary partners stand facing one another with their hands on each others shoulders. They may be bumped out of their spot by the person being chased, if that person crawls up between them and puts their hands up on the others shoulders. Clothes Peg Tag You will need to have five clothes pins for each child in your group This game is GREAT for all age groups and for any group size Everyone pins five clothes pegs on the front of their shirts. The object of the game is to get rid of all your clothes pegs by pinning them on others. Watch out because they will be trying to pin them on you at the same time!!!
Subway Tag You will need something to mark boundaries with. This can be pylons or even trees! Other than setting up the boundaries, there is no set up required for this variation of tag. This game works better with older campers and is suitable for up to 20 people. You will need to adjust your boundaries based on the number of children Make up a story about being on a really crowded subway one day, when someone came up to you and said "you're it!" Explain how a game of tag broke out on the subway. Using the area you have designated, have everyone sit down the way they would on a subway. After telling the story, just tag someone and the game will begin. Variation - Open up this game the same way but have participants choose partners. Once on the "crowded subway" partners try to tag one another. Everybody's It Tag You won t require any equipment or set up for this variation of tag Other than setting up the boundaries, there is no set up required for this variation of tag. This game is GREAT for all ages and is suitable for up to 30 campers. You will need to adjust your boundaries based on the number of children This is also known as the world's fastest game of tag, because everyone is "it". Within a designated boundary, each person tries to tag someone. Once tagged you are eliminated, and have a seat wherever you are. Once there are only a few people left, they may be too cautious to go near each other so you may want to introduce a "no stepping backward" rule to speed up the game. Don't be worried about those who have been eliminated, as the game only lasts a couple of minutes, then you can start all over again!
Toss The Chicken All you need for this exciting variation of tag is a couple of rubber chickens! Other than setting up the boundaries, there is no set up required for this variation of tag. This game is GREAT for all ages and is suitable for up to 30 campers. You will need to adjust your boundaries based on the number of children The same as basic tag except for the following; When you are "it" you must cluck like a chicken to indicate so. Whoever is holding a rubber chicken may be "times", but only for five seconds before he/she must pass it to someone else. Use more than one chicken to make it more challenging. Zoo Keeper You won t need any equipment or set up for this active game that is sure to get your group laughing! Everyone gets a partner and arranges themselves in a circle such that one partner is kneeling down in front of the other, facing the middle of the circle. You will need to help younger campers with this. Ask for someone to volunteer to be the zoo keeper One lonely zoo keeper doesn't have any pets and is trying to get yours!!! If he or she winks at your pet, your pet must get up and run over to kneel in front of their new master. If the old master is able to give them a "two handed touch" before they take off, he or she stays. If your pet escapes from you, you become the zoo keeper and the previous zoo keeper takes your spot in the circle
Ladders You won t need any equipment or set up for this challenging race against time game This game is best with older campers and no more than a group of 20 children Have participants choose a partner and sit down across from one another with their legs straight out and feet touching each other. Have each partner do this in a straight line with ample space between them (if you took a picture from above, their bodies would look like a ladder). Assign each set of partners a number. When you call out their number, they have to get up run through the remainder of the ladder, around the outside of the ladder and back to their spot through the ladder it is a race between partners and the first person back wins!!! Try calling more than one number at a time and see what happens. Dodge Ball All you need for this very popular game is a few balls (suitable for throwing at people!) SET This game is GREAT for all age groups, and works best with about 20 campers Have participants form a circle, and have 2 or 3 participants volunteer to go in the middle. Using 2 balls, the participants in the outside of the circle try to hit those in the middle of the circle (below the waist, of course). If someone in the outside of the circle hits someone in the middle they change places and the game continues.
Streets and Allies You won t need any set up or equipment for this variation of tag Children of all ages love this game and it works best with a group of 20-30 campers Line up the entire group into rows and columns. You will need to help the campers get into formation Assign a "tagger" and "taggee". With their arms out stretched in one direction, the group should form "streets" When the facilitator yells out "alleys" the group turns 90 degrees and changes the direction of the lines the players can run in. When the leader yells "streets" the group turns back. The tagger and the taggee cannot cross the lines of the group The object of the game is for "tagger" to get the "taggee" as quickly as possible. Switch players to give everyone a chance to play Fire Ball All you need for this fast paced active game is three balls (suitable for throwing at one another of course!) This game works best with campers 8 years and up and is best with a group size of between 20 and 30 children! This game requires no set up! In this game, there are no teams! Everyone is confined to a large circle (which can be defined by pylons) with numerous balls the more you have the more difficult the game! If a player is hit (below the waist please!) they must stand on the outside of the circle Players may re-enter the circle once they retrieve a ball and hit someone inside the circle OR if the player that got them gets hit The game ends when there is only one person left standing in the middle
Evolution You will need to know how to play rock, paper, scissors so you may have to have a quick refresher with your group before getting started. Just so you know rocks beat scissors, scissors beat paper, paper beats rocks. This game requires no set up and no equipment. The game is designed for older campers and is good for a group of up to 30 campers Everyone starts as egg. Eggs wobble around until they meet another egg, they politely shake hands and play RPS. The winner evolves into chicken and the loser remains an egg. The game continues in the same fashion. Chicken finds chicken, they politely shake hands and play RPS. The winner evolves into crocodile, and the loser remains a chicken Crocodile finds another crocodile, shakes hands, plays RPS. The winner evolves to Dinosaur, loser remains a crocodile. Dinosaur finds dinosaur, they politely shake hands and play RPS The winner evolves into Ultimate Being and struts, the loser devolves remains a dinosaur. You can end the game when someone becomes the Ultimate Being Cat and Mouse All you need for this game is a parachute! This game is GREAT for all ages but you will find that younger campers really like it. You can have up to 30 children (depending on the size of the parachute of course!) The group sits down around the outside of the parachute. A designated mouse goes underneath and tries to hide from the cat who is crawling around on top of the parachute. The group tries to help the mouse by shaking the parachute as quickly as they can. Once the cat finds the mouse, two other children are selected as the cat and mouse
Chuck the Chicken All you need for this game is a rubber chicken, campers and lots of energy! This activity works well with campers of all ages and with up to 20 children! Divide the group into two equal teams. One group lines up (single file pleas!) and quickly passes the chicken over/under, until it is at back of line. While this is happening the other group collects in tight clump, one member volunteers to run around the clump as many times as possible, counting aloud number of times. When the chicken gets to last person in the first line, they chuck it as far as possible The other group fetches it and continues pattern, (lining up with under/over pass) While this is happening, the other group, with a different volunteer runs around clump and continues their count. The wining team must get to 20. SPUD All you need for this game is a ball a Utility ball works best! This game is great for all ages and works best with a group of ten children Assign each player a number.but SHHH it's a secret, whisper numbers in participants ears. The facilitator starts the game by bouncing a ball high into the air and calling out a number. The person who has that number runs as quickly as possible to get the ball, grabs the ball and yells "spud". In the meantime, other players are trying to get as far away from that person as possible, but when "spud" is called, players must freeze where they are. The person who has the ball can then take three steps and try to hit another player below the waist. If the player is hit they get the letter "S", and it is their turn to bounce the ball. The game continues and each player who is hit gets a letter until the word SPUD is spelled. Once a player spells "spud" they are out. This game could continue forever, so be aware of the cues of the participants and finish while they are still having fun!!! You will also want to make sure the person who is out is included in some way perhaps they become a Deputy Spud and catch people if they are moving once SPUD has been called?
Doctor Dodge Ball All you need is a few balls that are suitable to throw at each other! This game is a HIT with all ages and works best with about 20-30 children Same rules as dodge ball apply. Except each team must designate one person to be the doctor. The doctor has the power to heal those who have been hit by going over and touching them. However it is smart to protect your doctor because when the doctor has been hit, no one can save them or anyone else! Sardines You won t need any equipment or set up for this variation of hide and seek This game is GREAT for most ages, although you will only want to play this with children who understand and will adhere to boundaries Choose someone to be it and show campers the boundaries This game can be played anywhere, indoors or out. The goal is similar to Hide and Seek, except that it hides first. Everyone else then tries to find it. When someone finds it, they hide with it in the same spot. The game ends when everyone finds the hiding spot of it
Co-operative Baseball All you need for this game is four bases or other object you can use as a base Divide the group into two teams and play a refresher game of Rock, Paper, Scissors This game works best with campers who understand the rules of RPS Designate 4 bases and outline boundaries similar to a baseball diamond. Start at home plate, one player from team A walks (or runs, crab walks, hops etc.) around the bases counter clockwise, one player from team B walks (or runs, crab walks, hops etc.) around clockwise. When the players meet, they will play paper, rock, and scissors. Winner continues walking, loser retires and next person on team starts around the bases to stop the other team. Once a player has scored, send out another. Hustle Bustle You won t need any equipment or set up for this quick, active game! This game works with all age groups and group sizes! Have campers choose a partner and ask them to line up in two even lines facing their partners (they re gonna need a demonstration!) The caller, which is probably you unless you have asked for a volunteer says, Hustle Bustle, head to head and partners meet in the middle as quickly as they can and have to meet heads. After they meet in the middle they run quickly back to their original spot! Continue to play calling different body parts.
Colours All you need for this fun game is a parachute! This game is good for all ages and for up to about 20 campers (depending on the size of the parachute) Younger children really enjoy this game! Have the group stand around the parachute holding on to the parachute handles of a colour of their choice. Ask participants to make big waves without letting go of the parachute. On the count of three, group members let go of the parachute and the leader calls out a colour. Every one who is holding on to that colour quickly changes places by running under the parachute. BUT be careful, what goes up must come down and you could be trapped if your not quick! Shark Attack All you need for this fun game is a parachute! This game is good for all ages and for up to about 20 campers (depending on the size of the parachute) Younger children really enjoy this game! Sit down around the parachute with your legs underneath it. The facilitator chooses someone to be the shark. The shark will then go into the shark pool and look for victims. (under the parachute) If he/she tugs at your feet, you must go under with them and become a zombie shark. Continue to play until the last player becomes a victim. Don t forget to shake the parachute as quickly as possible to confuse the sharks.
Swat Tag All you need for this game is a large hula hoop and a pool noodle (probably cut in half you don t want it too long) This game works with groups of between 20-30 campers, and is best for older campers! Have everyone stand in a circle. In the middle of the circle place a hula hoop with a pool noodle inside it. The person who is "it" must take the noodle, swat someone in the circle, quickly return the noodle to the hoop (no throwing!) and steal the person's spot before the person gets the noodle and swats you back. If you get swatted before you get to the spot, you are still "it". If you make it safely, the person who you swatted becomes "it". Remember all swats must be below the waist. Minnesota Mosquito All you need for this variation of tag are pool noodles (chopped down in size!) The more noodles you have, the more people who are it This is a GREAT active game for children of all ages and works well with up to 30 campers! Tell a story about a time when you went camping in Minnesota and there were millions of HUGE mosquitoes. Tell the group you spent your entire camping trip running from them! Designate someone to be a mosquito using a soft pointy object as a stinger (maybe a pool noodle?) The mosquito must tag the others using the noodle as a stinger below the waist! Once tagged, campers are frozen until two people (one on each side of you) spray you with some imaginary "off" and say "deep woods off.
Smelly Onions All you need for this active game is campers (so gather them around borrow if you need to) and lots and lots of energy This game is GREAT for all ages and works best with groups of between 20-30 children Have participants sit down in a circle formation leaving a fairly large gap at one point in the circle. Assign each person a "condiment" ketchup, mustard, relish. When the facilitator calls your condiment you have to get up, run around the outside of the circle and back to your spot. The last two people back to their spots become "smelly onions" and have to go into the middle. When the facilitator calls "smelly onions", all of the participants in the middle have to get up, run through the gap in the circle, around the outside of the circle and into the middle again. The first two people back to the middle resume their spot in the circle and become either "ketchup", "mustard" or "relish" again. BUT stay on your toes, if the facilitator calls out "hot dog", everybody gets up runs around the circle and back to their spot again!!! Octopus All you need for this active game is campers Children of all ages love this game. It works best with groups of between 20-30 children Have someone volunteer to be the "octopus" and stand in the middle of the gym (or playing field) Have all other participants stand at one side of the gym, ready to run to the other side. When the octopus calls out "octopus", participants try to run to the other side without being tagged by the octopus. If tagged, you become an octopus and try to tag others as they try to get to the other side. The last person to be tagged wins and becomes the "octopus" next. FUN Alternative Alert! If you are tagged, you sit on the ground where you were caught and become an octopus only you can t move anything but your arms to tag others!
Zombie Campers Balloons String One player is chosen as the zombie Everyone but the zombie ties the balloon around their waist so the balloon is on their back The zombie tries to turn other people into zombies by popping their balloons If your balloon is popped (either by a zombie or accidently) you become a zombie and try to pop other peoples balloons Watermelon Ring Toss 3 Hula Hoops Watermelon Place watermelon 10 feet away from a line of campers Each camper gets 3 tries at throwing a hula hoop Campers take turns trying to throw their hula hoops over the watermelon. Those who successfully throw their hula hoop over the watermelon move on to the next round and the watermelon is moved farther away from the campers Person who can successfully complete the ring toss at the farthest distance is the winner
Human Memory Campers Campers need to get into groups of two Groups of two need to make up a unique action between the two of them One camper chosen as it Campers must sit in a grid away from their partner Person that is it chooses one person in the grid at a time and performs their action. The person who is it must find the pairs as you would in a memory game