Feet frustration
You will need: a small paddling pool, smelly feet, marbles and Rice Krispies. With those elements, what on earth could go wrong?
15 minutes
As for any game involving a paddling pool, step one is obviously to blow up said paddling pool before filling it up with water (you can use any liquid - maybe even pour in some blackcurrant cordial to darken the pool). Pour in the Rice Krispies (other popped rice cereals are available) so that there is a layer on the top of the water. Drop in the marbles, spacing them evenly around the bottom of the pool.
Split the young people into teams. One member of each team plays at a time; each player has a minute to get as many marbles out of the pool as possible using their toes. This could be made harder with a blindfold or you could also have things hiding in the pool that they will lose points for, such as a toy dinosaur, other small plastic toys or a toothbrush. The marbles represent stars collected for their team. Count up each team’s ‘stars’ and put them back in the pool. After everyone has had a go, the team that has collected the most ‘stars’ wins.
Carry on karaoke-ing
You will need: an array of young, hip, trendy songs, a tarpaulin for your youth group to stand on, and gross things to pour over their heads. Look up the lip sync battle with Melissa McCarthy on YouTube for ideas.
10 minutes
Don’t let the Justin Bieber lip syncs be for young people alone - this game is your time to shine. A member of each team must suggest a song to which they would like to lip sync. They can sing them on their own, in pairs or in groups. They will then mime the words along to their chosen song. These could range from Tina Turner to Skepta but watch out for explicit language, you know what Tina is like…!
You might want to warn the singers that the fun doesn’t end there. While they are performing their best lip sync songs, you will attempt to throw stuff over them. This can range from water, to baked beans, to flour. The aim for the singer is to complete the song while you do this. You can shorten it to just a verse and a chorus if the songs are too long. The winners gain a certain number of stars depending on how good their lip sync was and if they completed the challenge.
Just to reiterate, they must be made aware that they are likely to be covered in some kind of awful gunge and that they can shout out: “I’m a teenager, get me out of here” at any stage of the proceedings.
Australian animals
You will need: a number of volunteers (young people or leaders) and a designated area as a base.
15 minutes
Each volunteer for the game is told to act out an Australian animal, for example a koala bear, crocodile or kangaroo. The volunteers are then to embody the characteristics of their animal, ie kangaroos can be quick and jump up and down but koala bears are to move more slowly. The aim of the game is for the young people to get as many of the animals into the base and out of the ‘outback’, but they’re not allowed to physically move any of them. In teams they must create circles around the animals and guide them into their base.
The ‘animals’ are worth different amounts of stars depending on how difficult the animal is to catch. Those who have volunteered to play the game can make up their own rules about how easily they escape from the base, how easily they are to be captured etc.
Top Tip: Get volunteers for the game earlier so that they know what animals they are and how to play so when you explain the game they are already prepared and ready!
Top Top Tip: If you have animal onesies this can be amusing but very warm for the kangaroo!
Bush tucker trial
You will need: a number of horrible things to eat - it is possible to buy edible bugs online. Perhaps a risk assessment of the ‘inedible’ edibles will need to be done by the leaders first.
10 minutes
This is a good time to get young people to volunteer for the game and to go head-to-head in this trial. The aim is to get through the starter, main course and dessert. Present the young people with horrible food that they will have to decide to eat OR shout: “I’m a teenager, get me out of here.” A different number of stars should be allocated for each meal. Those taking part are not allowed to nominate someone else to eat it for them and they have to show that there is no food left in their mouths once they’ve finished. You can make this game longer by having two different menus.
Top Tip: Ant and Dec impersonations are an extra added bonus for any of this month’s games.
