Jelly Baby suicide
If this game was a menu option it would be bangers and mash. Classic, simple, but when done well there is little that is more pleasurable.
5 mins
This is a simple two player game that works best upfront, with representatives from two teams competing in front of the group. All you need are a bag of Jelly Babies and two people who are willing to get a bit sticky for Jesus (or at least for a game). Explain that the basis of the competition is to see who can stick the most Jelly Babies to their own face.
Toss a coin to see which player goes first, and then pass them the first Jelly Baby. They have to bite the head off the innocent confectionary, before sticking the remaining part of the Jelly Baby to their face. Play then passes to their opponent who has to do likewise. Play passes between the two competitors to find the person who is able to stick the most Jelly Babies on their visage!
If you have a lot of Jelly Babies and a small enough group you could play this as a game where everyone plays simultaneously, eliminating those who failed to stick a new Jelly Baby to their face at the end of each round.
Wotsits ? What’s that?
If this game was a menu option it would be strawberries and balsamic vinegar. Unpleasant and messy sounding, but a surprisingly good combination.
10 mins
This team game requires shaving foam and Wotsits, as well as an easily cleanable surface to play on. Divide your group into equal teams, and get each team to find a member willing to be a target. Carefully cover their faces with shaving foam, making sure to leave a gap around the nose for breathing, and avoiding the eyes as it can sting! Give the other team members a packet of Wotsits each and get the foam-faced targets to stand or sit a short distance away their team (about two metres).
Get the rest of their teams behind a line and explain that their job is to take it in turns to throw the Wotsits at their teammate to try to get them to stick to their face. The winning team will be the team with the most Wotsits stuck to the shaving foam at the end. You don’t need to set a time limit, just ensure that each team has the same number of packets of Wotsits to throw, (one bag per team member is ideal, budget allowing), but ensure that any Wotsits that are thrown and don’t stick aren’t re-thrown.
Once each team has thrown all the Wotsits count up the ones that stuck to the shaving foam and declare one team the winner. Provide a bowl of water and towel for washing the foam off faces give the winning team a bag of shaving foam-free Wotsits.
Skittle sort
If this game was a menu option it would be red Thai curry. Bright, colourful, potentially quite spicy, but definitely worth the effort.
5 mins
For this game you need a big bowl of Skittles, enough straws for each player to have one each, and one empty bowl per team. The aim of the game is for teams to collect as many Skittles of their allocated colour as possible using their straws and the power of suction (ensure the straws aren’t wide enough to suck a Skittle right up into the mouth).
You can have as many teams as there are different colours in the packet of Skittles, although don’t feel the need to use all the colours unless numbers absolutely dictate - having a spare colour which no-one wants to collect adds an element of challenge.
Divide your group into equal-sized teams and place an empty bowl for each team at one end of your playing space. Place the bowl with all the Skittles in it at the other end of the hall equally accessible to all the teams, and get your teams to line up by their empty bowls.
If your group is small enough (anything under a dozen) you could allow them to go for the Skittles all at the same time, and the ensuing chaos becomes part of the challenge of the game, but otherwise get your teams into lines and allow team members to go up one at a time in a relay manner, and, only using the straws, attempt to pick up an appropriately coloured Skittle and transport it back to the teams bowl. Any Skittle that falls off a straw is counted out of the game (and safely removed from under feet by a helpful leader), and the player must return to their team and allow the next player to go up and have an attempt.
After an appropriate length of time call an end to the fetching, and count up how many Skittles each team has in their bowl. Subtract one for each wrong colour skittle that has been transported into the wrong bowl.
Hot chocolate dust
If this game was a menu option it would be tiramisu. You probably shouldn’t eat too much of it, but it’s just so good. Also, it is dusty.
5 mins
This is a tastier variation on the classic cracker-whistle challenge. Get your group into a circle and go around it, one at a time, offering a chance to take up the challenge. The twist is that instead of eating a cracker, they have to eat a dessert spoon-full of hot chocolate powder, and instead of whistling they will be judged by the rest of the group as to how clearly they can say a sentence such as, ‘My youth leader is amazing, and when I grow up I want to be just like them.’ (Or any other equally plausible and affirming statement that you can come up with.) Get the rest of the group to rate their efforts out of ten.
Provide a glass of water (and possible a spittoon) for any who take up the challenge and wish to be able to speak properly again.
