Get That Marshmallow Game

Materials:
15 marshmallows, 3 strong rubber bands, string, tape

Directions:
String up three sets of five marshmallows in three lines on the ceiling using tape. Call up three kids. Then have them put a rubber band that is attached to something (or someone) stable under their nose. The goal is for the kids to race forward and eat all five marshmallows in front of them first.

Man on Fire

The ending from Man on Fire is a brilliant illustration of Christ-like sacrifice. John Creasy (Denzel Washington) gives his life so that Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning) can have life, just as Jesus' death gave us life.

It could very effectively be used as part of a club talk or a campaigner lesson. Plus, it's a really good movie and kids know Denzel and Dakota Fanning.

Inversion Relay Mixer

Materials:
marking tape

Directions:
Divide into teams of 15 or 20. Have everyone stand in order between two lines (marked out by marking tape) that are 18 inches apart. On a signal, #1 changes with #20, #2 with #19, etc. without moving outside of the lines.

Beach Ball Waddle Relay Mixer

Materials:
2 beach balls, 2 cones

Directions:
Split group in two teams. Each team sends two people at a time. The couples lock arms back to back and hold a beach ball between them. They try to get around a cone and back without dropping the ball.

Raw Biscuit Relay Mixer

Materials:
raw biscuits

Directions:
Split into several teams. Teams pass raw biscuit on their foreheads to see which team can complete the relay first.

Clothes Relay Mixer

Materials:
2 sets of clothing

Directions:
Split into two teams. Have teams line up parallel to each other. First person in each team puts on their set of clothing (sweatshirt, sweatpants, hat, etc.) and runs to the end of the room and back. The next person puts on the clothes and runs to the end of the room and back, etc. Race to see which team completes relay first.

Human Scrabble Mixer

Materials:
cards with letters on them, string

Directions:
Two groups of kids line up at the front of the room. Each kid gets a letter hung around his or her neck on a card. All the letter in each group spells a word, but it is all scrambled up. At a signal, each group must arrange themselves to properly spell the world. The first group to do so wins.

Brother and Sister Game

Materials:
3 chairs, large sheets of paper, 3 markers

Directions:
This game is very similar to the Newly Wed Game, but instead of newlywed, use three brother and sister couples. They must work together to score the highest points possible to win. The brother is sent out of the room and the sister answers a series of questions about her brother. She records her answers on a large sheets of paper. When the brother returns, he sits in a chair with his sister standing behind him holding up her written answers. If their answers match, the couple gets a point. Repeat this process by sending the sister out of the room and asking the brother to answer questions. Tally the scores and award the prize. The answers are usually hilarious.

Questions to the sister about her brother:

1. What is the dumbest thing your brother has ever done?
2. What is his favorite food?
3. What do you dislike most about your brother?
4. Describe your brother in one word.
5. What is the meanest thing he has ever done to you?
6. What does he spend most of his time thinking about?
7. If you had one wish, what would you wish about your brother?
8. What is his favorite TV program?
9. How often does he take a bath/shower?

Questions to the brother about his sister:

1. What does your sister spend most of her time doing?
2. If you were your sister, what would you change about yourself first?
3. About how many arguments do you have with her each week?
4. Who obeys your mom and dad best, you or your sister?
5. How old was your sister when she kissed her first boy?
6. What animal is your sister most like?
7. What is your sister's favorite subject?
8. How long does she talk on the phone each day?
9. Does she chase boys?
   

Cookie Tower Game

Materials:
Ginger Snaps or Nilla Wafers

Directions:
Get teams of 3 up front. Each team member is armed with cookies. (Ginger Snaps are usually the best; however, Nilla Wafers will do in a pinch.) Within one minute, the team members must stack their cookies, one on top of the other, on one person's forehead. The team with the most cookies stacked wins.

Bagpipes Mixer

Materials:
none

Directions:
Divide your group into three sections. The first section (of just guys) sings "oh" continuously while lightly hitting their Adam's apples with the side of their hands. The second group sings "ah" and rhythmically pinches their noses giving both a straight and nasal tone. The third group holds their noses and to the tune of "The Campbells Are Coming" sings using the "da" sound. Done correctly, this really does sound like bagpipes, provided the kids can keep from laughing.

Stuff 'Em Mixer

Materials:
pairs of pantyhose, (blindfolds)

Directions:
Divide the group into teams of four kids each. Give each team a pair of pantyhose and explain that the team will have two minutes to place as many personal items as possible into the pantyhose. (You may want to have extra items on hand just in case some teams come up short.) Each item should be inserted through the waist end of the pair of pantyhose without tearing them. Declare the team with the most items inside the pantyhose the winner. You could try blindfolding participants too.

Kid's Shapes Game

Materials:
3 shape sets, 3 blindfolds

Directions:
Get three of the little kids toy that has all different kids of shapes inside that has to go through the right holes in order to get inside. Blindfold all three participants and have them race to see who can finish the quickest. Possibly even put all the pieces in one big pile.

Build A Firm Foundation Mixer

Materials:
Lincoln Logs sets

Directions:
Divide the group into teams of six players or less. Provide each team with a Lincoln Logs set and have them build the biggest structure they can in an allotted amount of time.

Puffed Up Mixer

Materials:
balloons, rolls of masking tape, obstacle course

Directions:
Divide the group into two or more teams with three to four people on each team. Give each team a roll of masking tape and thirty balloons. On your command, have members of each team roll the masking tape (sticky side out) around one of their teammates below the neckline. Next, have kids blow up their balloons as quickly as they can and stick as many as possible to the taped-up team member.

When the balloons have been attached, have the player go through the obstacle course and back to the team. Balloons that fall off during the race can't be re-attached. The team that has the most balloons still attached when the balloon person finishes the obstacle course wins the game.

Soap Shrink Mixer

Materials:
bars of soap, kiddie pools

Directions:
Divide into teams. Give each team a large new bar of soap. Provide one or more kiddie pools (enough for everyone to have access) filled with water. On "go" have teams race to shrink their bars without breaking them. Call time after five minutes. Award hotel-sized bars of soap to the team with the smallest bar of soap.

Who Do You Love Game

Materials:
none

Directions:
Take three kids out of the room. Bring them in one at a time and ask them to say, "who do you love?" The idea is for them to say the actual words, "who do you love?" The audience is clued in on the joke.

Straw Mumble Game

Materials:
6 straws

Directions:
Have six kids up front and give each one a straw. They must get the entire straw in their mouth without using their hands. It's harder than you think. The first person done wins.

Straw Contest Game

Materials:
straws, cups, water

Directions:
Each contestant receives two straws and a cup of water. One straw is to be put in the cup and the other is not. However both straws are to be inserted in their mouth (makes it hard and funny to have them drink). Then they race to see who can suck the water out the fastest.

Dark Draw Mixer

Materials:
sheets of paper, pens, prize

Directions:
Everyone in the group is given a sheet of paper and a pen. They are given five minutes or more to draw what they want. But the lights are all turned out during the time of drawing. The pictures are judged and winner gets a prize

Strawless Relay Game

Materials:
3-4 straws

Directions:
Have three or four kids put one end of an ordinary drinking straw in their mouths. Have them all start at the same time and try to get their mouth from one end of the straw to the other without using hands (only mouths and tongues).

Screaming Contest Game

Materials:
none

Directions:
Hold a screaming contest. Judge for loudest or most impressive.

Balloon Blow-Up Game

Materials:
balloons

Directions:
Have three co-ed teams. The girls holds the balloon while the guy blows it up until it pops. Switch. They race for most balloons popped in a set time.

Sunglasses Spit-Wad Game

Materials:
2 sunglasses, 2 straws, paper

Directions:
Put sunglasses on two kids. Two other kids will try to get the most spit wads on their sunglasses using straws.

Shoe Tie Mixer

Materials:
shoes with laces

Directions:
Divide all the people into groups of three. Taking turns, have two people untie and then retie the laces of the group with one person using his left hand and the other person using their right hand. Put a time limit on it. Race against two groups.

Grape Toss Mixer

Materials:
grapes

Directions:
Divide into teams of about ten. Each team gets into a circle and appoints one member to be the grape tosser. He gets a bag of grapes and stands in the center of the circle. When the signal is given, he tosses a grape to each team member in the circle, on at a time, and the team member must catch the grape in his mouth. The tosser cannot toss to the next player until a successful catch is made. The first team to toss all the way around the circle is the winner.

Kool-Aid Taste Off Game

Materials:
3 chairs, 3 packets of Kool-Aid

Directions:
Ask three volunteers to sit in chairs facing the rest of the group. On a signal they each open a different flavored packet of Kool-Aid. They then lick just one finger and dip it into the packet. The person who in that manner is the first to eat all of the Kool-Aid in the packet wins. It's hilarious because they do not anticipate it being so sour, and they usually end up with it all over their lips.

Blanket Mixer

Materials:
blanket

Directions:
Make sure everyone knows everyone's first and last name. Divide the group into two teams on each side of the room. Two leaders hold a balnket up in the middle of the room. Each team puts one person in front of the blanket. On the count of three, the leaders drop the blanket. Each person tries to say the other person's name standing on the other side of the blanket first. The faster person captures the other and brings that person over to their side. Continue until each person has had roughly two chances. The team with the most perople wins.

Musical Squirt Gun Game

Materials:
2 squirt guns

Directions:
Have a group of six or seven up front. A loaded squirt gun is passed around until the music stops or until the leader says, "stop." The person who is holding the squirt gun at that time must leave the game. But before he leaves, he may squirt the person on his left twice or on his right twice or once each. The last person is declared the winner.

The gun must be passed with two hands and received with two hands (otherwise it will be frequently dropped and may break). It is best to have a second loaded squirt gun on hand to be substitute for the empty one. An assistant can refill the original gun, while the second one is being used. Be sure to emphasize that only two squirts are allowed, or you will be continually refilling the squirt guns.

Name That Person Mixer

Materials:
index cards, pens

Directions:
Divide into two even teams. For larger groups, divide into four teams and have a playoff with the two winning teams and two losing teams. Give each person a blank index card and have them write five little known facts about himself and sign his name. (Examples: I have a pet snake, my middle name is Hortense, I was born in Mexico City, I hate pizza, etc.) Collect all the cards and keep separate stacks for each team.

The game is now ready to play. The object is to name that person on the card that the leader draws (from the other team's stack of cards) in as few clues as possible. Begin by opening up the bidding between the teams, (for example: "we can name that person in five clues!" or "we can name that person in four clues!" etc.). The team that wins the bidding has five seconds to guess after the reading of the appropriate number of clues. Appoint a referee.

Play-Doh Pictionary Mixer

Materials:
cards, 2-4 cans of Play-Doh

Directions:
Player sculpts objects for their team to guess, then passes the Play-Doh to a teammate. Have cards of words or phrases that would work (possibly use duplicate cards for each teams and time the teams).

Sleeping Bag Wrestling Game

Materials:
2 sleeping bags

Directions:
Have four people come up front. Put sleeping bags over two of them as they stand on their knees. They have to wrestle the other person to the floor. Then have the next two go, and finally have a championship round. Usually the heaviest person wins so try and pick people that weigh about the same.

Variation:
You can play a trick on one of the kids, by taking the bag off of the girl in a girl vs. guy round.

BB Butts Game

Materials:
2 frying pans, BBs, 2 straws

Directions:
Girls hold frying pans over their butts while guys shoot BBs through straws and see how many times they hit.

Gum Un-Wrap Game

Materials:
4-5 pieces of bubble gum

Directions:
Four or five people are given a piece of gum with wrapper. They must unwrap it in their mouth and blow a bubble.

Honey, If You Love Me Please Smile Game

Materials:
none

Directions:
Have three guys and three girls come up. Each tries to make one of the opposite sex smile.

Mr. Blockhead Game

Materials:
blocks

Directions:
Contestants stack different sized blocks. MC is wearing a box block over his head and makes a big deal of the game.

Gum And Flour Game

Materials:
flour, gum, tray

Directions:
Bury a few pieces of gum in flour. Without using their hands, three kids must find the gum and blow a bubble.

Putting On The Lips Game

Materials:
2 tubes of lipstick, paper towels, (2 trash bags)

Directions:
Call up two guys and two girls. The guys hold the lipstick in his mouth and puts it on the girls' lips. You may want to put a trash bag on the girl, just in case

Marbles In Jell-O Game

Materials:
2 roasting pans, 2 packets of Jell-O, tarp, marbles

Directions:
Put marbles in a roasting type pan (use a dark colored Jell-O). Put a tarp or paper towels on the floor. Have two kids for each pan of Jell-O. Using only one foot they must race each other to find the marbles.

Marshmallow Pitch Game

Materials:
miniature marshmallows

Directions:
For this game, have your kids pair off and give each pair a sack of miniature marshmallows. Each pair should also have a neutral counter. One person is the pitcher, the other the catcher. On "go," the pitcher tosses a marshmallow into the catcher's mouth, and the catcher must eat the marshmallow. The pitcher and catcher should be about ten feet apart. The counter counts how many successful catches are made. The couple with the most at the end of the time limit or the first to reach twenty successful catches is the winner.

King Of The Goats Game

Materials:
blindfold

Directions:
Choose a "goat" from the group (or one from each team) and have him/her removed while the groups are given instructions. The crowd (one group) is instructed to stand on the sidelines and shout instructions to the goat, while the circle group (the other group) is told to form a circle holding hands. The goat is to be put in the center of the circle blindfolded.

At the signal, the goat is to start chasing the circle and the circle is to move as a whole to avoid being caught. When the goat is ready to start, the circle group is instructed in his presence to move around silently. As soon as the start signal is given, the crowd starts shouting instructions to the goat, such as, "go to the right, the right, now go back, straight ahead."

The moment the game starts, the circle team, instructed before the goat arrived, immediately disbands and joins the crowd, leaving the goat in an empty space. Let the goat run for a short time or until the goat guesses what is going on. Be sure you choose someone for this who can handle it.

Spam Roulette Game

Materials:
can of Spam, spoons, fun facts about Spam

Directions:
Call up people to the front. Play music as they pass the Spam around. When the music is stopped, the person holding it must choose a person on his right or left. That person must answer a trivia question about Spam. If they cannot answer, they must take a bit of Spam.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Game

Materials:
2 dollar bills

Directions:
Two guys who have wallets each face the other and see who can "draw" his wallet the fastest and stick it in his mouth (gunfighter style). Another way to do this is to ask for two people who want to win two dollars. When they come up, give each a dollar bill, which they must put in their wallets and place back in their back pockets. On the signal, they go for their wallets, gunfighter style, and each must take the dollar out of his wallet, put it on the floor and then sit on it. The last guy to do so has to give the other guy his dollar, and he loses.

Submarine Ride Game

Materials:
table, jacket

Directions:
A volunteer lies flat on his back on a table with a person at each arm and each leg. The legs are the left and right rudders. The arms are the torpedoes one and two. A jacket is put over the volunteers head with one sleeve directly over his nose. This is the periscope.

The captain (you) yells "left rudder!" (person on left raises leg), "right rudder!" (raise right leg), "torpedo one!", "torpedo two!" (raise arms). "Up periscope!" (sleeve is lifted straight up). "Dive! Dive!" (you pour water down sleeve and into the volunteer's face). You can use the Beatles' Yellow Submarine as intro/background music.

The Un-Banana Game

Materials:
2 bananas, 2 bottles of 7-Up

Directions:
Ask for two volunteers. Give each kid a banana and a bottle of 7-Up. Tell them they must eat the banana first then drink the bottle of 7-Up as fast as possible. The first one finished wins. Sounds easy. But watch what happens when the 7-Up mixes with the half-chewed banana.

Banana On A String Game

Materials:
bananas, string

Directions:
Tie strings around several peeled bananas and hang them from the ceiling. Ask for volunteers to race to see who can eat the banana first without touching it with their hands.

Doctor Banana Game

Materials:
2 bananas, toothpicks, needles, tape

Directions:
Have two team peel and cut a banana into equal parts (don't tell them what comes next when they are cutting). Then tell them they must put the banana back together using toothpicks, needles, tape, whatever. The team with the best reconstructed banana wins.

Strength Test Game

Materials:
scale

Directions:
Use a flat, ordinary bathroom scale; this works a lot better with non-electronic scales. Each person holds the scale with two hands and squeezes it, pressing as hard as possible to register the highest weight on the scale. Or, you could have two people, one holding the scale and the other pushing, attempt to register their highest weight on the scale.

Blind Tag Game

Materials:
objects with circumference of 20 feet, 2 blindfolds

Directions:
Conjure up something with a circumference of about twenty feet (such as two tables pushed together or a rope around four chairs). Blindfold two people and put them on opposite sides of this object. Both must always be touching it. Designate one to be "it" and have the bystanders shout to their favorite which way to go to catch or avoid being caught by the other. Beware of high-speed collisions.

Variations:
One variation is to remove one of the two contestants and let everyone shout directions to the unsuspecting victim. Another is to have everyone silent and let them listen for each other (this won't work on a carpet).

Big Bad Wolf Mixer

Materials:
newspapers, tape

Directions:
Give three-man team enough newspaper and tape to build a newspaper shelter of some kind. It must be big enough to get all three inside. The leader(s) then attempts to blow the shelter down. A prize is awarded to the best job. Afterwards, have a giant paper fight.

Who Hit Me Game

Materials:
newspaper, blanket

Directions:
Have two guys lie down on the floor (face up, side by side) and put a blanket over them so that they cannot see. Everyone in the crowd forms a circle around them, and on person in the crowd has a rolled up newspaper. The newspaper is passed around to someone who take it and hits one of the guys under the blanket on the head with it. Then gets back into the circle, leaving the newspaper on the blanket. the guy who has been hit counts to 10 and comes out from the blanket and tries to guess who hit him. If he guesses correctly, the person who is guessed goes under the blanket in his place.

These are the instructions given to the crowd and to to players. However, on of the guys under the blanket has been clued in ahead of time that he will be given the newspaper and he will reach over and smack the guy laying next to him with it, then pull his arm in under the blanket real fast and play dumb. The guy who is hit will jump up and his guesses will always be wrong. Hit the clued-in guy once in a while so that it won't look quite so rigged.

Whirling Long Jump Game

Materials:
24 in. stick

Directions:
Get three kids to come forward and try this simple game. Give each a stick about 24 inches long. Tell each to hold it straight out at arm's length with both hands so that he can watch it while turning around 30-50 times. Then, they must drop the stick and jump over it. Whoever jumps the farthest is the winner. Of course, most kids get so dizzy they can't even see the stick when they drop it, let alone jump over it. It's fun to watch. Have the rest of the group count as the person turns around.

Volleyball Squirm Game

Materials:
volleyball

Directions:
Place a volleyball between the foreheads of a boy and girl couple. Without using their hands, they must work the ball down to their knees and back up again. Their hands must be kept behind their backs and the two must start over again if they drop the ball. Couples do not ahve to be of the opposite sex, two guys or two girls will work just fine, but a boy-girl couple usually adds to the fun of this event.

String Tie Mystery Game

Materials:
2 strings, pliers

Directions:
Here's a simple little game that you can use to test your group's creativity. Hang two strings from the ceiling in such a way that they dangle approximately one foot from the floor (both string should be about the same length). The strings should be far enough apart that, while holding the dangling end of one string, the other string hanging down is a foot or so out of reach. Challenge anyone in your group to tie the dangling ends of the strings together with no help from the audience. The only thing that can be used in this task is an ordinary pair of pliers.

How is it done? It's simple. Tie the pliers to the end of one of the strings and then swing the string back and forth. Then holding the end of the other string, and when the pliers swing close enough grab them. Untie the pliers and tie the two strings together.