Author: Cheree Larson

This is a good game for ages 5 – adult. You’ll want a group of 5-15 people. However, 8-12 people works best. It doesn’t require any equipment.

 

Game Instructions:

Everyone sits in a circle facing inward. Every player chooses a “sign”, which is some kind of movement or motion that is unique to them. The sign needs to be easily detectable by others but not too obvious to attract attention. Examples of signs are sticking your tongue out, scratching your nose, rubbing your stomach, and making two thumbs up. Everyone demonstrates their sign to the rest of the group. Now you’re ready to play.

The goal of the game is to keep passing signs to other players as long as possible without getting caught by the person in the middle. The person in the middle tries to figure out where the sign is and catch the person who currently has the sign.

To begin, have the person in the middle close his eyes and count to ten. The group silently decides who within the group will start with the sign. This person “has” the sign and it is his goal to “pass” the sign to other players without getting caught by the person in the middle. To pass the sign, the person has to perform his own sign, then any other player’s sign. For example, if Player 1’s sign is to scratch his nose and Player 2’s sign is to blink both eyes, then Player 1 must scratch his nose, then blink both eyes. Player 2 then accepts the sign by blinking both eyes. He then passes the sign by performing another player’s sign. The person in the middle looks around, trying to catch the person with the sign. To guess, he points to a player and asks, “Do you have the sign?” If yes, the person who was caught is now in the middle.

 

 

This is a good game for ages 5 – adults. You’ll want a group of at least 8 people.

Supplies: A couch and other chairs/seats for every player, small pieces of paper with the names of each player written on them.  You can play this game without a couch. You’ll just have to designate four seats in a row to serve as your couch. You can change the name of the game to Four Men on a Log or Four Men on Blue Folding Chairs.

Game Instructions:

Write each person’s name on a slip of paper and put it in a bowl. Ideally, you want the same number of males and females. If this isn’t true for your party, divide into two groups and give half scarves or a sticker on their forehead to identify them as a team. Seat everyone boy-girl-boy-girl around the circle. You will need to have four people sitting on a couch or identify 4 chairs as your “couch”. You will also need one empty chair in your circle. After you are set up, pass the bowl around and have each person take a name. It’s okay if it is their own name. They need to keep this name secret. This is a memory game and they are now that person for the game. The person to the right of the empty chair calls a name. Whoever has that slip of paper moves to the empty chair. Now there is a new empty seat. The person to the right of that seat calls another name and the moving continues. The object of the game is to get the individuals on the other team off the couch and your own teammates on the couch. The first group to occupy all four of the couch seats wins!

 

This is a good game for all ages, especially children. You’ll want a group of at least 5 people. No equipment needed.

Game Instructions:

Players sit in a circle with one person in the middle. The person in the middle closes their eyes and counts to ten. The rest of the players change seats. The person in the middle then points to someone, keeping their eyes closed so they do not know who they are pointing to. The person in the middle then calls out the name of an animal. The person who is being pointed at, makes the sound of that animal, trying to disguise their voice. The person in the middle guesses the identity of the sound maker. If correct, that person is now in the middle.