GAMES

Book Tag

Sam Houston Area Council

P In Book Tag, a book (which must stay in sight) is passed from player to player.

P “It” may chase and tag only the player who is holding the book.

P The players, of course, are constantly trying to hand off the book to someone else.

P They hand off the book by touching another player with the book.

P If a player is tagged while carrying the book, he passes the book to “it” and he becomes the new “it.”

P The new “it” must count to three, giving the old “it” a chance to get away before beginning the chase.

P Any player who drops the book becomes “it.”

P You could use another item instead of a book - use your imagination when choosing an item to carry. If the item is fun, the boys will have even more fun, too!

Oliver Twist

Sam Houston Area Council

ü  While singing this rhyme, players take turns bouncing a ball with one hand and carrying out the specified actions or pantomimes.

ü  The first to finish without mistakes is the winner.

ü  Players should start with basic bouncing before the really funny business starts.

Oliver, Oliver, Oliver Twist,
Bet you a dollar you can’t do this:

Number one – touch your tongue,

Number two – touch your shoe,

Number three – touch your knee,

Number four – touch the floor,

Number five – be alive (wave arms wildly),

Number six – pick up sticks (pantomime),

Number seven – jump to heaven, (jump high)

Number eight – shut the gate (pantomime),

Number nine – walk the line,

Number ten – start again.

Help! A Hurricane Hit The Library!

Sam Houston Area Council

Pretend that a hurricane / tornado / bad storm  has hit your town and caused damage in the library.
The books are flying everywhere! It’s definitely going to take some time to clean up the mess. The first thing that needs to be done is for the books to be categorized.

«  This game is played in pairs.

«  Each set of boys comes to the front.

«  The first player (boys decide) chooses a category (see below for some suggestions) – like outdoor games.

«  The second player has to come up with or make up three simple book titles that would fit into that category. The second player could say in our example – Baseball Blunders, Football Fans, Hide and Go Seek Heroes. You could increase the number of book titles or even add a time limit.

«  When the pair gets three titles, they shout, “One less mess in the library!”

«  The next pair of Cub Scouts comes up and does the same. Each boy should be able to do have a chance to do both – choosing the category and choosing the book titles.

«  You could keep score – a point for each time the pair comes up with the category and gets three titles in a certain time period. The winning pair would be the one with the most points.

Here are some possible categories:

Cars                                                     Animals

Indoor Games                      Outdoor Games

Food                                           United States

Inventions                                         Holidays

Things that float                 Things you wear

Subjects at school                                  Cities

Animals that live in the water

Find & Sort:

Alice, Golden Empire Council

ü  Divide the den into two teams.

ü  Using thrift store books, or books purchased at library sales, give each team of boys as assortment of books. 

ü  One at a time, a member of each team runs from the starting lineup to the books and puts them in order – either using the title (alphabetically), the library code (Dewey Decimal System) or even by number of pages.

BOOK BALANCING

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials needed:

one book for each team

Play:

ü  Two lines of people form down the room,

ü  One member of each team must walk down the full length of the team and back to his own place, balancing a book on his head, while his opposite number in the other team does the same thing.

ü  If the book is dropped on the way, the player must pick it up, go back to his starting point and begin again.

ü  The team that finishes first is the winner.

ü  Another option is the team that has the greatest number of successful competitors wins the race.

TALL TALES CONTEST

Heart of America Council

Have a Tall Tale Contest where each Cub Scout has to make up his own tall tale character and a story about the character.

HUCK FINN’S LEAP FROG

Heart of America Council

In Huck Finn's day, frog jumping contests were a regular thing. Today we still have the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. Here's a takeoff on that legendary game (for Cub Scouts!).

«  Divide the den into two teams.

«  The teams line up on the starting line.

«  On the "go" signal, the first boy in each team "frog hops" down to the turn-around point (about 20 feet away) and returns to his team.

«  He tags the next frog, which again hops the trip.

«  First team to have all frogs return home wins.

SURPRISE!

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials needed:

small objects (a paper clip, a barrette, and so on),

crepe paper streamer,

tape

Play:

ü  First, tape various small objects along a length of crepe paper streamer, reroll the streamer into a ball as you go.

ü  To tell the story, the first player unrolls the ball, and stops at the first object.

ü  He removes it and begins telling a tale involving his found object.

ü  After a minute or two, he passes the ball to the next person,

ü  The next person continues the story, incorporating whatever he finds next in the ball.

ü  Continue until everyone has had a turn or until all of the objects have been unwrapped.

BOOKS!

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials needed:

(4) 8 ½” x 11” pieces of paper,

markers,

tape

Play:

ü  First, write one of the following words on each paper; Biography, Fiction, Non Fiction, Fantasy.

ü  Then tape a paper to each corner of the room.

ü  Choose one person to be “it”.

ü  “It” hides his eyes and slowly counts from one to ten as the rest of the group tiptoes to a corner in the room.

ü  When “it” says “books”, everyone must be in a corner.

ü  “It” then calls out one of the names of the corners, Biography, Fiction, etc.

ü  The boys in that corner are out of the game.

ü  They sit down in the “library” in the middle of the room.

ü  “It” covers his eyes again and counts to ten as everyone left moves to a new corner.

ü  The game continues until there is one boy left.

ü  That boy becomes the new “it”.

Variation:

ü  Choose a book and use topics from that book.

ü  If you want to shorten the game have “it” call out two corners at a time.

ü  If there is no one in a corner call out another corner.

EASY AS 1, 2, 3

Great Salt Lake Council

Materials needed:

each player will need 3 strips of paper (different colors may make it easier),

common or proper nouns for one color,

location for the second color,

action for the third color,

pen or pencil for each player,

3 containers

Play:

ü  Have the boys write the name of a person or thing on one strip, a location on the second strip, and an action on the third.

ü  Place the papers by group in 3 separate containers.

ü  Players take turns drawing 1 strip from each container and tell a short story using all 3 words.

Casey Jones Train Relay:

Capital Area Council

ü  Divide into teams (dens, if played at pack meeting). 

ü  Line teams up for relay race. 

ü  Have each team member lock arms around the player ahead of him. 

ü  On signal, teams race ahead in a joint line. 

ü  If a line (train) breaks, it must reform before proceeding.  

ü  When a train returns to its starting position, the head of the line (engine) leaves the line and joints the end of the line as the number 2 player becomes the engine and leads the train for another sprint. 

ü  This continues until the original engine is at the front of the line again. 

ü  The first team to finish wins.

Johnny Appleseed Seed-Planting Relay:

Capital Area Council

«  Using a heel-toe action, each person in turn follows a line drawn on the floor by placing the heel of one foot against the toe of another. 

«  About every three feet he must stop and place a seed (use black beans to simulate apple seeds) in a small mouthed receptacle set about 1-1/2 feet on each side of the line. 

«  When the “Johnny” reaches the end, he runs back and touches the next person who plants his “seeds” in the same manner.

Variation Idea - Johnny Appleseed traveled the country barefoot.  Have the team members remove their shoes/socks and run the course barefooted.  Explain why.

No Laughter in the Court:

Capital Area Council

Equipment: A crown could be made for the King and swords for the three winners.

·         The king has put out a proclamation that three knights are to be chosen for the King’s Court. 

·         The test to be undergone is to prove who could be the most serious man for the position. 

·         The King stands before the contestants. 

·         He says the number one, “Ha,” then he repeats a “Ha.” 

·         Each one of the boys has to add a “Ha” as it comes their turn.  Example: “Ha. . . Ha, Ha” . . . “Ha, Ha, Ha” . . . Before long, everyone is laughing like crazy. 

·         If any boys survive without laughing they are presented with a sword.

Charades:

Capital Area Council

Use book titles or characters from popular children’s books.

For directions on playing charades, see the Bear Book.

Bookshelf Collapse

Capital Area Council

This is a variation on “Upset the Fruit Basket.”

ü  Give each boy the name of an author (last name only) or a character in a book (Dragonfly). 

ü  Have at least two boys with the same name, and arrange them in a circle on chairs. 

ü  One boy is in the center of the circle, and is It. 

ü  He calls out a name, and tries to take a chair, as the boys with that name try to change places. 

ü  If he calls out, “Bookshelf Collapse,” then all boys try to change to a new seat (NOT NEXT ONE OVER), as It also tries to get a seat. 

ü  The one boy left without a seat is the next It.

Mixed Up Castle Game

Southern NJ Council

«  Have someone draw a castle. However, draw it in such a way that it can be cut into a number of understandable parts.

«  Cut the castle picture into parts.

«  Then give each boy a part of the castle and a thumbtack. Also, have the boys count off in numbers and try to have the parts mixed up so they are not in a logical order when assembling the castle.

«  As each boy’s number is called he goes to the wall and puts up his piece where he thinks it ought to be in the over-all structure of the castle.

«  The results May be a rather odd looking sight. On the other hand it might turn out to be quite unique.

Follow Me

Southern NJ Council

·         Cubs are arranged roughly in a circle, each standing with one foot on his marker (a square of cardboard or wood).

·         An extra player is The Guide.

·         The Guide moves about the circle pointing at different players and asking them to “follow me.”

·         Each player, as chosen, falls in behind the guide.

·         The guide now takes his group on a tour performing just as the guide does.

·         As the guide skips and hops, so do his followers.

·         The followers must move just as the guide does.

·         At the signal, “home,” all run for places on the markers.

·         One cub will be without a marker and he will become the guide.

Dress Up Relay

Southern NJ Council

ü  Here is an active game that is really more fun to watch than to play.

ü  Have boys line up for a relay race.

ü  Choose one representative from each team for a “mannequin.”

ü  Have one jacket, one shirt, one necktie, one had and one pair of trousers for each team.  Make sure they are large enough to go over the mannequin's clothes.  To add some fun have each team create a character from a book.  To complete their mannequin, they must yell out the name of the character.

ü  At one end of the room, have the “dress-up clothes.”

ü  Have the boys race down to the mannequin one at a time to place a single item of clothing on the boy.

ü  The mannequin does not help.

Catching the Dragon's Tail

Southern NJ Council

P A dragon is formed by grouping the players into a long line each with their hands on the shoulders of the one in front of him.

P The first in the row is the dragon's head.

P The last in the row is the dragon's tail, eager to lash to the right and left in order to escape the head.

P Until the signal GO is given, the dragon must be a straight line.

P Someone in the group counts "One, two, three, go!"

P On the signal GO the head runs around toward the tail and tries to catch it.

P The whole body must move with the head and remain unbroken.

P If the head succeeds in touching the tail, they may continue to be the head.

P If the body breaks before the head catches the tail, the head becomes the tail and the next in line is the head and so on until each has a chance to be the head and the tail.

Discovering Books

Southern NJ Council

ü  Place the Cub Scouts in a circle with a leader in the center.

ü  The leader should point to one of the players and ask a question about a book; its author, characters, locations, genre, or plot, such as, “What type of school is Hogworts?" (School for Wizards) or "Who was Robinson Crusoe's servant?" (Friday) or "How many Musketeers were there?" (Three)

ü  Then he begins counting to 10 while looking at the boy to whom he points.

ü  But that boy is not the one who should answer. Rather, the third boy to his left should answer the question.

ü  If the right boy answers correctly, he takes over as leader.

ü  If he doesn’t answer correctly, or does not answer in time, or if the wrong boy answers, either is out of the game.

Variations: Substitute another topic for Books. 

·         Like - America.  Then you could ask questions about US History, the states (your state), rivers and mountains.  Examples - "Is the Pacific Ocean on the west coast or east coast?" (West Coast) or "What is the capital of New Jersey?" (Trenton) or "Who discovered America" (Columbus or Leif Erickson) or "What is the tallest mountain in America?" (Mt McKinley)

·         Use the monthly theme or whatever subject you are discussing as a den.