GAMES

Birds on a Telephone Line
San Gabriel Valley, Long Beach, Verdugo Hills Councils

• Divide the group into two relay teams.
• String a clothesline from one side to the other at shoulder height of the average person.
• Clip 20 or more round topped clothespins onto the clothesline. (The pins are the birds and the clothesline is the telephone line)
• On signal, the first person in each team runs to the line, removes a pin with his teeth (no hands!),
• Brings it back to his team and drops it into a sack.
• The first team to collect all their birds (clothespins) wins.

 

American Birds Fly
Heart of America Council

Played like “ Simon Says,” this game tests the Cub Scouts to see how alert they are. A leader may say  “ Birds Fly” and flap his arms. If the thing the leader names is a flying creature, the Cub Scouts also must make the flapping motion with their arms. The leader may name birds, flying insects, or even say airplanes or clouds fly. (Examples of calls:  “ Robins fly!” “ Pigs fly!” “Ducks fly!” “ Squirrels fly!” (Flying squirrels do a flying glide, so count them as fliers.)

Anytime the leader names something that does not fly he also flaps his arms and tries to trick the Cub Scouts into doing the same. The game continues as long as one person has not been fooled.

 

Bird Hunt
Heart of America Council

Give each player a pencil and paper and have them stand in a circle facing inward. Pin a slip of paper with the name of a bird on each player’s back. On signal, all players try to write down the bird names of all other players while trying not to let others see their own bird name. After two or three minutes, end the game. The winner is the player with the most bird names on his or her paper.

 

Turkey Feather Relay:
Heart of America Council

Divide group into teams; relay style. First player in each team holds along feather. At signal, he throws feather, javelin style, toward finish line. As soon as it comes to earth, he picks it up and throws it again. When it finally crosses the finish line, he picks it up , runs back and gives it to the next player. First team to finish flaps arms and gobbles like a turkey.

 

Bird  Beak Relay:
Heart of America Council

• Divide boys into teams.  
• Give each boy a new snapper clothespin .  
• At the signal to start, the first boy puts the wide end of the clothespin in his mouth and using his teeth opens the clip to pick up a paper plate ring (or other ring shaped object(e.g. sections of PVC pipe)) from a table. 
• He carefully carries the ring to his team’s post and drops the ring onto it.  
• He removes the clothespin from his mouth and runs back to tag off the next player who repeats the action.  
• No hands are allowed.  
• First team to finish wins.

 

Bird and Bug:
Heart of America Council

This is a fast moving game.

Have each Cub make a bug by tying a thread spool to a three foot length of string.  Or use something else for weight.

Choose one Cub (your Denner?) to be the Bird at the start of the game

The Bird must catch a Bug

Draw a 3-4 ft circle on the ground.

The Bird must stand in this circle

Draw another circle around this one, about 2 ft wider than the first.

The Bird stands in the inner circle holding a can.

The other boys stand outside the larger circle and roll their Bugs into the inner circle.

The Bird tries to catch them with his can before the boys pull their Bugs back.

(The Bird cannot step outside his circle.)

A Bug who is caught becomes the next Bird.

 

Hot Box (or Pickle):
Sam Houston Area Council

Materials:  Two baseball gloves, One baseball, two 1’ square bases that are 20’ apart.  You could also play this with a softer ball like an old tennis ball or Nerf ball and then gloves would not be needed.  Also, it would be safer for the runner if there was an errant throw that hit him.  Bases could be drawn on the driveway or sidewalk with chalk.  They  need not be square, paper plates usually work great and are easily replaced if they rip. 

How to Play:

For those baseball-loving Cubs, here’s an old-time game to wear them out.  Three can play at a time, for each set of bags.  Two boys get baseball gloves and play the bases like they are infielders.  One boy is the base stealer.  Or liven it up with two base runners and rule that they can’t be on the same base.  Another Cub could keep score and umpire.

The infielders toss the ball back and forth.  The base stealer gets a point for every base that he successfully steals.  There are no force outs and sliding may be allowed depending on the surface (grass), if the bags are secured and you (the leader) think it is safe.  If the runner gets tagged with the ball when he’s off of a base, then he’s out and becomes an infielder.