Training Games 192

TRAINING GAMES 1. APPOINTMENTS Give everybody a few minutes to make 3 appointments - 3 pm,6 pm and 9 pm. After that have everyone stand in a circle.When you shout "3 pm", everybody meets their 3 pm appointment and find out 1, 2 or 3 things about each other. After a short while shout, "6 pm" and then "9 pm". After that have people share what they find out about each other.This game can be used for introduction where people introduce other people, instead of themselves. 2. ATLAS Arrange everyone in a circle. Someone say the name of any country, city, river, ocean or mountain that could be found in an atlas. The person next to him must then say another name that begins with the last alphabet of the word that has been given. Example: First person : Auckland Second person : Denver Third person : Rotorua Each person has a definite time limit (e.g. 3 seconds) and no name can be repeated. 3. BALLOON BLOW-UP Have everyone pairs up and give each person a balloon. Each pair designates a left and a right person. The partners stand facing each other about six inches apart. When you call "left", the "left" person blows into his balloon. Give him a few seconds, then call "right", the right person then blows into his balloon. Do this repeatedly. The idea is to literally "blow-up" the balloon in the partner's face before he can blow up his. 4. BALLOONS IN THE AIR Give everyone an inflated balloon. The balloons should be in different colours or with identifiable marks on them. Everyone tosses his balloon in the air and tries to keep it in the air as long as possible. In the meanwhile, he must try to get everyone else's balloons to touch the floor. When a person's balloon touches the floor, he is out. The person who keeps his balloon in the air the longest, wins. 5. BANANA DUEL Have everyone pair up and tie their left wrist together.Give each a banana to hold in their left hand. When you say "go", they peel the banana with only their right hand and try to push it in their partner's face/mouth. You may want to do this blindfolded to add excitement. 6. BATTLE OF THE NUTS Give each person a peanut and have them pair up. They should try to crack their

partner's peanuts by pushing their peanuts against one another. Those with cracked peanut are out. Do this in round until only one or a few peanuts are left not cracked. 7. BIBLE MIME Divide the group into teams of three to six members. Every team selects one biblical event to pantomime for the other players. The others try to identify the bible stories being enacted. Variation: Scripture passages are cited on slips of paper and drawn from a box for performance. 8. BIG SCULPTURE Divide the group into two teams. Give each team five large garbage bags and as many blown-up balloons as possible. Have them create a huge human figure by putting the blown-up balloons in the bags and attaching the bags together within a definite time limit. The best sculpture wins. 9. BLINDED BY MONEY Pair everyone up and form a big circle. Give each pair two coins. One person in each pair tilts his head back and places a coin on each eyelid with eyes closed (no peeping!). Put a big container in the centre (e.g. a garbage can). The object is for each person to dump their coins into the container, following the verbal direction of their partner. No physical guiding by the partner is allowed. If any coin dropped, the person should pick it up and start all over again. The fun comes when all the pairs go at once, crowding around the container, blinded by money, trying to hear their partner's direction. 10. BRAIN TEASERS Hand out copies of any of the following "IQ Tests". Each block represents a well known phrase or saying. You may divide a large group to teams of three or four. Give a time limit. The team with the most correct answers wins. PLASMA - H2O - Blood is thicker than water Arrest You're - You're under arrest HIGH CLOUDS - High above the clouds 1 3 5 7 9 WHELMING - Overwhelming odds PICT RES - You ought to be in the pictures Head/ache - Splitting headache EMPLOY T - Men out of employment LESODUB TENNIS - Mixed doubles tennis KJUSTK - Just in “Ks” WRitING - Put it in writing LOV - Endless love T RN - No U Turn 24 Hours - Call it a day B ILL ED - Ill in bed

PETS A - A Step Backward Gettingitall - Getting it all together 1 T 3 4 5 6 - Tea for two 11. CAMPUS LIFE WORD LIST GAME Give everyone a piece of paper and ask them to write down as many words as possible from the letters in the words "CAMPUS LIFE", (e.g. camp, camps, us, came etc.) No proper names or slang words are allowed. You may use other longer words and have the people work in pairs or small groups.

12. CAN YOU FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS A READ AND DO TESTS Time Limit: 3 min. Read all that follows before doing anything: 1. Write your name in the upper right-hand corner of this page. 2. Circle the word "corner" in sentence two. 3. Draw five small squares in upper left hand corner of this page. 4. Put an "X" on each square. 5. Put a circle around each square. 6. Sign your name under line 5. 7. After your name, write "yes, yes, yes". 8. Put a circle around number 7. 9. Put an "X" in the lower-left-hand corner of this page. 10. Draw a triangle around the "X" you just made. 11. Call out your first name when you get to this point. 12. On the reverse side of this paper add 6950 and 9805. 13. Put a circle around your answer. 14. Now that you have finished reading carefully, do only number 1 and 2. PLEASE BE QUIET AND WATCH THE OTHERS FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. 13. COORDINATED JUMP Have the entire group get in a circle. Everyone put their arms over the shoulders of the persons on their left and right. On the word GO, everyone must jump (feet off the ground) at the same instant. The ones who do not (too fast or too slow), go out of the group. Repeat until only a few are left. These are the winners. 14. CORE GROUP Divide the group into teams of five or six. Have one person in each team begin with an apple in his mouth (roast pig style). At the signal, he passes the apple to the person on the right. As the second person takes the apple with his mouth (no hands allowed), the first person takes a bite out of it. At the end of the time limit, the team that has eaten most of their apple wins. 15. DISCLOSURE

Procure a softball. Arrange the participants in a circle. Throw the ball to one person and ask the individual to disclose something unusual about himself. He can then throw the ball to anyone he choose and repeat the process. 16. DONUT WHOLE Divide the group into teams and have each team choose a leader. The teams are then split into halves and positioned on both sides of the room with the leader in the middle. Each leader is given a donut, preferably the sticky one which he places on one index finger. At the signal, he crosses back and forth with the donut on the finger, giving team members bites. The winner is the team which had everyone bit the donut, leaving the last donut at the end with the ring intact. 17. DO THIS AND ADD SOMETHING Get everyone in a circle. One person starts off by performing an action (e.g. scratching his head). The person on his right must then repeat it and add another action. The game goes on with each having to repeat all the previous actions in order, then adding one. If a player misses an action or gets fouled up, he is out. You can go as many rounds as you want. 18. FUNNY FACES Have the participants arrange themselves in a circle. An appointed player turns to the person next to him and makes a funny face or assumes a funny posture. That person mimics the gesture, passing it on quickly to the next person, and so on around the circle. When the funny face has completed the circuit, another person begins, until all or as many persons as possible have had a chance to initiate the face-making. 19. GARBAGE PASS RELAY Divide into teams. Each team tries to pass a paper garbage bag down to the end of their line. It is placed over the head of the first person in line. When the go signal is given, the second person in line goes under the bag with the first person. As soon as the first person gets out, the third person goes under the bag with the second. The process continues until the bag gets all the way to the end of the line. 20. GRUMBLE, GRUMBLE This game provides an opportunity for release of tensions. Pair up all participants. Instruct participants to talk simultaneously, sharing any complaints, reservations, resentments, grievances, irritations or concerns they have on their minds. When one member runs out of issues to disclose, he is then to say, "grumble, grumble" until all participants are done. Call a halt to the exercise when it is apparent that the negative energy has dissipated and only superficial

"grumbling" is present. 21. HAT TRICK Form a circle. Put a derby type hat on one person. The object is for him to get it on the next person's head without using hands, arms teeth or legs. You may divide the group into two and have a competition. 22. HOG TIED Divide the group into two or three. Have them sit in a circle facing outward. Give each group a ball of string or yarn of equal length. At the signal, the groups are to wrap themselves up securely in the string. The group that finishes first, wins. 23. HOW ARE YOU FEELING? Give everybody a piece of blank paper (same size). Flash the following words, wither written on a big piece of paper or on a transparency. ANXIETY FORGIVENESS GUILT SORROW HEALING REJECTED PEACE PAIN COMFORT LOVE ACCEPTANCE HOPE Ask everyone to write down on his paper the word that describes either how he is feeling or what he wants Jesus to bring to him now. Place all the papers in the centre of the group and mix them well. Pick up a piece of paper. Read the word on the paper and open up the time for anyone in the group to share a phrase or verse which might encourage the person whose paper has been picked. You may pick as many paper as you have time. 24. HUMAN SPIDER WEB Divide the group into teams of 6-8 persons. Have each team move to a location that allows them to stand in a small circle. Instruct members of each group to extend their right hands across the circle and grasp the left hands of the other members who are approximately opposite them. Then have them extend their left hands across the circle and grasp the right hands of other individuals. Inform them that their task is to unravel the spider web of interlocking arms without letting go of anyone's hands. They will be competing with the other groups to see who finishes the task first. 25. I PACKED MY TRUNK FOR CHINA The first player says, "I packed my trunk for China and took an apple (or any other object that begins with "A"). The next player repeats the sentence, including the "A" word and adds a "B" word. Each successive player recites the sentence with all the alphabetical items, adding one of his own. (e.g. "I packed my trunk for China and took an apple and a bread). The player continues as long as they can or until they have completed the alphabet. 26. I'M GLAD I'M HERE

Tell the group that you're glad to be there. Then say, "If I am not here today, I will be ...................." (share something that you're glad you don't have to do, e.g. wash your car). Then go around the room asking, "If you weren't here today, what would you be doing that you're glad you don't have to?" Try to keep the answers light and fast moving. 27. INNOVATIVE INTRODUCTION You can do any of the following or all of them: a. Instruct everyone to take two items (e.g. Family picture, credit card) from their purses, wallets or pockets. Then use the items to introduce or say something about themselves. b. Ask each person to state his name and attach an adjective that not only describes a dominant characteristic, but also starts with the first letter of his name. (e.g. Martin - Marvellous Martin, Siew Ling Lovely Ling) c. Have everyone share a nickname that they now have, once had, or would like to have and then explain the reason or story behind the name. 28. INSTANT STUNT As each person enters the room, he receives a slip of paper with a silly stunt described on it. E.g. Stand on a char, bark like a dog, dance around. When the signal is given, all participants perform their stunt simultaneously. Give them a few minutes to look at one another and laugh. 29. KNOCKING OFF HATS Put some hats or caps in the middle of the room. Ask everyone to choose one and put it on. (You can also ask everyone to bring a hat or cap of their choice to the meeting). Give everyone a rolled up newspaper. They must hit each other hat off without losing their own. They are not allowed to hold their own hats on. 30. LEADER OF THE BAND Ask all participants to stand up and make sufficient room around themselves so as not to interfere with free movement of their arms. Then tell them that they are the conductor of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra. Have them close their eyes. Play a selection of music and ask them all to simultaneously lead the orchestra. (This works best if you have carefully selected the music. Try as much as possible to make sure that the music is familiar to all and is relatively fast-paced to stimulate energetic directing). After a while, when they have began to conduct freely, ask them to do it with their eyes open. Help them relax and enjoy themselves as they do so. 31. MAGIC CIRCLE This icebreaker can be used to illustrate the multiplicity of meanings of words. Divide the group into teams of 5-7 people. On a prepared set of 3" x 5" cards, a series of words or phrases are written. (one on each card e.g. motivation; put-

down, I feel good when ...) The team leader pulls a card out and a few persons are asked to state what the word means to them, or in the case of sentence completion, continue the statement. 32. MY FAVOURITES Give everybody a copy of "Exercise in self-disclosure" and give them a few minutes to fill it in. Have everybody share what they have written. Then suggest that their answers to question 1 provides clues to how other people view them and their answers to question 2 provide clues to how they view themselves and see how they react to your suggestions! An Exercise in Self-Disclosure a. Name your favourite colour: ___________________________ Describe it in three words (e.g. Blue - it is cool, relaxing, distant): a. b. c. b. If you could pose (safely) with an animal of your choice in the Zoo, what animal would it be? Describe three characteristics of the animal (E.g. Tiger strong, tense, dangerous): a. b. c.

33. NEWSPAPER TALK Give everyone some newspaper. Ask everyone to express how they feel or how their day has been through the newspaper. For example, crumble the newspaper to express frustration etc. 34. OBJECT IN QUESTION Two players privately select an object in the room. They then discuss it with each other while the other players listen and try to guess what it is. When the object is discovered, another two players select an object. Variation: For an extra challenge, choose and object not in the room. 35. OLD AUNT AMY The purpose of this game is to guess whether Old Aunt Amy died last night. The leader will begin by saying the phrase "Old Aunt Amy, she died last night, she died last night. Did she die?"" He then points to anybody in the group The person then says either "yes" or "no". If the leader says, "listen carefully", before he says the phrase, then the answer is "Yes", if he omits, "listen carefully", then the answer is, "NO". If he answers wrongly, he is out. The leader then says the phrase again and points to another person.

36. Blindfold Birthdays There are many variations on this game. You begin by asking everyone to blindfold themselves (or close their eyes, but it's oh so tempting to peek!). Then give them the task of lining themselves up in order of their birthdays. Or you could have them line up in order of age or other things. 37. Blindfold Animals Before getting the participants together for the game, make a slip of paper for each participant. Then, think of an animal that makes a fun noise and write it on two pieces of paper so you have two chickens, two cats, two big dogs, two little dogs, etc. If you have an odd number of people, make three of one animal. Fold up the paper, put them in a hat, and have the participants each draw out one (ask them not to give away their animal). Then have them put on a blindfold or close their eyes and start making their animal's noise. The object is to find their partner. Once they find their pair, they can stop making the noise. Everyone should keep on their blindfold until it is quiet, meaning everyone has found their pair. If there is three of one, and two of them found each other and stopped making noise, if they hear a third one, they can make noise again until the third one and them find each other. 38. People to People Everyone gets in pairs and stands next to their partner. One person should be left over- if there is an even number of people, make one pair have three people. The person without a partner announces body parts, such as "left hand to back". Then each person puts their left hand on their partner's back. The announcer keeps saying body parts until people are very tangled up (each pair keeps the original left hand to back and keeps adding on). Then when they are done, they yell "people to people!" and everyone runs to find a new partner. Whoever is left without one now announces combinations of body parts. 39. Copy Cat Get into a circle. One person volunteers or is randomly selected to be the 'guesser'. The guesser goes out of the circle and walks 30 or 40 feet away (or goes behind a wall or tree if available.) Guesser then closes eyes. The idea is for the guesser to be unable to see what the rest of the circle is doing or to hear what they are saying. Among the rest of the circle, a person volunteers or is chosen to lead the group. The leader then begins making some motion and everyone else copies it. A few people then yell to the guesser that the group is ready. The guesser comes back and stands in the middle of the circle. The object is for the guesser to guess who the leader is. The leader can change the motion, and everyone else follows. It works best if not everyone looks at the leader. The guesser gets 3 guesses to guess who the leader is.After the 3rd incorrect guess, the leader reveals herself. End / Middle Near the end (or sometimes middle) conference, meeting (later in the year), or among people that have spent a lot of time together, these games are great.

40. Knots Eveyone stands in a circle and puts their right hand into the middle of the circle. They clasp hands with someone across the circle. Then eveyone puts their left hand into the middle of the circle and clasps the hand of a *different* person (ie. NOT the same person whose right hand they are still holding). The group is now in a "knot". The object is for the group to untangle itself without releasing anyone's hand. 41. Serious Teambuilding Activities These are more involved teambuilding activities: Replication This game usually takes about a half-hour. The organizers of the game begin by finding multiples of objects. If you plan to have 3 groups, then find 4 objects, ie. 4 binders,4 pens, 4 pinecones, etc. Then, where none of the participants can see, arrange one set of the objects. Maybe place the pen horizontally in the middle of the binder open to page 4 and put the pinecone centered above the binder. Then gather the participants, split them into three (or however many) groups, and explain the game. Each group has 2 builders (3 builders works sometimes but 4 is not recommended), 1 or 2 runners, and 1 looker. The looker of each group gets to see the original model. Each group's builders get a pile of the objects in a separate room from the other builders, or at least where they can't see or hear the other groups. The runners are spaced between. The interaction goes like this: The lookers look at the original and go half or a third of the way towards the rooms with the builders and meets the runner. This spot must be the same distance for each group. The looker tells the runner all of the details he can remember about the model. Then the runner goes to the builders. If the first runner has to go to a second runner, the first tells the second runner all the details he can remember. It's similar to telephone in this part. Then that second runner would go to the builders. When the runner, be it the only one or the second one, gets to the builders, the builders can only ask the runner yes or no questions. "Does the pen go here? Is the binder open? Is it open to this page? to this page?" There should be a non-participant at this location for each group to make sure the runner only says yes or no. When the runner can't remember anymore details or wants to confirm a detail, they go back to the point where they can meet the looker (or first runner and then looker). They can converse freely about the details. This back and forth goes on until all of the groups feel they are done or are pretty much done. Then everyone gets together and looks at each groups’ finished model. Then everyone can go and look at the original. Replication builds communication skills and is a good teambuilding effort. It's fun too to look at the different results.