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.