GAMES

Original Children's game ideas for the 5-7 year olds with minimal  Equipment suitable for weekly Meetings, Sleepovers and Parties.

Artist Indoor
Equipment: Large sheet of plain drawing paper, felt pens, blindfold
This   game always attracts great laughter. Attach a large piece of plain drawing paper on the wall at child height. One child is chosen to be the artist and he is blindfolded. Ask him to draw a house and then the children take it in turns to ask him to add things to the picture such as a chimney, window, tree, people, himself. The resultant drawing rarely resembles a house but it is very funny to look at.

Balloon Relay race Outdoor
Equipment: Balloons
A game best played outside with a lot of people. Divide into two or more teams and give each team a balloon. The object of the game is for the first team member to place the balloon between their knees and to hop or run to the other end of the track and back again. If the balloon drops or bursts, that person must start again. Once successful, the first player has to then pass the balloon to one of his team-mates using only his knees (no hands allowed!), who then also runs up and down the track. The first team to finish is the winner.

BEANS Indoor  or Outdoor

The leader stands and explains the various actions to the girls:

Beetle Indoor
Equipment: Pens and paper, dice.
This is a quiet indoor kid  game that is best played in small groups of 4 or 5. Issue each child with a pencil and paper and one dice per group. Take it in turns to throw the dice and depending on what number you throw, you can draw a part of your beetle. You must always start with a 6, which is the beetle body. For the legs, eyes and antennae, you must throw the required number several times depending on the body part e.g. you must throw a four twice (one for each front leg). The aim is to be the first to draw a complete beetle. Six – the body Five – the head Four – the two front legs Three – the four back legs Two – the two eyes One – the two antennae

Broken bottles Outdoor
Equipment: Ball
This outdoor kids game is a great warm up game for other more boisterous outdoor   games. Use a big blow up ball for the smaller children and a tennis size ball for the seven to ten year olds. All the children stand in a circle with one player in the middle. The central player throws the ball to each child in turn. If a player doesn't catch the ball he must then on his next turn catch it with one hand only. If he misses again, he goes down on one knee and if he misses again he goes down on two knees and finally sitting down. If the player does not catch it sitting down then he is out. However if the player manages to catch it whilst kneeling or sitting, he can reverse back through the positions with each subsequent catch until he is standing again.

Bubble Butt Indoor
Equipment: A chair and balloon for each child
A noisy children's  game! Line up a row of chairs with a balloon on each on one side of the room and get the children to sit in a row on the floor opposite the chairs. It's best to tie the balloons to the chair to stop them blowing off. On the signal to go, all the children must rush over to a chair and sit on the balloon, trying to pop it using only their body weight. Once done they must rush back to their place on the floor. First one back is the winner.

Cards in the Hat Indoor
Equipment: Two packs of playing cards, hat.
A  game to test their skills. You will need 2 packs of cards (make sure each pack has a different back), and a hat. Split the kids into two teams. Place the hat on the floor and stand each team about 2 metres from the hat and opposite each other. On the count of three, each team member takes it in turns to attempt to throw a card into the hat. It doesn't matter that both teams are throwing at the same time as it adds to the fun. When all the cards have been thrown, count the ones that have landed in the hat. Each card from two to ten counts as one point. The Royal cards and the aces count as two points each. This game is surprisingly difficult so you could adjust the distances.

Catch the Balloon Indoor
Equipment: Several balloons, pieces of paper with individual numbers on them, safety pins, and music
A popular kids  game that is so simple. Get everyone to select a piece of paper with a number on which they then pin to their chest. The child with the highest number is given a balloon. The kids then all dance round the room to the music and when the music suddenly stops, the child with the balloon has to throw it in the air and shout out one of the numbers. Whoever's number he shouts out, has to run and catch the balloon before it reaches the floor. There is much hilarity as everyone tries to remember what their number was and to move the other players out of the way in order to catch the balloon. If he is successful, he then has the role of the balloon thrower in the next round.

Cherry Drop Outdoor
Equipment: Blindfold
A  game for when the weather is good. One child is elected to be the cherry tree, he is blindfolded and stands with his arms and fingers outspread like branches. The other players are the cherries on the tree and they each grab hold of part of the branches. The cherry tree then says "Are you ready?" When the cherries shout "Yes", the cherry tree counts to ten as fast as he can whilst the cherries run from the tree. When the cherry tree gets to ten, he yells "Cherry drop!" and all the cherries have to stop running and stand still. The blindfolded cherry tree has to then find and touch all the cherries. The last cherry to be gathered up is the winner and becomes the next cherry tree.

Cotton Balls Indoor
Equipment: Two large bowls or buckets, two chairs, a large ladle, bag of cotton wool balls and a blindfold.
This is an hilarious  game and quite frustrating to watch. It's best to let one person at a time play as it's just as much fun to watch. Place the two chairs opposite each other about 2 metres apart. On one chair place a bowl of cotton wool balls and on the other an empty bowl. Blindfold the chosen player, give them a few twirls and then place them in front of the bowl of cotton wool balls. Using the ladle, they then have to try and scoop up a cotton wool ball (or more) and carefully carry it and place it in the bowl on the opposite chair. It's quite funny to watch as the cotton wool is so light that they are never sure if they are carrying anything or not. Set a time limit of one minute so that everyone gets a go. The winner is the person who transferred the most cotton wool balls.

Cut the Cake Indoor
Equipment: Two large plates, bag of flour, a sweet, a spoon and a big sheet
This is a fun  game where the loser wins! Before the event you need to prepare a flour cake. Fill a pudding bowl with flour and carefully upturn the flour onto a plate. With even more care, place a sweet on top. At the start of the game, lay a big sheet on the floor to catch any mess and sit the children in a circle around the flour cake with the spare plate next to it. The object of the game is to take it in turns to cut a slice of the cake with the spoon and deposit it on the spare plate without letting the sweet fall. The child who causes the sweet to fall has to then use his mouth to get the sweet out of the flour. Thus the loser gets to eat the sweet and have a very floury face!

Eye Witness Indoor
Equipment: Variety of dressing up clothes and props, pens and paper.
 Explain that there has been a robbery and a suspicious character was seen leaving the scene of the crime. Choose a volunteer and take him out of the room and dress him/her in an assortment of clothes. The funnier the better and use props such as a rolled up newspaper, glasses, false moustache. You then announce to the other children that the suspect was seen running away and that they have been asked to give an accurate description of him. As you shout "Police", the child outside runs into the room and runs/walks quickly round it (maybe twice if your room is small) and the other children have to write down anything that he was wearing or carrying. The one with the most accurate list wins and he becomes the next burglar.

Goldilocks Indoor
Equipment: Blankets, duvets and sleeping bags
This is a great  game for a large group and for getting the kids to be quiet for a bit. One child is chosen as daddy bear and goes out of the room whilst everyone else gets right under the blankets and duvets. The daddy bear then renters the room and gently prods each cover and says, "Who's sleeping in my bed?" The covered child must reply "Goldilocks" but in as disguised a voice as possible. If daddy bear guesses correctly who is under the covers, the person must come out but if he guesses wrong then the person says "No" and stays put. The last person left under the covers is the winner and becomes the next daddy bear.

Hares and Hounds Outdoor
Equipment: Chalk, small sticks, scraps of cloth
This is an immensely popular children's game especially with boys over the age of 7. You really need a large space so a park or wood where you can lay trails would be perfect. Choose two people to be the hares and the rest of the kids are the hounds. The hares run off and lay trails with chalk, sticks, stones, cloth and arrows drawn in the dirt. They are allowed to draw false trails but so long as they lead to a cross on the third marking so that the hounds will not try and go further. Any change in direction must also be clearly marked. The hares have a fifteen minutes head start and then the hounds set off to try and catch them before the hares trail leads back to base. If the hares reach base without being caught, they have won the game.

Harold and Gertrude Indoor
Equipment: Old newspaper, blindfold
Choose two people to be Harold and Gertrude. Blindfold Harold and give him a rolled-up newspaper. Place him in the middle of the circle of children who are holding hands. As the children move around in a circle (they can walk or run), Harold shouts out "Gertrude" and Gertrude must answer "Harold". Harold must try and find her by the sound of her voice and to tap her with the newspaper. Of course as the circle moves, Harold will probably end up bopping the other children but they must try and avoid getting bopped by accident. If they are bopped they are out of the game. Once Harold finds Gertrude, the  game starts again.

Hot Potato pants Indoor
Equipment: As many odd clothes that you can find, large bag, music
This is an hilarious  game when played by both boys and girls – adults love it too! Before hand, collect together a variety of clothes such as hats, dresses, shorts, frilly tops, cloth nappy and so on, and place them all in a big bag. Sit everyone in a large circle and as the music plays, they have to pass the bag around like a hot potato. As soon as the music stops, the person left holding the bag has to put his hand in (no peeping) and pull out an article of clothing, which he/she then has to put on. The game caries on till all the clothes are finished and the prize goes to the one voted as the funniest dresser. Have your camera ready for this one as to see the class bruiser decked out in dress can be quite amusing.

I’m in the River Outdoor
Equipment: A long plank of wood or length of rope.
This is a fun game for a crowd. Everybody stands on the plank or rope with one person in front and facing them. When that person calls out "In the river", all the players have to jump forward. If he calls out "On the bank", they all jump backwards. But the tricky bit is, if the person calls out "On the river" or "In the bank", everybody must stand still. Anyone who wobbles the slightest is out.

Jump Ball Outdoor
Equipment: A ball, long piece of string, piece of cloth or net
This is a good  game for any number of kids. Wrap the ball in a piece of cloth or netting and tie a string to that. Players stand in a large circle with one person in the middle holding the ball by the string. As the central person swings the ball at ankle height, the other players have to jump over it. If the ball touches a player, he is out.

Long Jump Outdoor
Equipment: Two sticks
Achildrens game that tests their jumping skills. Divide the kids into two even teams and choose a leader for each. Place a stick as a starter marker on the ground and each team lines up behind their stick. The leader starts by jumping forward as far as he can go in one leap. The next team member has to then jump from where the leader landed and so on down the line until the last player has a turn. The team which jumps the furthest wins.

Jump the River Indoor  or Outdoor

Lay out 2 ropes parallel across the floor a short distance apart. How many of the rainbows can jump over both ropes? If a girl falls into the river she drowns and is out. The game continues as the ropes are gradually moved further apart, until one or 2 girls are the winners.

Memory game Indoor
Equipment: A tray, pencils, paper, objects from around the house
This game is great for quietening down an excited group. In advance  find fifteen to twenty small objects from around the house and place them on a tray. You could include such items as a pen, spoon, thimble, toy car, playing card. Sit the children in a circle and issue each with a pencil and paper. When they are ready place the tray in the middle of the circle and give the children three minutes to study and memorise the objects. When the three minutes is up, remove the tray and the children then have to write down as many objects as they can remember. The winner is the one with the most correct answers. Some children panic at not being able to spell the words so allow them to draw a simple picture of the item if they prefer.

Minefield Outdoor
Equipment: Two blindfolds, cardboard boxes of various shapes and sizes, plastic buckets, low chairs
You need quite a big space for this  game and maybe ear mufflers, as there will be a lot of shouting! Divide the kids into two teams. Lay out all the boxes and chairs - these are known as the mines. Blindfold one person from each team who then has to navigate through the minefield under the verbal guidance of their team mates. If either player touches a mine, they have to stop for a count of ten. When the player finally reaches the end of the minefield, they remove the blindfold and run back to the start and another of their team mates has a turn. The winning team is the one to get all its members through the minefield first.

Mummy wrap Indoor
Equipment: Several rolls of cheap toilet paper
A  game that  can involve the adults!Divide the kids into two or more teams and choose one member of each team to be the mummy. Actually it's more fun for the kids to have two real mummies if you get what I mean!! Give each team a toilet roll or two and on the signal go, they have three minutes to wrap the mummy in as much toilet roll as possible and without leaving any gaps except for the nose. Have your camera ready for this one, as it's really hilarious.

Musical Pillows Indoor
Equipment: Cushion or pillow, Music
This game is a variant of 'pass the parcel' but much more boisterous. Sit the children in a circle and give one of them a large pillow or cushion. As the music plays, they must throw the pillow to someone who must hold it for one second before throwing it to someone else. When the music stops, the person left holding the pillow is out of the game.

Penalty Kick Outdoor
Equipment: Ball, goal post or makeshift one
This is a great game  and gives even the non-sportive child a chance. Place the ball 2 metres away from the goal post. Select one child at a time and explain that this is their chance to score a goal with no goalkeeper to stop them. The tricky part is that they are blindfolded and then placed five or six paces from the ball. To make it even harder you could turn them round several times before they attempt their penalty kick. Tell them to run five paces up to the ball and kick. It is hilarious to watch especially if the child runs in completely the wrong direction.

Piñata Outdoor
Equipment: Piñata, blindfold, stick or bat, somewhere to suspend the Piñata
Piñatas are becoming increasingly popular and is a great  for a Rainbow party.  Pinatas are easily pre made with paper mache and a balloon in advance and filled with small penny wrapped sweets.

All players bar one sit in a circle on the floor. The extra player is PUSSY and is on all fours in the middle of the circle. When everyone is ready pussy crawls over to one of the other players and miaows directly into the face of that person. The player has to stroke pussy’s head and say “poor pussy” for about 5 - 10 seconds while keeping a straight face. If the player succeeds then player and pussy swap places and the game continues. If the player even smirks then that player is out.

Rainbow Ladders Indoor Out Doors
Equipment: None

Rainbows sit in pairs, opposite each other, with legs together and straight, feet touching. Make sure the pairs are an arms length away from each other. Each pair is given a colour. The Guider calls out a colour. The girls with that colour run along the outside of the ladder and touching the Guiders hand at the top before jumping CAREFULLY over the ladder legs back to their places.

THE RAINBOWS MUST KEEP THEIR LEGS TOGETHER AND STRAIGHT AND ARMS BY THEIR SIDES. Alternatively put Rainbows sitting cross-legged and no jumping over legs.

The Rainbow Game Indoor Out Doors
Exquipment: None

Red light, Green light Outdoor
Equipment: None
A  game that needs lots of outdoor space. Choose one child to be 'IT'. The 'IT' turns her back on the other players and calls out "Green light, one, two, three, four, five, Red light!" As soon as she says green light, the other kids start running towards 'IT' but as soon as she says red light, the kids must stop perfectly still. If 'IT' catches one of them moving, that player must go back to the starting line. The player who manages to touch 'IT' on the shoulder is the winner and becomes the next 'IT'.

Red Rover All Over Outdoor
Equipment: None
You need lots of kids for this  game and a large space. Everyone lines up on one side of the garden except one person who stands a few metres in font of them. When he shouts "Red Rover all over", everyone must run down to the other side of the garden and past him whilst he tries to catch someone. Whoever is caught becomes his partner and together they try to catch more people when the children run the other way. The game continues until there is one person left to catch and he/she is the winner.

Sardines to the tin Outdoor
Equipment: None
Play this game outside where there are lots of good hiding places. One person hides whilst all the others count to one hundred. Everybody then sets of separately in search of the hidden person. Once one person finds him/her, they then hide with them in the same place. The game carries on until everyone is hiding together except for one lone wanderer who can’t find you.

52 Scatter Outdoor
Equipment: None
This is another of my childhood favourite games. You need a large outdoor space with plenty of hiding places. Pick a spot such as a large tree as home base and choose one person as the catcher. The catcher stands at the base with his eyes shut and counts to fifty-two out loud. Whilst counting, the other children run off and hide. When the catcher gets to fifty-two, he shouts "…Fifty-two, coming ready or not". He then sets off to find the other players. If he spots one, he must rush back to base, touch it and say, for example, "I spy John behind the green shed". However if John knows that he has been spotted he can try and race the catcher back to the base. If he is successful at getting there first, he becomes the next catcher.

Scarecrow Tiggy Outdoor/Indoor
Equipment: None
When a Rainbow is tagged she must stand still until another Rainbow comes to her and
says "HOP". The tagged Rainbow must reply "Help Other People". Then she is free tocontinue the game.

Scavenger Hunt Outdoor
Equipment: Paper, pencils, plastic bags
This is a great game. It is best played in a park or wood unless you have a very big garden to your hall/meeting place.. In advance, make a list of twenty things that the children have to find, such as a yellow leaf, sweet wrapper, bus ticket, pebble. Each player (or more if they are in teams) is given the list and a bag and then has twenty or thirty minutes to find all the items. The winner is the first person or team to return with all the objects ticked off on their list.

School Indoor
Equipment: A pebble or coin, flight of stairs
The game is played on a short flight of stairs. One child is elected the teacher and the others are the pupils and they start off sitting on the lowest step. The teacher hides the pebble or coin in a fist and asks the children to guess which hand it is in. If they guess correctly they move up a step and if they get it wrong they move down a step. (If they are on the first step they stay where they are). The winner is the first person to reach the top step and then he/she becomes the teacher.

Shipwreck Outdoor/Indoor
Equipment: Large items of furniture
This is a great  game for a large group of kids and one that the younger Rainbows can do well in. Use a large room or garden where there are various items of large furniture or objects that you don't mind the kids clambering on. One person is chosen to be the captain and then all the kids run round the garden or room. As soon as the captain shouts "Shipwreck – bench" for example, the kids all have to rush to the bench and climb on it. The last one on is said to have sunk in the sea and is out of the game. As more and more players are out, the captain names smaller and smaller things to climb on.

Sitting Duck Indoor
Equipment: Cushion, pair of gloves
This game is better suited to a group of kids who know each other. Sit the children in a circle except for one player who puts on the gloves and blindfold. Spin that person round several times and then guide them to the centre of the circle. The blindfolded player has to then feel his way towards a person, place the cushion on their lap and then sit on them. He then says, "Who are you?" and the person should say "Quack, quack" but in a disguised voice. If the sitter guesses correctly whose lap he is on the two players then switch places. If he guesses incorrectly, he must move on to another lap. The idea of the gloves is to stop the blindfolded person from feeling the other persons face or hair as it would then be easy to guess who it was.

Spin the Bottle Indoor
Equipment: A plastic bottle
Everyone sits in a circle with a plastic bottle in the centre. One person spins the bottle and whoever it points to has to do a dare chosen by the person sitting to their left, such as sing a song or pretend to be an animal. Alternatively you could write out some dares in advance on pieces of paper that are put in a bowl and the person has to pick one out.

Stuck in the Mud Outdoor
Equipment: None
This  game is a variant of tag that I loved playing as a child. One child is chosen as IT and he has to try and catch the other children whilst running around. Once caught, the player has to stand in one spot with his legs apart, arms outstretched and shout for help. Another free player can then run and crawl between his legs to free him. If large numbers of children are playing it is sometimes easier to have two or three ITs to make it easier to catch people.

Tower Build Indoor
Equipment: Children's building blocks, boxing gloves, dice, bowl of sweets
A  game that is harder than it sounds. Sit the children in a circle and in the middle place six building blocks, the bowl of sweets and the boxing gloves. The children take it in turns to roll the dice. If they get a six, they must rush to the centre of the circle, put on the gloves and attempt to build a tower of six blocks before the next person throws a six. If they are successful they get to take a sweet from the bowl. You can vary this game by using chopsticks or spoons instead of the boxing gloves and use a different number of bricks depending on the age range of the children.

Under and Over Outdoor
Equipment: Two balls
Arrange the kids into two teams. Each team lines up its players one behind the other and with their legs apart. The first person in each team bends down and tosses the ball backwards and between his legs to the player behind him. The next player catches the ball and then tosses it backwards and over his head to the player behind him. This under and over process continues until the last player has the ball. He takes the ball and runs to the front of the line and the process begins again until the first person in each team has worked his way back to the beginning. The first team to finish is the winner.

 WORLD HANDSHAKES Indoor

Teach the girls the left-handed Worldwide Guide handshake. Rainbows do not salute. Explain that this handshake is used all over the world by the Guiding movement. The rainbows stand in a circle with their hands behind their backs.  One rainbow is chosen to be “The Shaker” and she walks around the outside of the circle of rainbows and taps another girl’s hand. The girl who was tapped runs around the circle in the opposite direction. When the girls meet, they then shake hands and run on - racing to see who will be first into the empty space. The girl who arrives second, is “The Shaker” for the next round.