Calvinball

OBJECT - Make up your own game.

GAME TYPE - Creative game.

WHO'S IT FOR - All groups can play. You can have as many or as few as you want playing.

WHAT YOU NEED - It depends on the rules you decide. You may want to have some options ready when making the rules, then you can figure it out from there. You will need a chart for the rules and masks for everyone.

HOW TO PLAY:
Calvinball is a game played in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. As Calvin says in one strip, the only permanent rule in Calvinball is that you can't play the same way twice. Therefore, you'll have to make up this game as you go. You may want to take two sessions with this game, at least at first. In the first session, set the rules. In the second session, play the game.

• SESSION ONE: Set the rules. Each group will be different in the way the rules get set. For Group One, for example, you may want to have more limited choices (what type of ball should we use...a basketball, a soccer ball, or a football?), while Group Three can have a broader choice (what type of ball should we use?) In the comic, Calvinball seems to be a cross between croquet and Capture The Flag, but you can play it however you want. Encourage creativity in the choices (seventeen bases, shoot a football into a basketball hoop, can only carry the ball between your knees, etc). You'll need to establish how to score, roles of the players, number of players per team, number of teams, penalties for breaking rules, and any other things you can think of. This will take a while, which is why I recommend taking an entire session.
• SESSION TWO: Play the game. When playing the game, make sure everyone is following the rules they came up with. However, in the spirit of true Calvinball, players can make up more rules as they go, as long as they don't conflict with the original rules (if an original rule was to hop on one foot when scoring a point, a new rule cannot be to run in a circle when scoring a point). New rules must be stated alound and added to the rule chart. Also, the official uniform of Calvinball is a bandit mask over the eyes.

This game is more about inventing the rules than winning. Encourage lots of creativity.

THIS WORKS ON - Creativity (making up the rules), following directions (following the rules), competition (playing the game).

Greedy

OBJECT - Make the most baskets.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You should have no more than ten people playing this game at once.

WHAT YOU NEED - A basketball hoop and enough basketballs so each player can have one. The basketballs should be unique enough that players can tell them apart. This can be a marking on the ball, or an entirely different style of ball. You should also have a scorecard.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have each player line up outside the three point line, and give each a basketball.
2. On the word "GO", every player shoots their basketballs to try to make a basket.
3. When a player misses, they must get the rebopund (and make sure it is their ball), and shoot from where they got the rebound. They may not move closer to the basket. If a ball goes out of bounds, the player may bring the ball back in bounds before shooting again.
4. Once a player makes a shot, they yell "POINT" and run back to the three point line to start shooting again.
5. Keep track of the points. When a player scores five baskets, they can stop and move off the court.
6. The last player shooting (who doesn't make five points) is eleiminated.
7. Players start again from behiond the three point line. In the next round, you only need four points. The next round, and all rounds after that, need only three points.
8. Players can use their basketballs to block other shots, throwing their balls in the air to knock another one off its flight path. The danger in this, however, is that you have to shoot from where your ball goes, which will probably be somewhere in the wrong direction.
9. Keep eleiminating until one player is left standing. This player wins.

This game can get pretty chaotic, so make sure everyone knows exactly which ball is theirs.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to score the most baskets while everyone else is shooting), athletic ability (basketball skills)

Costume Relay

OBJECT - Win the race.

GAME TYPE - Racing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You need at least four people for this race, but the more the merrier.

WHAT YOU NEED - Lots of old clothes, including hats, scarves, shirts, pants, skirts, gloves, shoes, sunglasses, masks, etc. Be creative.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into at least two teams, more if you have enough.
2. Have the players stand at one end of the race track, with a box of clothes at the opposite end.
3. Before starting the race, let each team know what they must have in order to win. For example, they should have a hat, pants, a shirt, a scarf, a belt, shoes, and one other item they can decide on. The players may decide which article of clothing to grab when they reach the box of clothes, or you can designate each player to get something.
4. On the word "GO", the first two players race to the box and grab one of the clothing items from their list (or the article of clothing they have been assigned). They must put it on and race back to the start.
5. When the players reach the start, they take off the clothing piece they grabbed (such as a hat) and put it on the next player. The next player then runs to the box, grabs another article of clothing, puts it on, and runs back.
6. Whenever a player reaches the start, they must take off everything they've gotten from the box and put it on the next player.
7. When a runner puts on the last article of clothing they needed from the box, they run back to start and put the entire costume on the next player. That player must run back to the box, put everything back, and run back. The first team to finish the race wins.

You don't have to have the last player put everything back. If you want, you can end the race when they've completed the costume, then take votes on who has the best outfit.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (running the race), teamwork (dressing your teammates), creativity (deciding what the best outfit would look like), functional skills (dressing, identifying articles of clothing)

Eyes and Feet

OBJECT - Guess who's behind the sheet.

GAME TYPE - Observation game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. Three or more people can play this game, but it's more fun and much harder if there's more.

WHAT YOU NEED - A sheet with a hole for the eyes cut out. The hole shouldn't be too high on the sheet, but high enough so the shortest player can look through them.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Hang your prepared sheet up in a doorway. Make sure you can't see around it.
2. Choose one player to be IT. All other players go to the other side of the sheet.
3. One at a time, a player comes up to the sheet and puts their eyes to the eye hole.
4. IT must decide who the eyes in the eyehole belong to.
5. Have every player look through the eyehole, and have IT decide who belongs to each pair.
6. Once IT has seen all the eyes, choose another IT. They go through the same process.
7. The winner is the player who identified the most eyes correctly.

As a variation, and the reason this game is called Eyes and Feet, you can raise the sheet high enough so only the player's feet are visible, and have IT identify them that way.

THIS WORKS ON - Observational skills (noticing attributes that belong to others), matching (matching eyes or feet to other players)

Paper Football Tournament

OBJECT - Win the paper football tournament!

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups Two and Three. You need two people for a game, and more for a tournament.

WHAT YOU NEED - A table and a paper football for each game. Find instructions on how to make a paper football here.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. You can set up the tournament in a couple of different ways. You can do a single elimination tournament, bracket style like the NCAA tournament. You could also have all players play everyone else and keep track of wins and losses, with the top two players meeting for the championship at the end. You can also come up with your own format.
2. To play paper football, seat two players across from each other at a table. There shouldn't be too much space between them.
3. Have players flick the football to the other end of the table. The goal is to get part of the football hanging over the edge of the table. You can check this by running your finger across the edge of the table. If the football moves, it's a goal.
4. If the football goes over the edge and falls to the floor, it doesn't count.
5. If the football does not score a goal, the opposing player must flick it from the place it stopped. The only way a player may move the football is if the football goes over the edge.
6. Whoever scores five points first is the winner.

Play as many games as you want, but try to keep it competitive and fun.

THIS WORKS ON - Fine motor (flicking the football), eye-hand coordination (aiming, trying to get the shot just right), competition (trying to score more goals than the other player)

Pass The Present

OBJECT - Open the present!

GAME TYPE - Passing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You need enough people to make a circle.

WHAT YOU NEED - Music, and several prewrapped presents. The presents should be wrapped with several layers of paper.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Players sit in a circle.
2. When the music starts, players pass a present from person to person.
3. Whenever the music stops, whoever is holding the present gets to unwrap one layer of wrapping paper.
4. The music starts again and the present gets passed.
5. Keep going until someone unwraps the last layer of paper. Whoever unwraps the last layer gets to keep the present.
6. Repeat with another present.

This is a great Christmas game, but can be used for other occasions as well. When you wrap the presents, try to make it very difficult to unwrap more than one layer at once. Also, make sure everyone gets something.

THIS WORKS ON - Sharing (passing the present), fine motor (unwrapping presents), attending (listening to the music), following directions (only unwrapping one layer)

Spoons

OBJECT - Make four of a kind, and don't be the last one to grab a spoon.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. This should ideally be played with a group of no more than seven or eight.

WHAT YOU NEED - A full deck of playing cards and one spoon for each player, minus one.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have all players sit in a circle with spoons in the middle. There should be enough spoons in the middle so every player except one can grab a spoon.
2. Have one player shuffle and deal the cards (help if you need to). Four cards get dealt to each player. All extra cards are placed in front of the dealer.
3. The object is to make four of a kind in your hand. This means you want to have all four 3s or all four Kings, etc.
4. On the word "GO", the dealer takes a card from the extra card deck. The dealer must then discard one card and pass it to the player on his/her left. While the next player decides if he/she wants to use that card, the dealer draws another one.
5. Play continues like this, with each player discarding and passing. You may only have four cards in your hand at a time, and you may only pick up one card at a time.
6. When the last player discards, instead of passing the card to the dealer, they make a discard pile. Should you run out of cards without someone getting four of a kind, the dealer may shuffle those cards and use them as a new deck.
7. When someone makes four of a kind in their hand, they must grab a spoon. However, they want to do this in such a way that no one else notices.
8. If anyone notices that a spoon has been taken, they can grab a spoon as well, even if they don't have four of a kind in their hand.
9. Whoever does not get a spoon in the round is out.
10. Remove a spoon and play again.
11. Keep playing until only one remains. They are the winner.

Sneakiness is encouraged when grabbing a spoon. When someone does notice, it usually turns chaotic quickly.

THIS WORKS ON - Observational skills (knowing when someone takes a spoon), matching (making four of a kind), competition (playing a game with peers)

Magazine Scavenger Hunt

OBJECT - Find the most items on your list.

GAME TYPE - Scavenger hunt.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. Have as many people as you want. If there are less than four, everyone will work individually. If there are four or more players, teams will be made of two or three, depending on whether there's an odd or even number.

WHAT YOU NEED - Lots of magazines, scissors, glue, and a list of the items you want the players to search for. You can either have a list with a box for each item, or just a list with a separate piece of paper for a collage.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into teams of two or three.
2. Give everyone a list that you've made previously. As mentioned before, the list can be simply a list of items, or it can have a box for each item.
3. Have each team search through the magazines, looking for each item mentioned and cutting them out.
4. At the end of a set time limit, the searching is done. The players can now glue the pictures either to their list or make a collage by gluing them onto a separate piece of paper.
5. The team that found the most items, or that were the most creative, wins.

If you want to try a variation, have the players come up with the list they need to search for.

Some suggestions for items to search for:

• A car
• A boat
• A hat
• A shoe
• Something red
• Something tiny
• Letters that spell the names of everyone in your team
• Something to eat
• Something shiny
• A celebrity

THIS WORKS ON - Creativity (coming up with items for what is listed), artistic ability (cutting and pasting), finding items (finding what's listed)

Octopus Tag

OBJECT - Don't get tagged by the octopus or any tentacles!

GAME TYPE - Tag game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You can have as many people as you want to play this game, but at least six.

WHAT YOU NEED - A rectangular space to run with clearly defined borders.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set the borders of your area, which should be rectangular. The ends of the area are the safe zones.
2. Designate one person to be the octopus.
3. The octopus stands in the middle of the area, while all other players go to one of the safe zones (everyone in the same place).
4. When the octopus says "GO!", all other players must run from their safe zone to the other, trying to avoid the tag of the octopus. Players may not cross over the edges of the area.
5. If someone gets tagged by the octopus, they become a tentacle. Rather than attaching to the octopus, however, they must stay in the same place they were when they were tagged.
6. Once all players who have not been tagged, the octopus returns to the center of the area and says "GO!" again. Players race back to the other safe zone, this time trying to avoid the tag of the octopus AND any tentacles.
7. Tentacles may not move from their spot, they are rooted to the ground. However, they may take one step as long as their other foot is firmly planted.
8. Anyone who gets tagged by a tentacle becomes another tentacle and must stay in place to try and tag people the next time.
9. The last person who can avoid all tentacles and the octopus is the winner, and becomes the new octopus.

If any tentacle needs help staying put, you can use a carpet square, or draw a big circle where they need to stand using chalk, or tape.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to avoid the tag), following directions (staying inside the borders, staying in place as a tentacle)

Around The World

OBJECT - Score all the shots first!

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups Two and Three. You need at least two for this game, and probably no more than 8.

WHAT YOU NEED - A basketball, a basketball court (or half-court), and some means of marking spots (chalk, tape, carpet squares).

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Mark ten spots around the basketball court, with shots increasing in difficulty. For example, spot #1 might be right by the basket (lay up) while shot #10 is behind the basket.
2. On their turn, each player will start at spot #1 and try to work their way up to spot #10.
3. If a player makes a shot, they move ahead and shoot again.
4. If a player misses a shot, their turn is over and the next player tries.
5. Each player starts their turn from the last place they missed.
6. The first person to make all ten shots is the winner.

Know your group's abilities, and don't make the shots impossible, but do make them challenging. If your group can barely get the ball to the hoop from the free throw line, don't make them shoot from midcourt.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to make all the baskets before anyone else), athletic ability (basketball skills), eye-hand coordination (making shots).

Jingle Tag

OBJECT - Catch the jingler.

GAME TYPE - Tag game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You'll need four to ten people for this game.

WHAT YOU NEED - For variation one, jingle bells for everyone and one blindfold. For variation two, blindfolds for everyone and one set of jingle bells. For both groups, have an area with clearly defined borders.

HOW TO PLAY (Variation One):

1. Choose one person to be IT and blindfold them.
2. Give everyone else a set of jingle bells.
3. At the word "GO", IT tries to find someone else by listening for their jingle bells.
4. The jinglers must jingle their bells if they are moving. They also may not leave the defined area.
5. Adults can scatter around the area to help IT stay inside the borders.
6. When IT tags someone, they become the new IT.

HOW TO PLAY (Variation Two):

1. Choose one person to be IT, and blindfold everyone else.
2. Give IT a set of jingle bells.
3. At the word "GO", everyone tries to find IT by listening for the jingle bells.
4. IT must jingle the bells when moving. IT may not leave the defined area.
5. Adults can scatter around the area to help the blindfolded people stay in the area.
6. When someone catches IT, they become the new IT.

Watch out for the safety of anyone who is blindfolded. They shouldn't move too fast, and be sure the area is cleared of anything they might trip on.

THIS WORKS ON - Sensory (using ears instead of eyes), competition (trying to tag/not be tagged).

Pig

OBJECT - Score 101 points before anyone else.

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. This game is ideally played with 2-6 players.

WHAT YOU NEED - Two dice and a scorepad.

HOW YOU PLAY:

1. Decide who goes first by rolling the dice. High roll wins.
2. The first player rolls the dice and adds up the total. They may keep rolling until they bust, or roll a one, or until they choose to stop.
3. If, on any roll, one of the dice is a one, that player's turn is over and they collect no points for the turn, but may keep all points accumulated in previous turns.
4. If a player rolls double ones, their turn is over, and they lose all points accumulated in the game to that point. This is a bust.
5. If a player rolls doubles (not ones), they must roll again. They have no choice. If they roll doubles three times in a row, they lose all points accumulated to that point. This is also a bust.
6. If a player chooses to stop before busting or rolling a one, they may keep any points accumulated in that turn and add them to their total.
7. The first player to score 101 points or more is the winner. However, if any player scores exactly 100, they bust and lose all points accumulated in the game.

Confused? Here's a sample:

• Player A rolls 3-6. He chooses to keep rolling. He rolls a 2-3. He chooses to stop with 14 points.
• Player B rolls 4-4. He must roll again. He rolls a 6-6. He must roll again. He rolls 2-3. He chooses to stop with 25 points.
• Player C rolls 5-6. She rolls again. She rolls 1-3. She ends her turn with zero.
• Player D rolls 3-4. She chooses to stop with 7 points.
• Player A rolls 1-1. He loses the 14 points he earned on his first turn and now has zero.
• Player B rolls 2-2. He must roll again. He rolls 5-5. He must roll again. He rolls 3-3. He busts and loses the 25 points from the first turn, and now has zero.
• Player C keeps rolling for several turns, amazingly not rolling a single one. However, at 95 points, she rolls 2-3 bringing her total to 100. She loses all her points and is back to zero.
• Player D rolls a 6-6 and must roll again. She rolls 5-6 and chooses to stop with 23 points in this round added to her 7 from the previous round for 30 total.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (rolling for higher points than your peers), strategy (knowing when to quit rolling), math (adding numbers).

Shadow Tag

OBJECT - Tag the shadows!

GAME TYPE - Tag game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You can have at least four for this game, or as many as you want.

WHAT YOU NEED - A sunny day.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. One person is designated as IT.
2. At the word "GO", IT attempts to tag the other players. The catch is, IT must tag their shadow by stepping on it.
3. If someone's shadow is tagged, they become the new IT.
4. Play as long as you like.

Play late in the day for easier tags (longer shadows). Play at midday for a more difficult game.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying not to get out), following directions (tagging shadow and not person).

Grid Game

OBJECT - Collect the most grid boxes.

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You need at least three people, and up to ten.

WHAT YOU NEED - Sidewalk chalk and an area outside. In drawing the grid, make five rows and five columns of boxes for 25 total. If there are more than five playing, add another column for each player. Also, you'll need one beanbag for each player.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Draw the grid (as described above).
2. Each player takes turn throwing one beanbag at the grid.
3. If a beanbag lands in an unoccupied box (a box that has not already been claimed), the player that threw it may claim the box. They can sign their initials, or color it in with a unique color, or draw a picture, or whatever tehy want to do to claim it.
4. If the beanbag lands in a box that has already been claimed, they can have one more chance to try and get a free box. If they don't, they pass their turn.
5. Keep playing until all boxes are claimed. The player who claimed the most boxes is the winner.

Due to the set-up, this is not a game that repeats easily. Either plan on this being the only thing in your session, or have another game ready for after this one ends.

THIS WORKS ON - Eye-hand coordination (aiming a beanbag and throwing), competition (trying to earn the most boxes), writing (signing your box).

Hungry Hippos

OBJECT - Feed the hippos!

GAME TYPE - Four team game.

WHO'S IT FOUR - Group Two and Group Three. You need at least four players to play, but probably no more than 12.

WHAT YOU NEED - Four boxes or laundry baskets, several playground balls, and a fairly large area.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into four teams. There should be one to three players on each team.
2. Assign each team to one goal. This is a hippo, and this is where they will try to score.
3. Everyone must try to score a goal in their own hippo while trying to block goals in other hippos. It may be helpful for teams to divide themselves into offense and defense.
4. If there are only four players, the playing area will be much smaller than if there are twelve.
5. If a ball is kicked into a hippo, that hippo's team scores one point. The ball goes back into play.
6. Players may only kick the ball.
7. At the end of a set time limit, whichever team has the most points wins.

All four teams must cooperate to prevent other teams from scoring while trying to score themselves. This can make the game pretty chaotic, so watch for frustration.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to score goals against other teams), eye-foot coordination (trying to aim kicks), interteam cooperation (working with other teams to try and defend).

Color Bingo

OBJECT - Get Bingo using colors.

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You can have as many or as few as you want to play this game, depending on how much preparation you do.

WHAT YOU NEED - This game needs quite a bit of preparation. First, take two standard six-sided dice. Cover all faces of one die with different colored paper, such as blue, green, yellow, red, black, and white. It doesn't matter which color goes where. Leave the other die alone. You'll also need enough bingo cards for all of your players. The Bingo cards should have six rows and six boxes for a total of 36 boxes. Number each column 1-6. Each column should have four of the six colors represented and placed randomly throughout the column. You'll also need a lot of tokens or other types of markers to mark the board during the game.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Pass out the cards to the players.
2. Have a player roll both dice, the normal one and the colored one.
3. When the roll is done, have the player call out what the number and color is (e.g. "Three blue").
4. When the number/color combination is called, players look on their in the number column to see if they have that color represented. If there are one or more blues in the third column, players should mark only one with one of their tokens.
5. If a number/color combination is rolled, and the player has already marked it, they don't get to mark it again.
6. If a number/color combination is rolled, and the player doesn't have it, they don't get to mark anything.
7. All players should get a turn to roll the dice and call out the number/color combination.
8. Keep track of what has been called.
9. When someone gets six in a row (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), they call out "BINGO!" Check to make sure they got it. If they did, they win. If not, play continues.
10. Once someone has won, clear the cards, switch them around, and play again.

This game is mostly based on luck, so try to encourage the players not to get frustrated if they don't win.

THIS WORKS ON - Color recognition (trying to identify colors on the bingo card), fine motor (placing markers on the card), competition (playing a friendly game with peers), tracking (finding the right color in the right column)

Paper Airplane Race

OBJECT - Build the best paper airplane and win the race.

GAME TYPE - Racing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You need at least two people to make it a race, but you can have as many as you want.

WHAT YOU NEED - Paper for the airplanes, and a number of different designs to experiment with.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Step One is the making of the paper airplanes. Each player can make several, using different designs if they want.
2. Next comes the testing of the airplanes. They can throw them around, checking to see if they work properly.
3. Now is the time for the race. Players pick their best paper airplane.
4. On the word "GO", players throw their airplanes as far as they'll go towards the finish line.
5. If the airplanes fall short, players must pick them up from where they landed and try again.
6. The first airplane to cross the finish line is the winner. If two airplanes cross at the same time, the one that went the farthest was the winner.
7. Try again with a different plane if you want.

Some players may need extra help making the airplanes. Be willing to give it.

THIS WORKS ON - Sequencing (following steps to make a paper airplane), competition (it's a race), artistic ability (being creative with designs)

Circle Kickball

OBJECT - Don't knock over any objects.

GAME TYPE - One team game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups One and Two. You need at least six people for this game.

WHAT YOU NEED - A kickball and several items for the center of the circle that can be knocked down.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Put everyone into a large circle, with at least an arm's length between them.
2. First, have the players jsut practice kicking the ball to someone else in the circle. Don't kick it too hard, or the other player won't be able to get it.
3. After everyone has kicked the ball to someone else a few times, put an object, such as an empty soda bottle, in the middle of the circle. Now the object of the game is to kick the ball across the circle without knocking over the object.
4. If the object gets knocked over, set it back up. See how many times the ball can be kicked across the circle before the object gets knocked over.
5. As the game progresses, make it more difficult by adding more objects to the circle. If one object gets knocked down, leave it as an obstacle. Only when everything gets knocked down do you set them up again.

This game is not a competition. People don't get eliminated for knocking down the object, though if someone refuses to follow directions and keeps aiming for the object, they may need to be removed.

THIS WORKS ON - Teamwork (everyone working together to keep the objects standing), eye-foot coordination (being able to aim kicks so the objects don't get hit), following directions (kicking to friends and not trying to hit center object).