source: www.youthwork-practice.com | 2000 Games, Devotions, Themes, Ideas and more for Youth Work
only for private using

... more Circle Games

Special agent game

Each child thinks of a famous person and writes the name on a piece of paper. The members of staff collect in all of the pieces of paper and read the names out loud, once at the beginning of the game and once in the middle of the game. Each child now tries to remember all of the different names. One player should now begin to ask another player who he is. The questions can only be replied with „yes“or „no“answers. If the identity is discovered, this player must sit behind the player who has identified him. The „Agent“who has correctly identified someone can keep asking questions until he is wrong (the answer to the question is „no“). The game then moves on to the person who was last questioned. If the identity of someone is discovered who already has one or more players sitting behind him, the whole team must sit behind the person who has guessed correctly. The winner is the agent with the most players sitting behind him.
An idea sent by Isabell

Option for the vice-president

It is your turn when the number (or the nickname) of the player on your right is called out. This encourages a higher level of concentration.
Auntie Cathy

This game is similar to the suitcase game but with a different dialogue and the relevant action. The first person (1) starts and says to the second person (2):

„Have you heard?“

„What?“

Auntie Cathy went to the market!”

„Oh, and what did she buy?”

„A rocking chair!“ Player 1 starts rocking on his chair.

Person 2 now carries on the same dialogue with person 3 and also rocks on his chair. The rocking is continued until the dialogue arrive back at person 1, then an extra item can be added e.g. a toothbrush with the action „cleaning teeth“. You will surely think up some funny and ideas and the relevant movements.
Keep a straight face

Questions are asked on a specific theme (Christmas, school, friendship, etc.). The answer must incorporate the required theme and no laughing is allowed.
The blind and the seeing

2 blind people sit opposite each other. The leader chooses a certain person from one team or the other who must sneak past the two blind people. The blind people point in the direction where they heard a noise.

Due to the fact that the blind people do not know if the player is from team A or team B, the points awarding system is fair.

There are 2 points awarded for the team, if the players manage to sneak past undetected. There is 1 point for the team if the blind person recognises where his own team member is. There is a bonus point for blind person and his team if he works out where the player from the other team is.
The ticking alarm clock

A member of the team is blindfolded. An alarm clock is hidden in the room, which the player must locate. The other members of the group must be totally silent. Alternative: the group sit next to each other in a circle with their legs spread to the sides. The alarm clock is between the legs of one of the group members.

The hunt for understanding

Everyone sits in a circle. Numbered pieces of paper are prepared for the number of players taking part and each member of the group draws a number. A volunteer sits in the middle of the circle and calls out 2 numbers (not his own number). The 2 people who are called out must now swap places. The player is the middle tries to steal one of the free seats while the players are swapping. Whoever no longer has a seat must go into the middle. The funny thing is, at the beginning of the game no one knows each others numbers.
Risk

All of the players sit in a circle. A piece of paper with a task on it is inside a blown up balloon and is passed from one player to the next. Each person has to sit on the balloon for 3-4 seconds. If the balloon bursts, they must perform the task on the piece of paper, if the balloon doesn’t burst, it is simply passed on to the next player. Tasks might be: a handstand, sing a song, tell a joke etc.
Frank, Johnny and Walter

There are three players in each team. Each member of the team has a name. They are all called either Frank, Johnny or Walter. All of the groups stand next to each other in a circle. The group leader calls out a name e.g. Johnny. Each child with this name runs around the outside of the complete circle and through the “open gate“, which the two members of the team make in the middle in order to win a bonbon, apple etc. However in the middle of the circle, there are less bonbons/apples than teams. Which team has the most points after 10 rounds? Instead of making a gate with the hands, the players can also make a tunnel with their legs.
Stay firm

The group is split into two teams with equal numbers. Both teams stand opposite each other 1 meter apart. The members of team A now tries to make the members of team B laugh within 2 minutes. The roles are then swapped over.
Newspaper whacking 2

Everyone stands together in a large circle. In the middle of the circle, a rolled up newspaper is placed on a stool. A player is called out who grabs the newspaper a hits a member of the group with it. He then lays the newspaper back on the stool and takes his place in the circle again. However the player who is hit, ties to grab the newspaper from his opponent and hit him with the newspaper before he reaches his space in the circle.
Paid attention and listened?

The group leader says: “We will begin the next game when everyone is in the same position!” The group leader does not say anything else and waits. How long will the group need to understand that they all must sit or stand in the same position before the game starts. The aim is to teach the group to listen and to listen exactly to what has been said.
Chinese Football

The children stand in a circle, with their legs apart and their feet touching that of their neighbours; this is so that the ball doesn’t continuously leave the circle. The legs thus act as the goal posts and the ball has to go through the legs. The game should be played bent over, meaning, only the hands should be used to defend/shoot. The participants shouldn’t just constantly defend their ‘goals’ rather they should also try to shoot the ball through the other participant’s legs. If they manage to do this, the person whose legs the ball went through, has to turn around and play backwards. If the ball goes through again, then this person is out. In this way, the circle gradually becomes smaller and smaller, the last few left standing win. If a child tries to(using hands) shoot the ball through another child’s legs, the other should not just close their legs rather should e.g. turn around etc
Contribution from Sarah L.
Eh, thank you, please, false!

The children sit in a circle. One of the helpers goes around and gives each child a number i.e. 1- however many children there are. One of the children is made the ‘servant’ and four children (randomly selected from the circle) are given the titles as in the name of the game above ( one child is called ‘What’, one is called ‘Thanks’ the other ‘Please’ and the fourth one ‘False’). The game leader stands in the middle and poses a question to the servant: „House servant, House servant!” The person selected as this replies “Yes Sir?” “what is the price of oats?” The house servant then gives a number between 1 and however many children there are. The team leader also says a number. The child whose number is thus called should reply „yes sir?”. In the mean time, the team leader should incorporate the four names in the title as well so that these children will also have a turn. If a child does not answer or takes too long to answer, he receives a dot of cream on their nose from the team leader.
A contribution from Sarah L.
Grimace- Memory Game

One player leaves the room. The rest of the team splits into teams of 2, who have to think of a grimace/expression. The players all sit down (but should not be next to their partner). The person who left the room is called back in. The game then starts with this person tapping one of the others on the shoulder, this person then has to do their chosen grimace/expression. The game then continues in this like a typical memory game.
This is a Ping (also known as Blood-sausage liver-sausage)

The bigger the group, the more enjoyable: everyone sits in a circle. The team leader is holding two similar objects (e.g. coloured shuttlecocks). The team leader then gives one neighbour one object and says “This is a ping”, and he gives the other object to the neighbour on his other side and says “This is a pong”. These two players then have to ask the question “What is this”, the team leader repeats what he said and now it all begins! The players pass the objects around, and have to copy what the team leader did. The person receiving the object always asks: “What is this?”, this should continue all the way up to and past the team leader. Everyone has to pose this question. The game then becomes particularly funny when the two objects cross in the middle.
(Sent in by Gerhard W.)
The Ball-in-the-circle confusion game

The group stands in a circle. A ball is given to them, which should be passed around the circle once; it should always be passed to the person on the right. When this is clear, another ball is given to the group, which should then be passed around the circle starting with the person on the left. This should be practiced by the group until they are all clear on which ball has to go in which direction. A third ball is then given to the group; this should be thrown and at the same time, the name of the person the ball is being thrown to should be called out.

Tip:
- Use different colored and different types of balls (e.g. a soft ball or massage ball etc...)
- Start off slowly, you can always get faster over time.
Board game

All the children create a circle of chairs. In the middle is a child with a round chopping board. This child calls someone’s name and turns the board to the floor. The person whose name has been called out tries to grab hold of the board before it touches the floor. However at the same time the two people sitting next to him (left and right) have to try and prevent them from doing so. The child in the middle moves out of the way and is not allowed to touch the board.