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

Bremen Town Musicians

A fairytale evening: fantastic and exciting. Of course you are able to change some elements. After each game another part of the fairytale is read out.

Bremen Town Musicians (A fairytale from the brothers Grimm; version of 1857)

Group dividing game:

You make some notes. All players receive a note with an animal noise. The children have to imitate the noise on the note to make the groups. They look for the players making the same noise. Which group will find all members the quickest?

Donkey = eeyore
Dog = woof woof
Cat = meow meow
Cock = cock-a-doodle-doo

There was a man who had a donkey. Year by year the donkey had transported sacks to the mill and had never complained. But now the donkey was old and weak, and he was not useful anymore. His master thought about slaughtering him for meat. Fortunately the donkey realized that and escaped. He went to Bremen to become a musician.

Donkey game: Transport the flour sacks

2 people stand in front. 2 other people stand bowed down behind them, and clasp them around their hips. The fifth person lays on the pack of the bowed people (as sack). The donkey has to run along a course. The slowest donkey has to take to the farm house.

Donkey game: – Piggyback race

A piggyback race is organised - one player is the donkey and carries a person on his back.

During his journey, the donkey met a hound, lying on the ground. The dog was gasping for air. The donkey asked him: “Why are you gasping?”

“Well“, the dog answered, “I am gasping because I am old and because I am getting weaker day-by-day. I cannot go hunting anymore and my master almost put me down. I escaped, but what should I do now?”

“You know what? I am going to Bremen, to become a musician. Come with me. I’ll play the lute and you can play kettledrum.”

Dog game: Hunting

On person is the hound (hunter). He tries to catch as many children as possible (prey). The game takes 60 seconds. Who is the best at the end?

Dog game: Sniffing

Spray different perfumes on paper. Who is able to identify them? The dog was satisfied and both continued their journey. It did not take long before they came across a cat. She had a face as long as a fiddle.

“What’s up with you?“ the donkey asked. The cat answered: “How can I be happy when they want to collar me? Just because I am too old and my teeth are blunt and I do not want to catch mice anymore. My master wanted to drown me. I could escape but what should I do now?” The donkey answered: “Come with us to Bremen and become a town musician.” And so the cat went with them.

Cat game – poor black cat:

One person is the “poor cat“ and tries to make the others laugh.

Cat game – Cat and mouse:

Two children are the cats and two other children are the mice. The other children make a big circle. The mouse tries to slip between the people and to outpace the cat. The children between the mice grasp hands. The cat and the mouse cannot slip between them, again. The holes become fewer and fewer. So the mouse has to reach the last hole early, before the cat can get it.

The donkey, the hound and the cat arrived at a farm. On the gate, a cockerel sat crowing his head off. The donkey asked him: “Why are you screaming?” The cock answered: “Tomorrow is Sunday and I forecast good weather. Many guests are going to come and my mistress told the cook to cut my head off. And so I am screaming as long as I can.” After the donkey had heard the cockerel’s problem, he made him an offer: “Come with us. Your voice is fine and it is a better deal to become a musician than end up on a plate.” The cockerel liked the donkey’s offer, and so the four continued their journey.

Cock game- Cockfight

This old game is still very popular, especially among youth groups. Two fighters stand opposite each other; their arms are folded. They stand on one leg and try to push each other out of the circle.

Cock game – Picking grains

For this game, you need grains of the same size: grains of rice, beans, maize, raisins and peas. Put them into a bowl. A player tries with blindfolded eyes to separate the grains from each other.

As an alternative: Place some grains (candy) in the playing field. A blindfolded player has to find them. His team-mates can give him/ her hints.

But the four animals could not reach Bremen on that day. And so they decided to spend the night in the woods. The donkey and the hound slept under a big tree and the cat climbed on the branches. The cockerel flew on the top of the tree because he felt happier there. Before he fell asleep, he looked around and saw a tiny light in the distance. He told his friends the news that there was a house. The donkey said: “Let’s go there. A hostel to sleep would be good.” And the hound agreed too. He wanted some bones with meat. And so they went to the place were the light was. As they came closer, the light was becoming brighter and brighter. Finally they stood in front of a thief’s cottage. The donkey, the biggest one, came close to the window and looked in. “What do you see?” asked the cockerel. “What do I see? I see a table and a huge meal and something to drink. Lots of robbers are enjoying themselves.” “Oh, how nice it would be if we could sit there too!“ the cockerel mused. “Right, that would be fantastic”, the donkey replied. And so the animals planned to scare the robbers out of the cottage. The donkey had to put his fore feet on the window. The hound jumped on his back and the cat climbed on the back of the hound. The cockerel sat on the cat’s head.

Pyramid game:

The groups try to build a pyramid from their bodies. The best looking and most stable pyramid wins the game.

Suddenly they began to make their music: The donkey said eeyore, the dog barked, the cat meowed and the cockerel crowed. All together they tumbled through the window. The glass broke and the animals were in the parlour. The robbers screamed and ran out of the cottage. The four sat down at the table, ate and drank as if they had hadn’t eaten for weeks.

When they had finished their meal they turned the light off and searched for a place to sleep. The donkey lied on the dunghill, the hound behind the door, the cat went on the stove where it was warm and the cock slept on a perch. And because they were so tired, they fell asleep straight away. At midnight the robbers saw that no light was burning in the house and that it was quiet there. So the main robber had an idea: “Lets go back to the house and see if there is somebody there. As they arrived, they realised that there was nothing. It was quiet in the house. A volunteer tried to light a match in front of the stove because he that the cat’s eyes were coal. The cat jumped in his face and scratched him. He was frightened and ran towards the door. At the door the dog bit him in his leg and the donkey kicked him. The cockerel woke up and shouted: “cock-a-doodle-doo”.

Game – Alley race

The children form an alley. A volunteer (robber) has to run through this alley. The team mates are allowed to throw water bombs (balls, shaving foam) on him/her. (If you think the game is too brutal, leave it out or change it.)

The robber went back to his leader and told him: “There is a terrible witch in the house. She hissed at me and scratched my face with her long finger nails. A man with a knife was behind the door; he stabbed me in my leg. In the yard, a monster hit me with a bat. A judge sits in the rafters who screamed: “Bring me this rogue”, so I ran away”. The robbers have never come back to this day. The Bremen Town Musicians loved their new home so much that they did not leave it ever again and they lived happily ever after.

Singing game:

The groups have to sing a song – be creative
Each group member gets a balloon. They have to perform a song with the balloon.
Use a Playstation to play “Sing-Star”

Ideas for an afternoon with parents, coffee and cake

It is an ideal game in a club, for an afternoon with parents. They can also be involved in the game (except the alley race). At the end there is a presentation of prizes for the best team.

The idea for this game was sent in by Andreas H. It was originally based on a game from CVJM Westbund.