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A booklet written by Graham Cracker and J.A.M. called "Fun with 260's"

This booklet contains 35 games that are played with balloons.

Preschool

First Grade to Preteen

Teen to Adult

Mixed ages in teams

Money saving games for exchanging Christmas presents

Ice breakers for Teens to Adults

How to quickly divide a big group into several small groups

Links to even more Games

Puzzlemaker: This puzzlemarker creates several kinds of puzzles from your info and it is free.

To go to our collection of Christian Activities and Games

To go to our collection of Educational Activities and Games

     If you want to get fancy, blow up a cheap swimming alligator, the kind that is a swimming safety ring with an alligator head. If you want to hold the cost down, use any kind of a ring. Each player gets points for each bean bag they throw into the ring.

     Bloomer basket ball, you make two pairs of very large waisted (hula hoop waist band) pants. You have two teams: a thrower, a catcher (wears the pants), a ball getter (that gets the missed balls and brings them back), For the ball, use the cheap beach balls that are about half as big as a basket ball. The throwers try to throw as many balls into the big pants as they can in 30 seconds from 10 feet away.

     Washer Drop, this is a good game for any age group. Cut the top half off of a plastic one gallon milk bottle, leaving just the big square open bottom half. Dispose of the top half of the milk bottle correctly. Tie a string from one side of the milk bottle bottom to the other side forming a strap to hang the bottle bottom (like a bucket) around your neck. With the string around your neck the bottle bottom should hang about where your belt is. You may want to make the string a little longer so you can adjust it for different size players. Get several good size washers, tilt your head back and place one washer at a time on your forehead. When you raise your head up straight try to make the washer fall into the bottom of the milk bottle.

     Ratman (can be adapted to any kind of animal hat). Form teams. Everyone has a rat hat on. The two teams line up side by side, The first player from each team takes a chunk of foam rubber cheese from a box full of cheese and puts it on his hat. They run about 15 feet to a second box tilt their head and drop the cheese into the second box, run back to the next player and high five them. Then the second player does the same thing. The team with the most cheese in the box wins.

     The Balloon and toilet bowl plunger relay race: This is a relay race where a round balloon (filled with water on hot days) is passed from the top(big plunger end) of one plunger to the top of the next plunger down the line of players. If you do not have enough plungers for each player, you may have to pass a plunger to the next player and then pass the balloon. At least two players on each team has to have a toilet bowl plunger at the same time. The first team to get the balloon to the end of the line wins. Any team that drops the balloon has to start over again.

     A quiet game called Aardvark: form two circles with the kids. Both circles are the same size. Each kid is given an animal name and hand signal in the same order for both circles. The Aardvark always goes first. Using only hand signals, each player signals the player next to them in turn. The first team to go all the way around the circle and back to Aardvark wins.

     A catch game: Two teams. Each team has: a thrower, a catcher, a miss getter. The thrower throws the kind of frisbee with a large hole in the middle. The catcher holds a small toilet plunger on top of their head with the handle pointing up. The idea is to throw the most frisbees onto the plunger handle in the shortest amount of time.

     Sack race.

     Frisbee throw into a ring on the ground.

     Four corners: In a classroom or gymnasium area, without many obstacles, you assign a number to each corner of the room. One child is selected to be "IT" and stands in the center of the room. While this person counts to ten, all of the other children select a corner to stand in. When the person finishes counting, one of the corner numbers is called. All children in that corner are out and must sit down. Play continues until one child is left and they become the new "IT".

     Tony Ball: It is a rough game but for young people who like it they keep coming back for more. It is really nothing more than indoor, or in mud, tackle basketball. You use 1 soft rubber or nerf ball for each team. There are 2 or 4 teams and the basket is one of your team members with there arms in a circle. The basket can not move and the players run with the ball and put it in the basket. There is no need to drible but any one can steel the ball from you at any time except the one who is the basket. When a basket is made a leader throws the ball into the middle of the room and play continues. The game can be played up to any number of points and the variations are limitless.

     The Balloon and toilet bowl plunger relay race: This is a relay race where a round balloon (filled with water on hot days) is passed from the top(big plunger end) of one plunger to the top of the next plunger down the line of players. If you do not have enough plungers for each player, you may have to pass a plunger to the next player and then pass the balloon. At least two players on each team has to have a toilet bowl plunger at the same time. The first team to get the balloon to the end of the line wins. Any team that drops the balloon has to start over again.

     Fireball: two players at a time. Each player puts on a small toy fireman's hat. Each player is given an atomic fireball jawbreaker, they put the fireball in their mouth and keep sucking on it, after a couple of minutes they spit the fireball into their hands. The fireball with the most red colored outside gone, wins.

     The Balloon and toilet bowl plunger relay race: This is a relay race where a round balloon (filled with water on hot days) is passed from the top(big plunger end) of one plunger to the top of the next plunger down the line of players. If you do not have plungers for each player, you may have to pass a plunger to the next player and then pass the balloon. At least two players on each team has to have a toilet bowl plunger at the same time. The first team to get the balloon to the end of the line wins. Any team that drops the balloon has to start over again.

     A game designed to teach each player the names of the other players. All players form a circle and introduce themselves. Any player can start. After the introduction, a player says someones name and throws a bean bag to them. That person then says someone else's names and throws the bean bag to them and so on.

     Cotton ball race: make two equal teams. Each player puts a big glob of Petroleum Jelly on their nose. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO GET IT IN THEIR EYES) The two teams line up side by side. The first player runs to a large bowl about 10 ft away full of cotton balls. They push their faces into the cotton balls trying to stick as many as possible to their face. They run back to tag the next person. A counter for each team counts the cotton balls. The team that brings the most cotton balls back to the counter wins.

     Velcro Tic TAC Toe: Two players at a time. A 3-ft x 3 ft board is covered with a product called "friendly Velcro" or an Army blanket. Stripes for the Tic TAC Toe board are placed on the 3' x 3' board. 6 Velcro balls are marked with an "x" and six with an "O" are used by the players. Each player in turn throws a ball at the board until the ball sticks in a square. The first player with Tic TAC Toe wins.

     Big ball and cup race: make two teams then divide each team into two groups. These two groups will still work together as a team. Group 1 & 2 are Team A 

     The first player in group 1 runs to group 2 balancing a large ball on top of a big cup. The cup and ball are given to the first player in group 2 who runs back, with the ball still on top of the cup, to the second player in group 1, and so on. The first team to pass the cup and ball through all of their players wins.

     The "SET UP" shown below is the same for both Games 1 and 2. These games are great at Christmas time when you have several families together and no one wants to spend a lot of money on presents.

     I know that these games look complicated but I can assure you that after they are played, the first time, your friends will want to play them again. My in-laws play these games every time several families get together for Christmas. They pull a name from a hat for a real Christmas present and then buy a second more generic (a present that is not just aimed at a particular person) present just to play these games.

     SET UP All of the players agree in advance on the amount of money each person will spend per person, knowing that you only have to buy as many presents as there are people in your own family. For instance, a family that has: a husband, a wife, a boy, and a girl, will only buy four presents total no matter how many people are involved. They also know that they need a present that is age and sex appropriate for the members of their family: a man, a woman, a boy, and a girl (generic presents or things anyone can use are also very good: quilts, crafts, glasses, candy, cake, copies of old family pictures, etc.)

     When the group is together at your party you may desire to have a separate game for the small kids if there are a lot of them. Every present needs to be marked or wrapped in an obvious way to identify it as belonging to a general group: a man's present, a woman's present, a generic present, etc. The presents are placed in piles in the middle of the players.

     GAME #1. The number of players is counted and then multiplied by 2 or 3 depending on how big the group is, and how many turns you want each person to have (three is about the most). Example: 20 players X 2 chances each = 40 numbers in a bowl. Numbers 1 through 40 are placed in a bowl and each player (no looking) takes two numbers from the bowl. This determines each persons turn to pick a present. First #1, then #2, then #3 and so on, a player may get consecutive numbers(10, 11) or inconsecutive numbers(2, 35). All players take one turn for each number, and all players go in the order of the numbers they have picked. #1 picks a present from the pile. For instance, a woman usually takes a woman's present, but it is not necessary. You pick your present based only on the look, feel, and sound of the package, none of the presents are opened until the game is over. #2 has a choice of taking what #1 has or picking a present from the pile. Every person has to choose between taking a present from the pile or from someone else. You can take a present from anyone that has a present, but you can not take the last present from someone that has no more numbers. Then the next number goes. And Yes, you may take a present from another group, a woman can take a man's present, for example. The generic presents will fill in the gap. I have seen a young man take a woman's present because he thought his girl friend would like it. At various times people will have several presents at the same time, that OK. As the game continues, other people will take all of those presents away except for the last one. If someone takes your present, you have to wait until your next number comes up to get another present. You will start to see an amazing amount of plotting and scheming for what they think are the best presents, once they get the feel of how the game is played. It is OK for the person that bought the present to warn a player, one time, if they think that that person really would not like the present they are taking out of the pile. Don't tell them what it is, just warn them that they may not like it. After one warning, adults are on their own. For instance, a bald person may not have a need for a set of hair brushes. And, you may have to tell a child that they can not have a particular present. You would not want a very small child to end up with a very sharp set of knives. There is probably something better in the pile for that person. None of the presents are opened until the entire game is over. Only after all of the present swapping is over, and everyone has had their turn, are any presents opened. Every player must have one present at the end of the game.

     GAME #2, All of the presents are piled in the middle of the players. Each person picks one (1) number from a bowl (no looking). There is only one number per person. The numbers are called in number order (1,2,3,4,5, etc). The first person picks a present from the pile and opens it. When each of the rest of the numbers are called, you can pick a present from the pile or from someone that already has a present. Each present is opened when it is picked from the pile, and everyone sees what it is. You can not hide a present. If you take present from another player, that person can then pick a present from the pile or from someone else, and so on, through all of the presents that have been opened to that point.

     EXAMPLE: Number 10 is called, Player #10 likes what #9 has and takes it. Player # 9 likes what player #3 has and takes it. Player #3 like what #8 has and takes it. Player #8 takes a new present from the pile and stops that round, and this can go on through all of the numbers that have been called so far, until a present is taken from the pile. AND, the next number that is called can start it all over again. You can not take a present that has already been taken in that round. In the example above: Player #10 likes what #9 has and takes it. No other player can go to Player #10, in that round, and take that present. There is a lot more present swapping than in game #1 because everyone knows what the presents are. No one ever has more then one present at a time, and once your number is called you should never be without a present. If someone takes your present, you get to pick another. Each present can only be taken once during each round. It is possible that on every round, all of the players that have been called, end up with different presents. You will start to see an amazing amount of plotting and scheming for the best presents once they get a feel for the game. It is OK for the person that bought the present to warn a player, one time, if they think that that person really would not like the present that they are taking out of the pile. Don't tell them what it is, just warn them that they may not like it. After one warning, adults are on their own. And, you may have to tell a child that they can not have a particular present. For instance, you would not want a very small child to end up with a very sharp set of knives. There is probably something in the pile that would be better for a child.

     Have everyone write four things about themselves on a card. No names, or male or female. All of the cards are collected and mixed. Everyone picks a card at random from the pile. The people then mingle and talk about what was written on the cards until you find the person for your card. During the mingling you will learn a lot about many of the other people. After everyone has found the person on their card, each person must introduce the person that is on their card and tell a little about them.

    As each person comes through the door they are given a piece of paper with the name of an animal on it,example, cow, duck, etc. As you give the paper you explain that they are to tell no one what there animal is. When you are ready to split into teams no one is aloud say anything they can only make the noise of the animal on there paper. They find the people making like animal noises and that is there team. Through the event they can use the animal sounds to cheer there team on and as a team name.

     Fun and Games Randy David Thomson's Bookmarks (fun stuff) 
     Eldrbarry's Group Games Guide 
     Games for Kids lots of group games. 

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