7 Ways To Make Dodgeball Games More Extreme

We all love good dodgeball games! Not only does it unleash safe foam-fueled chaos in the youth club but it’s also a great cathartic exercise for leaders and young people to take out their frustrations on each other!

  1. Replace the balls with Nerf guns
    Nerf guns and bullets are fantastic! They’re soft, they’re fast and they aim well! You can take it to a whole new level and add goggles and body armour too. Don’t buy branded, shops like £stretcher tend to have cheep & cheerful versions that work well enough.
  2. Replace the hall with a box fort for urban warfare
    This takes some prep time – but well worth it. Fill the room with 5ft high cardboard box walls in L and U shapes with the odd window cutout. You can gaffer tape these together or leave them loose to add growing battle damage to a room. Local supermarkets are usually very happy to give you as many flat packed boxes as you want!
  3. Add teams and senarios
    Different colour balls (or nerf guns bullets) with personal lives and bases. Add some wide game scenarios like capture the flag.
  4. Make it wet
    Outdoor dodgeball games with sponges and buckets… need I say more?
  5. Add gun placements, cluster bombs and mines
    A couple of upturned gopack tables with a huge store of ammo makes a great gun placement. Plastic bags filled with ball pool balls are fab cluster bombs. Finally soft play or home gym mats can be constantly added to the floor as mines.
  6. Use the dragon
    The group starts off in a fast moving conga line, when the line gets hit it breaks at the person it touches (and they’re out) into two lines. The dragons keep getting smaller – it’s last man standing!
  7. Blindfold the throwers
    Why not?

8? Got more ideas?
Do you have other ways to make dodgeball games more extreme? Comment below!

7 Ways To Make Wide Games More Extreme

Continuing in the vein of making games cooler (ie stupider), here we look at everybody’s camp favorite: Wide Game! A good wide game goes way beyond capture the flag – it takes some serious creativity and leaves lasting impact. Try out some of these ideas and comment yours below:

Obvious disclaimer – think carefully about your group, do your risk assessments and have enough leaders to keep it safe (including a first aider… they’re usually needed!)

  1. Replace the flags with flour and eggs
    Rather than grabbing a pretty piece of cloth, change it up for a bucket of eggs or flour wrapped in cheap cling-film; grab one at a time – no points if its broken! End the session with an egg & flour fight… then shower!
  2. Add some ‘enforcers’
    Enforcers are just a couple of leaders dressed in full camo with water pistols. No team affiliations – they’re just there to cause more chaos.
  3. Replace lives with Velcro tabs or pieces of gaffer tape
    So you loose your life when you loose it – or someone wrestles it off you.
  4. Add scenarios & protagonists
    Come up with a theme, back story and scenario to play out. Have the team rehearse an opening goading script and then stay in character for the game! Give everyone maps with extra secret objectives.
  5. Rambo up!
    Buy a bulk load of war paint – or make your own from mud. Spend 30 minutes in the wooded area you’ll be in making your own camouflage bunkers. We once had leaders playing in chain-mail!
  6. Do it at night!
    Give everyone a head-torch, make the lives glow-sticks and the flags lanterns… need I say more? – Don’t warn them either…. just wake everybody up at midnight in character and set the scenario mood!
  7. Add teams… and an elite squad!
    Classically wide games only have two teams, but why? It’s so much more chaotic and requires so much more sneaky strategy when there’s three or four. If you’re playing a few games you can take best performing individuals and make a smaller ‘delta squad’ for fun new rules too!

8? Got any more?
Done some epic wide games? Invented new epic wide game rules? Let us know by commenting below!

7 New Rules For Mafia

If you’ve spent more than ten minutes in the youth work world then you’ve probably played Mafia – if you haven’t, it’s basically a very wholesome game where your young people try to secretly kill each other.

I’m assuming if you came here you know the main rules, so won’t bother hashing them out. Here are a few extra ‘house rules’ that we’ve been using for a while:

  1. New Character: The Tank
    If anyone get’s the 2 of spades they become ‘the tank.’ If and when the tank dies, they explode meaning the two still living people on either side of them die too. Massive game changer! Part of the villager team.
  2. New Character: The Godfather
    One member of the Mafia (usually the one with the Ace of Spades) is designated as the Godfather. The Godfather settles disagreements about who to kill by having last say, and is allowed to kill additional people (as long as they’re members of the mafia) as discipline. If the Godfather is last Mafia standing, then the Mafia automatically win. If the Godfather is killed then the villagers automatically win.
  3. Revealing the detective
    At anytime during waking game pay the detective (and only the detective) can sacrificially reveal themselves and prove it by showing their card. This can drastically alter an outcome, but will lead to almost certain death as well.
  4. The Doctor
    Is no longer allowed to save themselves.
  5. New Character: The Spy
    If someone gets the jack of spades they become ‘the spy.’ The spy can open their eyes at anytime during the sleeping time to gain intel and steer discussion later. If they get caught though, you can guarantee they won’t be around much longer! Part of the villager team.
  6. Promotion & Extra Ammo
    Just before each sleep a die is rolled. On the roll of a 6 everyone passes their cards two people to the left and become new characters. On the roll of a 1 the Mafia get extra Ammo and are allowed to kill an additional person.
  7. New Character: The Hulk
    If you get the king of clubs you are the hulk. If you chose to reveal yourself (showing your card) then your vote counts twice… although you’ll probably get killed off! Part of the villager team.

8? Got any more?
Comment and let us know!

12 Extreme Youth Work Games

Most games we play are silly. Some are character building or encourage teamwork. Others are downright dangerous! Here’s my list of youth work games that stretch the risk assessment to the extreme.

I’m not condoning or suggesting you play any of these extreme youth work games & definitely not without proper supervision. … … Here they are:

1. Ring of fire
Everyone holds hands in a circle. Then, without letting go of their neighbor’s hands, they try to knock down a bottle in the middle with someone else’s body. You’re out if your body knocks over the bottle and your out if you let go of someones hand. The circle gets smaller each time.

2. Ultimate Mattress
It’s Ultimate Frisbee…. with a single mattress. Do the math!

3. Duel
Remember TV’s gladiator from the 90s? You sit two young people on an extended A-frame over some mats, give them a big foam stick and encourage them to stay on the frame and knock the other person off.

4. Balloon-o Suits
Sumo suits made from sticking a bunch of balloons to a bin bag. You’re aim is to survive the suit and pop all your opponents. Best in groups of 10 or more, person with the most left after 2 minutes wins.

5. Blindfolded Games
Dodgeball, musical chairs, football… whatever!

6. Gauntlet
The mission is to run down a track from one point to another – but there are hazards on the way in the form of other people with mattresses trying to stop you.

7. Plank tag
It’s like any other ‘last-to-do-it-perfectly-and-freeze-is-out’ games but this one involves planking! When the leader shouts ‘plank‘ the players plank (lie down rigid on their front) on whatever piece of furniture they have arrived at.

8. Limbo Slip
It’s limbo… but with a wet slippery tarp under foot.

9. Pushup Ninja
Get between 2-20 people in a circle in push up positions heads facing in to the circle. The idea is to pull people’s arms away without loosing your own balance. Keeps narrowing down every time someone falls.

10. Rabbit Boxing
Get two people in to a squat position with their hands up in a ‘stop’ motion against the other persons palms. The aim is to push the other person over without falling. Shout ‘go’ and the person who looses their balance first and falls over is out.

11. 3D Twister
Get four twister boards, tape them together and drape them over a couch. Get a bunch of players and off you go.

12. Wet Twister
Wet the board… need I say more?

13? Got any more?
Leave a comment!

7 New Ninja Rules To Make It More Extreme

We all love the game of ninja right? Jumping around and freezing trying to look like Bruce Lee is always epic and hilarious. Although, admittedly it can drag a wee bit after a while. Never fear – here are a few ways to spice up your ninja games!

1. Push-up Ninja.
Every move must begin, and end, in a push up position. You get somebody out by knocking their arm away and they hit the deck.

2. Rabbit Ninja
Every move must begin and end in a squat position. People are out when they fall over.

3. Blindfold Ninja
A great ninja must learn to use all their senses… just in case they loose one!

4. RNG – Random Ninja Generator
A large dice is rolled after every round, on a 1 or 6 a dead person comes back… and they come back deadlier – they start in the middle and can go after anybody they want.

5. ‘You can’t kill me!’ Ninja
Simple rule – everybody starts with two lives. When someone looses a life they must put one of their hands behind their back.

6. Mermaid Ninja
You can jump and leap as normal, however your feet must ALWAYS stay together.

7. Carnage Ninja
Every now and then insert a ‘carnage point’ where everyone does a random attack move at once!

8.? Got any more great Ninja rules?
Comment and let me know!

6 Youth Group Tactile Discussion Activities

Starting genuine conversations in a youth group can be a nightmare! Keeping them rolling while staying on track doubly so. Small group conversations tend to oscillate between pulling teeth and taming out of control petrol fires.

One of the best ways to engage different personalities and create real dynamic conversation is to use tactile (hands-on) activities. These can also be useful or easily adapted if your group contains young people with additional learning needs.

Here are some easy activities that create conversation on spiritual topics with an element of hands-on fun.

1. Story Cubes.

A brilliant invention that encourages you to make up your own rules. You start by group members choosing a cube and creating a story based off what’s on those cubes. You can get more specific by introducing a particular theme or topic for them to keep to.

This works best when you break into the story to ask the golden questions: who, what, when, where, why and how to get the group to elaborate and clarify the story they are telling.

Buy story cubes from here and follow them on twitter.

2. Question Jenga

Find a cheap Jenga set and, using a sharpie, write simple questions on each brick. Take turns to pull out a brick and ask a question to the group.

The questions can be as simple as ‘what’s your favourite colour?’ or as controversial as ‘can gay people go to heaven?’.

3. Collage Clips

Cut out quotes, words, colours, pictures and textures from a bunch of different magazines. Make sure you have lots and lots. Display them by tacking then to the wall or laying them out on the floor or a table.

Set the group the challenge to find a picture each and to explain to the group why they picked that picture.

You could ask them just pick one they like, or one that explains how their day went, or one that best describes who God is to them.

Another option is to use art postcards that you buy from galleries, artcards on specific God and ethics ideas from Youthscape or perspective cards available to buy from Agape.

4. Values Pyramid

Create 10 values on a theme or a topic and have the group rank them from most important at the top of the pyramid to least important on the bottom row. If you have enough people have several sets of this around and brake the group up.

Once you’ve done this ask the golden questions again (who, what, when, where, why, how) to challenge their answers. Compare the different pyramids and give people the opportunity to remove a row and re-rank the remaining.

Once finished you can give them a white piece of paper each and encourage them to add or replace a value with one of their own. Two sets available for free to download below. Just cut them out and if you want, laminate them.

Relationships And Sex Values Pyramid

Worldview And Ethics Values Pyramid

5. Values Washing Line

This effectively works the same way as the values pyramid however instead of moving around a hierarchical triangle you have a washing line stretched across the room with the values pegged to it.

Get a group to rank them most to least important left-to-right and explain why. Keep moving and dropping some off.

Free Download: Relationship Stages Washing Line. Enlarge, Print, Laminate & add Peggs!

6. playing cards

The best examples of these are made by Youthscape and specifically Romance Academy on the theme of sex and relationships.

You can use them just like regular playing cards, however each card comes with its own unique discussion question.

These are also easy enough to make your own.