Social Events

  • Kahoot – Quiz Night

    Often youth groups run quizzes. And Kahoot‘s quiz software makes the whole experience of creating a quiz very easy, professional and free!

    The way that it works is you create a quiz beforehand. Then young people individually or in team log into kahoot.it through their mobile devices. All they have to do is enter the pin # Kahoot gives you when you create the game and a Nickname. And, of course, you can instantly boot that annoying kid who creates an obscene Nickname. I see you Amandahugandkiss!

    Each question can have an associated picture or video, and 2 – 4 multiple choice answers. There must be at least one correct answer (but more can be chosen), and the time-limit for each question can be individually set from 5 seconds to 2 minutes.

    Youth Groups through NZ are loving this free software that was originally designed for the classroom. Check it out, it’s awesome.

  • This is the simplest scavenger hunt ever! The object of the game is to come home with the BIGGEST or BEST item.

    Set-Up No prior set up is required for this activity.

    Equipment: You will need as many paper clips (or similar) as you have teams.

    How to Play:

    You send out teams of 3-5 young people with a paper clip (or another small item if you wish) and you instruct each team to go door to door in the neighborhood asking people if they will trade for something bigger (strictly the size) or better (quality, value, etc.).

    Each team goes door to door in the neighborhood. One of the team members will ask the person at the first house if they will trade them something bigger or better than the paper clip. The team then gives the paper clip to the neighbor and leaves with the item they traded for. At the next house, a team member asks this neighbor to trade for something bigger or better than what they just received at the last neighbor’s house. This continues until the time limit has been reached. All teams must be back at the starting point within one hour.

    Judging: The teams look at all the items brought back. Each participant gets to vote for the item they believe is the BIGGEST or BEST item. In the event of a tie, the host of the party must cast the final vote.

    Tip:

    You may want to have an adult with each group.

    The last time I did this, one group came back with an old fridge, and another with an old bed. Make sure you have a plan to be able to dump such large objects.

  • Many groups around New Zealand run Amazing Race nights. Taken from the hit tv show, participants have to follow clues around the town, and complete challenges. Below are some raw files from the Onion Rings. This should give you a good idea of the game.

    These are all the raw files I have on our Amazing Race, feel free to copy and edit. We did some with teens, some with families and some with the whole church. You could use this for team building too.

    Parents Letter

    March 25, 2005 Dear Parents, This WEDNESDAY’S AMAZING RACE – PLEASE COME!! I hope that you and your family are doing well. Our youth committee has been planning for 2005-2007 and in the near future, we want to solicit your input into our plans. Look for more communications as we design a new and exciting youth program! Next week during your child’s spring break our youth committee wanted to plan something fun. Next year, we plan to even have more planned activities as part of our strategic plan. Next Wednesday, March 30, 2005, we plan to have the Amazing Race. This is a fun event that was recently featured on CBS and has been successful with other church youth groups. We will meet at 6 PM at the Youth Shack. Some of you parents have volunteered to be drivers to chauffeur 2-3 students to race around Columbia (observing all the speed limits of course!). During your race, you will be directed to certain check points to find certain items and clues as part of a scavenger hunt. During your hunt, you will be given clues along the way to that will guide you to the next check point. The first two teams that arrive to the final, secret location will receive $100 each (donated by a church member!). Now, drivers, don’t forget your commission in all of this! This will be a great and fun opportunity to bring one new friend and have an Amazing night! We anticipate that it may last between 6-9 PM. Please encourage your child to participate and better yet, invite one or two of their friends for a fun and wild night! I hope to see you in the race!

    Amazing Race Version 1

    1. Start at Sap Shack Volley Ball Court Envelop buried in sand. Contents of Envelope= Your first Challenge is “Elementary My Dear”. Head to Midway Elementary in Lexington and find the Gym.

    2. Midway Elementary – Team must shoot 50pts to receive clue. They can shoot 2,3 or half court is 25pts. One Team member shoots. Envelope = Make your way to Finley Park. Look for the “Man of Light”

    3. Finley Park – Detour = Teams must choose task to perform. Students must choose between “Run” or “Roll” to Playground.

    a. Option 1 – Entire team legs tied together 3 legged race, Must race from lower corner of Park where Light Man is to Playground.

    b. Option 2 2 team members Wheel Barrel Race from lower corner to Playground.

    i. Playground Envelope = Go to the State House Steps.

    4. State House Steps 1 person must run up and down steps 15 times. On the last climb up they must yell the name “Adrian” (Rocky) . Envelope = Don’t Monkey Around. Get your Hyena over to the Zoo For your next challenge.

    5. River Banks Zoo – Detour = Teams must choose between “Night Crawlers” or “Bovine Udders”

    a. Option 1 – 1 team member must eat ½1/2 pound of Gummie Worms.

    b. Option 2 – 1 team member must milk 1 cup from surgical Gloves.

    i. Envelope = Find your way to the Columbia Conference Center

    6. Columbia Conference Center – Detour = Teams must choose between “exercise” or “eat”

    a. Option 1 Ride Exercise Bike for 1 mile.

    b. Option 2 Drink 2 litter of Coke, Sprite or 1/2 Gallon Milk

    i. Envelope = Head to the Upper Room

    Amazing Race Version 2

    Teams of 3 students and all 3 have to evenly share in the tasks. 1 person from each team for 1 task

    1. Start at St Andrews Pres Volley Ball Court Envelope buried in sand. Contents of Envelope = Put the New Testament books in order.

    2. Fellowship Bible – Ice kiddy Pool use Toes to grab 20 marbles

    3. Riverbend – Shoot Basket Ball total of 50pts to receive clue. They can shoot 2 or 3pt shots.

    4. River Banks Zoo – Detour – Teams must choose a task to perform.

    a. Eat ½ pound of gummy worms and “dirt” with 1 hand in bucket of live earth worms

    b. Put 2 live earth worms in mouth for 2 minutes

    5. Finley Park – Detour = Teams must choose a task to perform. Students must choose between “Run” or “Roll” to Playground.

    a. Option 1 – Dress in a ridiculous costume and run 3 laps around lake

    b. Option 2 – build a bike and ride 1 lap around lake

    6. Christ Church – bobbing for Spam

    7. Columbia Conference Center – Bible Books Puzzle find 15 (30 Hidden Books)

    8. Frankie’s Fun Park – Detour = Teams must choose between “exercise” or “eat”

    a. Option 1 climb Rock wall

    b. Option 2 Drink 2 liter of warm Coke 3 moon pie

    9. Return to St Andrews Pres

    Amazing Race Version 3

    Amazing Race – Here is the rough draft of the night and I am open to suggestions

    1. Race begins at St Andrews. (we will hide clues in sand volleyball court as to the location of the next event)

    2. Fellowship Bible – Huh huh huh I’m hunting Wabbits. John you or a volunteer will dress up in a Bugs Bunny Costume (thank you Ebay) and hop along as someone on the team shoots at you with a paintball gun. Ahahahah, seriously you have to do this. We will have 2 guns with different color balls so we can tell when that teams has hit their mark. (we need 3 more guns w/Co2 and 4 different colors of paintballs)

    3. Columbia Cross Roads or at AutoZone- Tire Change relay (you will need 4 cars, jacks, spare Tires, wheel blocks (I have some leaders that can help with this one)

    4. Riverbend- Water Balloon Launcher into target (you will need 5 water balloon launchers, (lucky for you, I just bought 5 off Ebay) and 5 hula hoops, which you need to buy and a large parking lot

    5. Christ Church -Find red jelly bean in a pie filled with multiple jellybeans and only 1 red one

    6. River Park – teams must paddle across the old Canal in a canoe or kayak to retrieve the clue for the next location (St Andrews Has this location taken care of)

    7. Columbia Conference center – Bible Quiz of some sort if anyone has one send it to me.(St Andrews will Man this one too)

    8. Anchor Lanes – Team must score a strike or spare to get next clue. (St Andrews Man)

    9. Return to St Andrews to tally up winners The one big change this year is the timed event. We are going to try this out and see if it works to help avoid cheating and demoralization of those who know they are in last place. How this will work is you each need to provide 3 or 4 stopwatches at your location and we will tally the teams name and their times at the end. The team with the best overall time wins the grand prize.

    The team who finishes all tasks first will win 2nd prizes etc

    Amazing Race Family Edition

    ð Fishers of Fish – catch 10 goldfish – Room 304 – 10-100pts

    ð Bob The Builder – Build a sweet Lego Thingy – Room 102 – 50pts

    ð Wii Bowling – Bowl 2 Strikes or 4 spares – Youth Lower Building – 100pts

    ð Soaking Goliath – Water Balloon Sling Shot into Bulls eye Target – Front Lower Parking Lot – 5 – 100pts

    ð NASCAR – Win a RC Car race – Room 306 – 150pts

    ð Inflatable Jousting – Win a Battle – Family Center – 200pts

    ð Fruity Piggies – Bob for Prizes from the Cereal Box – Kitchen Freezer – 5-100 pts

    ð Bible Knowledge – answer bible quiz – Room 203 – 10-130pts

    ð Parachuting Ninjas – Get ninja to land on Target – Sanctuary Balcony – 5-100pts

    ð Wiggle While You Work – eat 20 gummy worms or put 2 live worms in mouth for 60 seconds – Room 205 – 200pts

    ð Wabbit Season – shoot the Bugs Bunny with Paintball gun – Youth Building Front Porch – 100 – 500pts

    ð I wanna be Like Mike – Shoot 15 pts – Playground Basketball Goal – 100pts

    ð Illegal Slinky Races – Win a Slinky race in the Secret Room – Find the Secret Room in the Main church building (500pts)

    o (by the way, if you tell people where it is, it won’t be a secret, so shhhhhh J)

    Win Race – 250pts

    ð Gladiator Obstacle Course – PlayGround – 200pts

    Amazing Race Family Edition 2

    Gas prices were up, plus we had parents driving like crazy so we put everything together on our church grounds. Instead of 1 race point leading to next, this is point based, so they can choose to do whatever they want in a 45 min time period. Some are harder and take more time and thus are worth more etc. I’ll describe each event below.

    I’m Popeye the Sailor Man – Win a Boat Race Room 204 –100pts

    Ducks of Death – pick a Duck if you Dare!! – Room 302 – ???pts

    Bob The Builder – Build a sweet Lego Thingy – Room 102 – 100pts

    Wii Baseball – Knock 1 out of the Park – Youth Lower Building – 50pts for each homer before 3 strikes

    Soaking Goliath – Water Balloon Sling Shot into Bulls eye Target – Front Lower Parking Lot – 5 – 100pts

    Carnie Shoot out – shoot old timey ducks – Room 301- 10-300pts

    NASCAR – Win a RC Car race – Room 304 – 150pts

    Inflatable Bungee Run – Win a Battle – Family Center – 500pts

    Fruity Piggies – Bob for Prizes from the Cereal Box – Kitchen Freezer – 5-100 pts

    Bible Knowledge – answer bible quiz – Room 203 – 10pts each right answer

    Parachuting Ninjas – Get ninja to land on Target – Sanctuary Balcony – 5-500pts

    Fear Factor –put 2 live worms in mouth for 60 seconds + Enter the chamber of live bugs!!– Sanctuary Car port -300pts

    Wabbit Season – shoot the Bugs Bunny with Paintball gun – Youth Building Front Porch – 500pts

    I wanna be Like Mike – Shoot 15 pts – Playground Basketball Goal – 100pts

    I Lost on Jeopardy – Test your Bible Knowledge – Super Secret Hallway – Find the Secret Room in the Main church building (500pts) + pts for right answer

    o (by the way, if you tell people where it is, it won’t be a secret, so shhhhhh )

    Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course – Playground – 200pts

    Details on how to setup each game

    Popeye – we took 2 rain gutters and capped them at both ends (Do this outside, learn from my mistakes :) The Amazing Race Youth Group Game The Amazing Race Youth Group Game simple smile Then you can go to cracker barrel and get these wooden boats that are powered by a balloon you blow up. There is a wooden peg on top with a hole that you put balloon over after contestant blows up and the air is displaced out the bottom. Old School Fun. Teams stays until they win a race to get points.

    Ducks of Death – just sounds fun, but it’s just the old rubber duckies in a kiddie pool with a # written on the bottom 1 = 100 pts 2= 300 pts 3=Pie in Face of someone in group +500 or -500pts. Let the group pie the member of their group, you just have the whip cream pie ready.

    Bob the Builder – get a pile of legos and you can get some simple designs online for boats or cars or the Death Star whatever, just tell them they 3 min to build item.

    Wii Baseball play homerun derby on wii they have to get a home run and they get 50pts for each one they hit

    Soaking Goliath get 2, 3man sling shots and fill up a bunch of water balloons then have targets down the parking lot or field. We used hula hoops and sidewalk chalk to make big targets. Harder to hit higher points.

    Carnie Shootout I found a electronic duck game at Cracker Barrel and then went to eBay and got it cheaper. It has a little pistol and the ducks rotate around on a track and you have a timer built in and they get 10pts for shooting each duck.

    Bible Knowledge – answer bible quiz see list for more info

    Parachuting Ninjas – There is only so much you can do in a Santuary without getting in to much trouble, this is one of them. Get tiny parachuting ninjas from ebay, go to balcony have them drop a few until they get one to land on Target. We used hula hoops again for targets down below on floor, pews, pulpit etc (Watch out for hanging speakers etc. My first throw was into a speaker. That ninja was up there for 5 months hiding until I had to get him down with a leaf blower J )

    Fear Factor – build a head chamber out of Plexiglass and packing tape. put 2 live worms in mouth for 60 seconds then dump couple 100 crickets on top of their heads. Twisted I know, but there were little girls and moms doing this before some of the students! They were hardcore! (oh yeah, and do this one outside, cause the crickets like to escape and you thought your cell phone was bad going off, try 1000 crickets living in your building)

    Wabbit Season – get bugs and easter bunny costume after Halloween sale or eBay. Bribe that crazy kid in your youth group to dress up in bunny suit. Try this line “you won’t do it” or “how much would it take to get you in that costume” Put paintball mask on then bunny mask over top to protect students eyes. Once student is in costume use paintball gun to shoot the Bunny as he hops around collecting eggs in a basket.

    I wanna be Like Mike duh use yer basketball goal have someone shoot ball

    I Lost on Jeopardy – Test your Bible Knowledge playing Jeopardy with Sr Pastor as game show host.

    Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course – go to your Playground and make stuff up like run up slide jump down on mini trampoline climb ladder and ring bell duct taped to tree branch.

    Bible Quiz

    1. Name 4 of the 10 commandments.

    2. Which brothers were known as ‘Boanerges’ or ‘the sons of thunder’?

    A. Simon and Andrew

    B. James and John

    C. Thomas and Thaddaeus

    D. Matthew and Bartholomew

    3. This man was so afraid of the anger of his twin brother that he offered him 220 goats, 220 sheep, 30 milk camels and their colts, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 foals to appease him.

    A. Joseph

    B. Jacob

    C. Nahor

    D. Judah

    4. After the flood Noah sent out what Animal to see if it could find dry land?

    A. Dolphin named Flipper

    B. Crow

    C. Flock of Seagulls

    D. Dove

    5. Who was the first king to reign at Jerusalem?

    A. Solomon

    B. David

    C. Saul

    D. Nebuchadnezzar

    6. What short man ran to see Jesus but could not because of his height?

    A. Zechariah

    B. Zacchaeus

    C. Zenu

    D. Ziashia

    7. What little girl did Jesus raise from the dead after telling people she was only asleep?

    A. The widow of Nain’s daughter

    B. Peter’s mother in-law

    C. Shirley Temple

    D. Jairus’s daughter

    8. Which two men introduced their wives as their sister because they feared they would be murdered to get their wives?

    A. Abram (Abraham) and Isaac

    B. Methuselah and Laban

    C. Judah and Hiram

    D. Joseph and Benjamin

    9. What was the name of the slave who ran away in the short New Testament book of Philemon?

    A. Justus

    B. Philemon

    C. Annas

    D. Onesimus

    10. What Old Testament prophet ordered an angry bears to attack a group of teenagers for making fun of his bald spot?

    A. Samson

    B. Elisha

    C. Elijah

    D. Isiah

    Answers

    1.

    ONE: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’

    TWO: ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’ (No Idols)

    THREE: ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.’

    FOUR: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’

    FIVE: ‘Honor your father and your mother.’

    SIX: ‘You shall not murder.’

    SEVEN: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

    EIGHT: ‘You shall not steal.’

    NINE: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.’ (Don’t Lie)

    TEN: ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.’

    2. James and John (B)

    3. Jacob (B)

    4. Dove (D)

    5. Saul (C)

    6. Zacchaeus (B)

    7. Jairus’s daughter (D)

    8. Abram (Abraham) and Isaac (A)

    9. Onesimus (D)

    10. Elisha (B)

  • It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

  • Traditional Progressive Dinner

    A progressive dinner is when several small groups go to different host families’ houses and eat one portion of a meal at each house. One group may start with dessert, another with appetizer, but by the end of the night all groups have had a four-course meal. It was always is successful because of outstanding food, great company and ever-changing scenery. It can, however, be difficult to pull one off.

    In order for this to work you need to have:

    (1) People willing to host a bunch of groups and not be a part of the traveling group.

    (2) An equal amount of groups to host-house ratio.

    (3) A place for groups to meet, load into cars and disperse.

    Don’t get me wrong, if you can pull this off, it is worth it. Not only is it free if your host families are willing to foot the bill, but it’s tons of fun and great for relationship building. Here are some quick tips for setting up a progressive dinner:

    Get Hosts – 3 or 4 is usually enough.

    Guest list – keep in mind the size of everyone’s homes. Whether splitting into groups and rotating or traveling as one large group, every home needs to be able to fit your group size.

    Proximity – It’s great if all homes can be near each other – walking distance if possible. This is not necessary, but it’s sure nice!

    The Food – consider foods that can be prepared in advance so that the hosts can also relax and enjoy the party.

    Young Ones – You can include them in the dinner party if you want. Another (better!) idea is to have the kids at the last house with a babysitter or two; this only works if traveling as one group.

    Fastfood Progressive Dinner

    If you have young people in your group that you just can’t ever seem to feed enough to, this event “caters” to your needs.

    This twist on the progressive dinner. Have 3-4 places to hit for snacks such as KFC for a drink, Subway for a main course, and McDonalds for an ice cream cone.

    It creates buzz at the stores and students love it. Tell them they have a $5-7 limit for all stops and parents will love it too!

    Take pictures to share on your facebook group.

  • how about an evening where you host your own “Fear Factor” competition?

    FEAR FACTOR – EGG ROULETTE

    Why not start out the games by seeing who has what it takes to overcome their fears and take on some real challenges. In this game you will place a bowl of boiled eggs in front of the players. All players must pick up an egg out of a big bowl and on the count of three, immediately crack it against their forehead.

    The challenge is before the game you tell the players that one of the eggs is actually raw. Who has the courage to egg themselves in the face? The trick is that ALL the eggs are actually boiled and this is just a test of courage. The players that hesitate to crack the egg fails. Award all the players that don’t hesitate with 5 points.

    FEAR FACTOR – BABY FOOD TASTE TEST

    Empty a variety of different jars of baby food into individual bowls (make sure you know which is which). Label the bowls with numbers and challenge players to taste every bowl and try and guess what it is. To make it more of a challenge, add some food coloring into the food that might be given away by its color. Make sure to have paper and pencils handy so guests can write their answers on them. Winner is the one that taste and guesses the most correctly. Award 1 point for every correct guess, and 3 additional points to the one that has the most correct guesses.

    FEAR FACTOR – BIGGER OR BETTER

    Some people laugh in the face of gross or gruesome but them go weak in the knees at the thought of something as unassuming as talking to your neighbors. Time to face your social anxiety fears!

    In this game you will provide all players (or teams) with a small object. This can be a tube of unused lipstick, a funky pen, a candy bar, etc. The idea of the game is that they must go around the neighborhood and try and trade it with the neighbors for something bigger and better. They can then try and trade that item for something bigger and better to someone else.

    Set a time limit; say 30 minutes, to trade. At the end of the time limit whoever has the biggest and best item wins. You can choose to have two winners by awarding 10 points for the biggest, and another 10 points for the best.

    FEAR FACTOR – IRON TOES

    Fill a bathtub or kiddie pool with water, marbles, and tons of ICE (you want it to be freezing). The object of the game is for players to stick their foot in the ice water and grab as many marbles as they can in a two minute period. The winner is of course the one that collects the most marbles. Award 1 point for every marble they are able to retrieve and 3 additional points to the one that pulls out the most.

    FEAR FACTOR – WORM PIE

    Place ten gummy worms at the bottom of a pie tin (you’ll need to make one for every player). Next, fill the pie tin with whip cream. On the start of go all players must place their hands behind their back and retrieve all 10 gummy worms with their mouth. This game is perfect for PICTURES, so make sure you have your camera ready!

    The first player to retrieve all ten worms and eat them wins! To make the worms more like real earth worms you can cover them in honey and crushed Oreo cookies. You might want to take the amount of worms down to five or six if you do this because the worms become sickly sweet. Award 10 points to the winner! You can also give 1 point for every worm that the other players were able to eat up to that point.

    FEAR FACTOR – DOG BISCUIT RACE

    In this fear factor game the players will pick up a dog biscuit with their mouths and race to drop it in a bucket on the other side of the room (or yard if you’re playing outside). To play have a bowl of six dog biscuits ready for each player, and place a large bucket at the other side of the playing area for all players to use.

    If you want you can have another individual bowl for each player to drop their biscuits in instead of a collective bucket. If a player drops their biscuit while running they must retrieve it with their mouths, absolutely no hand allowed! The winner is the person that gets all six of their biscuits to the bucket first. Award 10 points to the winner.

    FEAR FACTOR – CRICKET CHALLENGE!

    This game will take a little preparation. You’ll need to purchase a bag of live crickets from your local pet store. Place these in an aquarium or clear large tub, make sure you have a screen on top, so the crickets don’t escape. Also throw in a bunch of rubber frogs and snakes (if you want to go extreme you can use real cow tongues and pigs feet). To play you divide players into teams.

    To play players must reach in the tank and pull out as many snakes and frogs as they can, one at a time, in 30 seconds. The crickets will actually jump out the way when you stick your hands in but it’s the minds aversion that will make this challenge hard. Award one point for every item pulled out. Give an additional 3 pts to the person who pulls out the most. If you choose to use pig’s feet and cow tongues make sure all players WASH their hands right after they complete the challenge.

    ALTERNATIVE: At my daughter’s 11th birthday party we did this theme. For all the games we awarded tickets because at the end of the party she wanted to have an auction where players could use there tickets to bid on items. SO instead of plastic frogs and snakes we used tickets mixed in with the crickets (along with hay) and called the game Cricket or Ticket!

    FEAR FACTOR – PUT IT ON ICE

    This is a simple but challenging game. On the start of go every player picks up an ice cube and holds it in their FIST for as long as they can. If they open their hand then they’re out. To give the game more of an ick factor use red food coloring to color the water before freezing. Award 8 points to the person that holds it the longest, 5 points for the person that comes in 2nd ,and 3 points to the person that comes in 3rd.

    FEAR FACTOR – LICE PICKERS

    In this game I gave all the players a pair of tweezers and a cup and challenged them to pick as much lice (rice) as they could out of the shag rug and place them in their cups for extermination. They were not allowed to pick up the lice with their fingers, they had to use the tweezers. Points were awarded by how many lice the players could collect in one minute.

    ALTERNATIVE: Instead of tweezers give each of the child a coffee stirrer straw, and have them suck the lice onto it and transfer it to the cup without touching it with anything other than the straw. We did this version at my daughters party and it was a hit. We did not use a shag rug, we mixed the rice in the yarn hair of one of her old cabbage patch dolls.

    FEAR FACTOR – CAT FOOD CHALLENGE

    To end the games offer everyone a chance to earn a quick extra five points. All they have to do is eat a spoonful of cat food. You don’t really have to use cat food, as long as they think their eating cat food. Replace the label from a can of spam with the label from a can of cat food of the same size. When it is time for the game, open the can in front of all the players. Offer 5 extra points to everyone willing to eat a spoonful.

  • How to run a Goosechase photo scavenger hunt

    Gooschase is a very easy way to run a photo scavenger hunt.

    Pre setup the scavenger hunt on the app with relevant tasks for your location.

    On the day of the hunt, make sure each team has an adult, a phone with the app downloaded, and a car if needed. Give them a time limit and then send them out.

    And then sit back, and watch the photos come in live on your device. At the end, you will have a slideshow ready to show participants. Best of all, this app is free.

    What people are saying

    “I used the GooseChase app you recommended, it was amazing!! Will definitely use it again. Thanks for the recommendation!” – Emma Gallacher, St Andrews Church, Mt Maunganui

  • Minute to Win It Games are great for youth groups or inter-generational activities because they work for large groups, for all ages and abilities, and everyone is actively involved. The challenges are exciting and sometimes difficult to do, and really fun to watch.

    The basic concept comes from a game show on tv called Minute To Win It, participants need to complete challenges within one minute.

    The internet is filled with ideas.

    Here is a playlist off of youtube that may be a good way to introduce challenges?

  • Glow In The Dark Charades

    Fill a large cardboard box with an assortment of glow in the dark accessories. Include glowing batons, neon headbands, glow sticks, glow bracelets, glow necklaces and more. Now let one participant at a time reach into the box and use these accessories to act out an activity such as juggling or bowling. The other participants can then try and guess what activity is being performed. The only real cues will be how the neon colored accessories are being handled and used. Think of this as a new and improved form of charades.#

    Back to Basics Glow In The Dark Style

    Use glowing neon chalk or a (glow in the dark spray) to draw a checkerboard, hopscotch or 4 square patterns on the ground. Then try and play these glow in the dark games when all you can really see are the outlines that have been drawn on the pavement or ground.

    Mastering A Glowing Obstacle Course

    Glow in the dark games should be imaginative and provide some unusual challenges for each participant. Create an obstacle course using fluorescent batons, glowing ropes and cones to mark the paths. Keep the course safe but challenging. Make sure that the path contains enough twists and turns to keep that excitement buzzing. Instead of using only physical skills to conquer the obstacle course you should give each participant a tennis racket and a glow in the dark ball and then instruct them to use only the racket to guide the ball through the course. Create an obstacle course suitable for the ages of the participants.

    Neon Golf for Nighttime Play

    You can even play lawn golf with fluorescent equipment that sparkles at night. Everyone will have fun trying to keep their glow in the dark balls rolling toward the illuminated cups. Golf is a tricky sport during the day when you can see the entire course but the fun is multiplied when your night vision is forced to kick in.

    Glow In The Dark Tag

    Tag is one of the glow in the dark games that can be a lot of fun when you are chasing the other team through the darkness. Who knows what mysteries await in the shadows of that playing field? Your imagination will surely be racing at full speed as you try and chase down your targets. Use neon bracelets in multiple colors on the wrists and ankles to identify those who are to be tagged. Choose one single color to be worn by those who are trying to tag the others. This color can signal that these are the individuals that need to be avoided. Don’t forget the super fun extremely big glow in the dark glow stick.

    Baseball, Softball, Choose your Ball Game

    Batter up! Find some soft balls that glow in the dark. Use fluorescent tape to highlight the top and bottom of the bats. You can use more glow in the dark batons or necklaces to show where the bases are located. Now choose neon necklaces in one color for each team. Careful! This is one of the glow in the dark games that is a lot more challenging than you might think.

    Redefining the Classic Red Rover Game

    Remember the game of Red Rover-Red Rover? This is when two teams line up at opposite ends of a designated area. You are free to determine what the distance should be between the teams. Everyone on a team should firmly hold hands to create a strong chain and then call out the name of an individual from the opposing side. When a name is called out the person should immediately run and try to break through the chain of hands with their body. Use glow in the dark bracelets to identify where the linked hands are so the runner can choose a definite target.

    Extras

    Capture the flag, tag football, traffic cop, tic-tac-toe and outdoor chess games can all be re-imagined with the addition of fluorescent necklaces, batons and bracelets. If you are ready to experience fun without the sun then it’s time to begin planning an activities schedule that includes some of these fun-tastic glow in the dark games.

    If you liked this article, you will love “10 Glow In The Dark IDEAS for Camp” recently published on CCP.

  • Like a mall man hunt but with a twist!

    Have ten members from your church that all the teens would recognize dress up as elderly people, punks, bikers, business people- anything really except what they would usually wear and look like!

    Take a “Where’s Wally” book and copy the front cover to card stock then cut it up puzzle style (use a different color for different teams- 6 in a team is a good number) and give each of your ten “under cover” church members the same piece of every puzzle (they should each have a bunch of identical pieces but on different color card stock)

    Have your people with the game pieces distributed throughout a mall. Give the teens a list with vague descriptions of the characters they are to locate- assign each team a color and send them out to find the adults to collect their puzzle

    First team to complete the Wally puzzle wins!