1. ROUNDABOUT You will need the timer. Divide the children into two groups. One half makes a circle and walks clockwise. the other half makes a larger circle around the outside and walks anticlockwise. Set the timer. When it goes off, the circles stop. They face the child in the circle opposite them and answer a question that you call out. Repeat. CHICKEN TAG You will need two hoops. Ask everyone to stand in a circle and hold hands. Place the two chickens on opposite sides of the circle. When you say go, the children pass the chickens around clockwise. Play until one chicken catches up to the other. The child who is holding the chickens when they catch up must answer a question, then the game starts again. CROSSOVER You will need the vinyl squares. Divide the children into teams of 5. Give each team 4 vinyl squares (or 3 if you want to make it harder). The children must get across to the other side of the room. They may only step on the vinyl squares. If anyone falls off the team must start again. BACKUP You will need the timer. Ask the children to moon walk around in the room. When the timer goes off, they face the closest person and tell that person a piece of information, such as their favourite Bible story, or a Bible character, or the verse from the programme. As soon as each of the children has had a chance to share, they stand back to back. Repeat as often as you like. SPELLCHECK You will need the alphabet cards. Sit everyone in a circle. Give one alphabet card to each child in order. Pick a subject that everyone has to talk about. (e.g. the Bible story from the day.) The first child starts by saying a sentence that begins with the letter A, the next person with a letter B. SQUARE SQUASH You will need the vinyl squares and the timer. Scatter the vinyl squares around the floor. Set the timer and ask the children to walk around until the timer goes off. When it does, call out a number. That is how many children must be touching each square. Give them a question to answer before they can get off. SPELLCHECK You will need the alphabet cards. Give one or two cards to each child. Call out a key word you have used during the programme. The children with the correct letters have to run up the front and spell the word using the letters. BLOWBALL You will need 6 Ping-Pong balls – 3 red and three black. Divide the children into 2 teams one of each colour. Choose one child from each team to blow off all their coloured balls from a table. Every time one ball drops off, everyone must freeze and say the verse for the day before play for that team can resume.

2. WHO’S THAT? No equipment needed. Choose a child to stand in front of the group. Give them a Bible character then have the rest of the children ask them questions that can only be answered with ‘yes’ or ‘no’ until they guess who the character is. LINESWAP You will need the timer and the vinyl squares. Divide the children into groups of 5. Give each child a vinyl square and ask them to line up standing on them. Set the timer and ask them to arrange themselves in order without getting off the line of squares. -according to surname -according to age -according to height -in order of birthdays from Jan to Dec -ask them to do it without talking FACE UP You will need the face cards. Put the face cards out where everyone can see them. Ask the children a question and let them choose a card that reflects how they feel about it. Spend some time listening to why they chose the card they did. Good questions: How did the Bible story make you feel? Why? How do you feel about God? Why? How do you feel now? Why? HEADS UP You will need the chicken. Hold the chicken and ask the children a question. Toss the chicken to the child that you would like answer. The child will catch the chicken, hopefully give an answer, and then toss it back to you. TRUE AND FALSE You will need the vinyl squares. Put them in two lines at different ends of the room. Have children stand behind one line facing the other line. Ask them a series of "true or false" Bible questions. All who answer correctly take one large step forward. The first to reach the line at the opposite end of the room is the winner. ALPHABET SOUP You will need the alphabet cards. Sit the children in a circle and put the cards on the floor where they can see them. Think of a key word from the programme. The children take turns to choose a letter. If they are right, put it up the front to make up the word. If they guess wrong, turn it over. When they have guessed the word, ask them why you chose that word. THE STORY CHICKEN You will need the chicken. Start a Bible story off by saying the first sentence. When you have finished your sentence, toss the chicken to a child. That child must quickly say the next sentence and then toss the chicken to another child. Continue creating sentences and tossing the chicken until the story is told. FREEZE FRAME No equipment needed. Put the children into groups of 3. Each group chooses a Bible story and makes a still mime of a part of the story. The others try to guess what the freeze frame is.

3. PUSHMEPULLYOU You will need the vinyl squares. Put the children in groups of three. They stand in a circle and hold hands with a vinyl square in the middle of them. They try and pull and push the other members of the group onto the square. THE GREAT ESCAPE You will need the ball. Stand the children in a circle with legs wide apart and feet touching the feet of the people on either side of them. One child stands in the middle of the circle and tries to kick the ball through the legs of the other children who try to stop the ball with their hands. (They may not move their feet.) When the ball escapes, the player through whose legs it passed, goes into the centre. I LIKE You will need the vinyl squares. Stand everyone in a circle with a vinyl square to stand on. Someone stands in the middle and says “I like people who…” All the people it applies to must swap places while the person in the centre tries to get onto an empty square. Suggestions…I like people who are wearing blue…play soccer…born in May…love cabbage…with brown eyes… FOOSBALL You will need the ball and the vinyl squares. Set up a goal at each end of the room. Scatter one vinyl square for each player in between the goals. Divide the children into two teams. Play soccer but each player must keep one foot on the vinyl square at all times. MIME RHYME No equipment needed. Choose a word you have used during the programme. Mime as many words as you can think of that rhyme with the word but do not mime the word itself. The children must guess the word you are thinking of. ULTIMATE GAMES Ultimate Games is crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help you and your group explore the Bible through playing games. Active games, quiet games, team games, individual games, games for children, games for young people - they're all here. Inside you'll find all the instructions and guidance you need to help even the most game-shy leader make the most of this fun way to explore God's Word! *The material in this book was originally published as Over 300 Games for All Occasions HUDDLE No equipment needed. Call out a number. The children get into groups of that number. Then call out an action for everyone to do and a topic for them to all talk about at once. For example Huddle 3! Shake hands and say what you liked best about today. Huddle 2! Wiggle your eyebrows and name the person in today’s Bible story. Huddle 4! Hands up high and say today’s verse.