Warm up games

Paparazzi and bodyguard
We ask the participants to secretly choose a paparazzi (who desperately wants to take a photo of them) and a bodyguard (who will defend them from the paparazzi) among the others. Then we ask the players to move around in a way that the bodyguard always hides them from the paparazzi. (Here, usually a funny circular running starts.) Then, for a clap, everybody stops and tries to guess whose paparazzi and/or bodyguard they were. It's worth clapping only after enough running and laughing. The game needs space, it is better to play it outside than in the classroom.

Sword and shelter
We ask the players to form a circle and stand about an arm’s length distance from each other. Players open their right palm and keep it upwards. Then they put the point of their left index finger into the palm of their neighbour’s right palm. The palm is the shelter, the index finger is the sword. Somebody, for example the teacher, stays in the centre of the circle and starts to tell a story. If she says a given keyword (it can be anything, but has to be defined before) then the players suddenly try to catch the index finger of their right neighbour, and at the same time try to snatch their own index finger from the palm of their left neighbour. The game needs a place to form an open circle.

Jump in, jump out
orm a circle and take each other’s hands. If the game leader (quizmaster) says “jump in”, then everybody jumps towards the centre of the circle with both feet and says “jump in” at the same time. Similarly, if the game leader says “jump out”, then everybody jumps outwards from the circle with both feet and says “jump out”. For “jump left” and “jump right” the players jump left and right and say the commands. That is still easy, but then comes the trick. As a next level, the players have to say the same command as what the game leader said, but have to do just the opposite. For example, if the game leader says “jump left”, then the players say jump left, but at the same time they have to jump right. Naturally, they hold hands continuously. If the commands come fast enough, then the players have to concentrate and it is easy to make mistakes. If it goes well, then the game leader can introduce a new pair of commands: “jump down” (players crouch down) and “jump up”. The players have to do the opposite, just as before. The game can be further complicated with other ideas. The game needs a place to form an open circle.

Don’t face me
Players form a close circle. Everybody looks downwards, and chooses a pair of shoes. When the game leader says “now”, “up” or claps, then everybody looks into the eyes of the person whose shoes she picked previously. If two players face each other accidentally, then they are out, and they have to quit the circle. Naturally, there can be more pairs like this in the same round. Those who are left form a smaller circle and the game continues as previously. The game ends if one or two players remain in the circle. In a variant of the game if two players face each other then they breathe a deep and start to shout. The player who can shout longer wins the duel. Then only the loser quits the circle. The game needs a place to form a close circle.

Come
Players form an open circle. The player who starts the game looks for eye contact with others in the circle. If the eye contact is realised, then the player who got in contact with the starter says “come”. For that command the starter moves slowly towards the player who called her. Meanwhile, the caller looks for eye contact with another player who says “come”. Then she departs from her place to the second caller, thus the starter can occupy the place of the first caller. The latest caller looks for another partner to call her, and so on, till the players can continue. It is important that everybody has to move slowly to her caller to let her enough time to find a new caller. If the players can solve this effectively, then you can try the game with two starter players. The game needs a place to form an open circle.

Pass the smile
This game is a bit similar to the previous one. We form a circle (as in general). Everybody pulls a neutral or even a crabby face, except the player who starts the game. She wants to make eye contact with somebody in the circle. If she is successful, then she smiles at this second player. If the partner starts to smile as well, then the starter smiles and starts jumping (staying at her place). Then the second, already smiling player looks for a partner, and starts jumping if she can pass the smile to a third person. The game continues till the smile and the jumping arrives to the last player. The game needs a place to form an open circle.

Zik-zak-zuk
Players form a circle again. Their arms are before their body and their palms are together. The player who starts the game lifts her arms above her head, palms together. Then, as she says “zik”, she whisks her arms toward somebody in the circle. This player lifts her arms up and says “zak”. Then the neighbours of this player whisk sidewards with their arms, toward the belly of the second player, and say “zuk”, at the same time. After this action, the player standing between them says “zik” and whisks towards somebody else in the circle. Then everything continues as before. Be patient, it is easy to make mistakes initially, start it slowly. If the group gets practiced, we can increase the speed and try to hold a constant rhythm for the zik-zak-zuks. The game needs a place to form an open circle.

Banana, orange, apple
Form a circle and turn left or right with 90 degrees. Grab the shoulders of the player before you. If the game leader says “banana”, then everybody jumps forward with both feet and says “banana”, still holding the shoulders in front of them. If the game leader says “orange”, then everybody jumps backwards together and says “orange”. If the teacher says “apple”, then the players release the shoulders in front of them, turn around (180 degrees), grab the (new) shoulders in front of them and say “apple. If you have practiced a bit, then the game leader should give longer series of commands (for example orange, banana, apple, apple). The players try to perform the right series of movements, while repeating the commands. You can further increase both the speed and the length of the series of commands. The game needs a place to form an open circle.

Electricity
The group is divided into two parts with the same number of players. If there is an odd number of players, then one of the players will be the starter, if there is an even number of players then the game leader will be the starter. The two groups form two lines. The two groups stand facing each other and holding hands (within groups). We place a plastic bottle (or any other catchable object) on a chair at one end of the lines in a way that both players standing on that end can catch it. The starter player stands at the other end of the line and takes the hands of the players at this end. She asks the players to close their eyes, and says: “I will press the hands of both of the first players at the same moment. The aim is to transfer the hand press as fast as you can. When the last player feels the press on her hand, she opens her eyes and tries to catch the bottle. After one round, the catchers go to the other end of the line and a new pair of catchers emerges. The game continues until all players were catchers. We can count the points, but it is fun without competition, too. The game needs a place to form the two parallel lines.

Armpit dog
Players form a circle in a way that their shoulders are almost touching. A stuffed animal or a knotted t-shirt will be the armpit dog. The first player places the armpit dug under her armpit and passes it to one of her neighbours in a way that they can only use their armpit for the transfer. If the armpit dog falls down, players can use only their armpit to pick it up. Then the second player passes it to the third player in the same direction until the armpit dog arrives back to the starting player. (For passing the armpit dog the players have to turn 180 degrees.) If the group gets practiced, we can start a cat (another stuffed one) first and dog a bit later. The dog wants to catch the cat. But can it? Another version is when two dogs start at the same time in the opposite directions by two neighbouring starters. The question is, which one will run around faster. The game needs a place to form a closed circle.