Learn a new game and play with your scout troop!

Origin of Kim’s Game

Kim’s Game is a game played by Scouts. The game develops a person’s capacity to observe and remember details. The name is derived from Rudyard Kipling’s 1901 novel Kim, in which the hero Kim plays the game during his training as a spy. 

Items Needed:

• 10 small familiar items (example band-aid, toothpick, pencil, scout patch, toys etc)
• Dish towel or piece of cloth to cover items

How to Play…..(Option One)

1. Place the collection of items on a table
2. Have each person look over and memorize the collection
3. Cover all the items with a cloth
4. Have each person write down as many items as they can remember
5. After an allotted time, remove the cloth
6. The person who listed the most items wins

Variations

• Increase or decrease the number of items used
• After items are covered, ask various questions…e.g. What is the smallest? What is the largest? What is your favourite?
• Go find one item you saw in another part of the house

How to Play…..(Option Two)

1. Place the collection of items on a table
2. Have each person look over and memorize the collection
3. Ask each person to turn around and close their eyes (NO PEEKING)
4. Remove one item
5. Have everyone turn back around and try to guess which item is missing

Variations

• Remove more than one item
• Add an item that wasn’t there before and ask which item is new to the collection
• Use as the basis for a scavenger hunt around the house
• Have items be Nature items from your backyard
• Use as the basis for a scavenger hunt around the backyard

Reference: 

https://www.greenwichscouting.org/files/32267/kim

https://www.scouts.ca/resources/activity-finder/activity-finder/kims-game.html

Background: 

This challenge highlights the need to be aware of the assumptions in our projects – the cost of the product, customer preferences, duration of the project – and test them out as soon and as frequently as possible. This is the mechanism that drives innovation. 

Activity:

With your team, try to build the tallest tower using only spaghetti sticks, strings and tape. The tower must be topped by a marshmallow. Finish building the tower in 18 minutes.

Items needed: 

• 20 sticks of spaghetti
• 1 yard of string
• 1 yard of masking tape
• 1 Marshmallow 

Reference:

https://www.marshmallowchallenge.com/instructions/step-3-explain-the-rules/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0_yKBitO8M 

https://www.scouts.ca/resources/activity-finder/ylt-the-marshmallow-challenge.html

Background: 

Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as you play a faced-paced game that tests how fast you can think and move!

MATERIALS:

Copies of the Goals that can be stepped on without being damaged (taped onto foam tiles, laminated, etc.) 

Copies of the prompts provided, cut up and put into a hat or basket (feel free to add your own!).

Activity: 

Print out copies of the SDGs and find a way to step on them without damaging them (tape them onto foam tiles, laminate them, etc.)

Use the Goals to create a circle with enough space between each Goal for people to comfortably stand on them (if you have more than 17 people playing, you can use multiples of some Goals).

Ensure that you have one fewer SDG in the circle as there are people playing. Make sure you know what Goal you’re on!

Have one person stand in the middle and read out a prompt.

Anyone who the prompt applies to must step off their Goal and move to another one.

Whoever is left without a tile is now in the middle and the game continues. 

Sample Prompts:

• Anyone standing on an environmental goal.
• Anyone standing on an innovation goal.
• Anyone standing on a society and culture goal.
• Anyone who has done a project related to the goal they’re standing on.
• Anyone who can think of an existing Scouting project related to the goal they’re standing on.
• Anyone who can think of a project related to the goal they’re standing on.
• Anyone who is confused by the goal they’re standing on.
• Anyone who can connect the goal they’re standing on to another goal.
• Anyone who is passionate about the goal they’re standing on.

Reference: 

https://www.scouts.ca/resources/activity-finder/scout.html 

Play rock, paper and scissors, be the first to evolve!

Play the game

The person leading the game should explain how to play ‘rock, paper, scissors. Two people count down from three and show either a rock (by making their hand into a fist), paper (by showing the palm of their hand) or scissors (by using their first two fingers like a peace sign). Rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock.

Everyone should spread out around the space. In the game of evolution, everyone starts as an egg. They should squat down on the floor and wrap their arms around their legs to make an egg shape.

Everyone should shuffle around until they meet another egg.

When someone meets another egg, they should play a game of rock, paper, and scissors. The winner should evolve into a chicken and the other player should stay as an egg.

The chicken should move around bent over, with its arms flapping like a chicken’s wings. They can add sound effects too!

The egg should repeat step four and find another egg to duel.

The chickens should move around the space until they find another chicken, then they should play another game of rock, paper, scissors. This time, the winner should evolve into a dinosaur and the loser should turn back into an egg.

The dinosaurs should stand up taller and stomp around with their arms tucked into their chest like a t-rex until they meet another dinosaur.

When two dinosaurs meet, they should play another game. The winner should evolve into a Scout! The winner of this game should move to the side of the space – they’ve won! The loser should evolve back into a dinosaur.

Everyone should keep playing until there are no more games to be At this point there’s usually one egg, one chicken, one dinosaur, and one Scout!

*** For a quicker round, set a time limit and see how many people can evolve.

Reference:

https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/the-evolution-game/ 

Required materials:

a scout staff or 5-foot pole for each scout

Instructions:

Everyone stands in a circle, facing inward, with their staff standing on end directly in front of them.

The leader/ a person gives command of "Ready - Go Right" and everyone must let go of their staff and move to the right, grabbing that staff before it falls.

Or, "Ready - Go Left" and scouts go to the left.

If someone fails to catch the target staff, they and the staff are out.

When someone moves the wrong way, a collision may occur and remove two scouts at once.

When two are left, they are declared winners or can use some 1-on-1 contest, such as Rock-Paper-Scissor, to determine the ultimate champ.

Reference:

https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/game/falling_staffs-2169.asp