Games For Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
SINGING GAMES AND GAMES TO PLAY AFTER DARK

Some games have songs associated with them. And then there are those times when you just have to play a game at night. These games will help fit the occasion. These are games that have been contributed by Guiders and Scouters. Many of them have come from the Guiding/Scouting List and the WAGGGS-L list. If you have a game you would like to add to this page please submit it to me by e-mail.

Singing / Night Games Snail My Bonnie This Way Valerie Edelweiss Old Kentucky Fair
Night Lines Zap Sardines Seekers Dark, Isn’t It? Night Trek

SNAIL

You start with a large circle and everyone holding hands, facing into the circle with a leader and two people to make the bridge. Just like the name implies you walk around making smaller and smaller circles until you are in the centre of the room. The two girls then form an arch or bridge and the leader turns facing out of the circle and everyone follows around until you are all facing out from the circle in a big circle again. The you repeat the process so that you are again all facing in. Everyone seems to like this game. There is a song which goes along with it and you just keep repeating the song: "Snail, snail come out and be fed. First you feelers then your head. The your Momma and your Poppa will feed you fried muttons. (or muffins)."

Wendy Baker

MY BONNIE

We have done a song with parents and girls that is quite fun. We sing, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. Every time we sing a word that starts with a B we either sit down, if we are standing, or stand up if we are sitting. We use chairs so as to avoid crippling the leaders, but if you are all really fit you can sit on the floor. It is a lot of breathless fun!

Jane Maddin

EDELWEISS

The song is Edelweiss from the Sound of Music. The actions are usually messed up the first time doing this song as it takes some coordination but it is entertaining and the guides are quite impressed when they can do it with switching all the time.

Sitting cross-legged in a circle, each person places their left hand face up between their left knee and their neighbour's right knee about a foot off the ground. Everyone places their right hands, palm down, on their right neighbour's upturned left hand. To the music (so these actions fit half of one line of the song)---- with your right hand, first you hit your neighbour's left hand, then your right knee, your left knee, the bottom of your left hand and then the top of your left hand twice.

ie. for the line: Edelweiss, edelweiss (you'd go through the actions twice) (I think its a clap per quarter note or eighth note - I'd have to check but its very even).

The really hard part is switching directions. Usually initially the switching starts at the word blossoms (from Blossoms of snow.....) - so your left hand is now doing the hitting and the right hand remains stationary. Once they and you feel comfortable with that you can switch every time (therefore you'd switch twice a line).

Its not as difficult as it sounds, honest :)

Kristen Byrnes

THIS WAY VALERIE

(Tune: Shortenin' Bread)

This game works best with a fairly large group. You will need to have the girls get a buddy and then form 2 lines of girls...the buddies facing each other. As soon as you have them in 2 straight lines they can start singing the song:

This way Valerie, That way Valerie,
This way Valerie all the way home.
(girls join hands with their buddy and sing this part while moving arms in a sawing motion - back and forth)

Strut Miss Lucy, strut Miss Lucy,
Strut Miss Lucy all the way home.
(head girl in one line passes between the 2 lines making up any movement she wishes and falls in at the foot of the opposite line)

Here comes another one just like the other one.
Here comes another one all the way home.
(buddy of the previous girl copies the movements just done by her buddy as she passes between the 2 lines and then joins the foot of the opposite line)

Both lines move up a wee bit and repeat the song over and over and over again until everyone has had a turn. The girls will eventually start getting quite creative in their actions if you play this many times.

Gail Branum

OLD KENTUCKY FAIR

(Tune: Brownie Smile Song)

Girls form a circle, holding hands. One person is in the center. The outside circle moves clockwise to start with and switches direction at the *. The inside circle (to start, it is just 1 person) moves the opposite direction from the outside.

I went to the old Kentucky,
The old Kentucky Fair* (whoo!)
I saw a senorita
With flowers in her hair. (whoo!)

Everyone drops hands at this point and stays in one spot while they "twist" and sing the next verse.

Shake 'em, shake 'em, shake 'em.
Shake 'em all you can.
Shake'em, shake 'em, shake 'em.
Shake 'em once again.

Outside circle then claps and stomps one foot while singing the next verse. The inside person closes her eyes and spins and points while the verse is being sung. If there is more than one person on the inside, only the last person on the inside spins. All others duck down to avoid getting hit by the person spinning and pointing.

Oh, Round and around and around she goes.
Where she stops nobody knows.
Point to the east, point to the west,
Point to the one that you like best.

Whomever the girl is pointing to at that point joins the inner circle and will be the next person to spin and point. The whole song starts over again.

This game can go on and on, just as long as the outside circle can stretch around the inner circle. When you simply cannot stretch any longer, then you can either quit the game or re-start with only the last person chosen in the center.

All ages of girls love this game, and the nice part about it is that everyone gets to play it at all times.

Gail Branum

ZAP

Played after dark (usually without any flashlights) with boundaries!

(I actually didn't play this one...but I understand it's like Hide and Seek.) Two girls have flashlights (off) -they are "it". Other girls hide while "its" count to 50. "Its" then walk around in the dark to find girls. If they find someone they ZAP them (by flicking on their flashlight). Once ZAPPED the girl then takes the flashlight (now off) and she becomes "it" and continues to look for other girls. Meanwhile the girl that had been "it" has a chance to hide.

Margaret A. B. Jones

SARDINES

Played after dark (usually without any flashlights) with boundaries!

After it is dark. One person goes to hide. Then the others go out looking for her. The idea is that if someone spots who ever is hiding they do NOT SHOUT but rather discreetly join them and not necessarily the instant she spots her because hopefully she should loose whoever might have been walking near or with her. One by one the girls join - become packed like sardines (thus the title name) and inevitably giggle or say shhhhh - which leads to others locating them. The last to find them - becomes the one to hide the next time!

Margaret A. B. Jones

SEEKERS

Played after dark (usually without any flashlights) with boundaries!

Is another Hide and Seek night game - best to wear dark clothes! One person has a flashlight (on) and is at home base. She counts out loud to 25 while the others hide. She then goes out and searches. Meanwhile the others try to reach base without being seen. If "it" sees you and calls your name you're caught! I have seen girls 'switch' jackets...shoes etc. to 'fool' it.

Margaret A. B. Jones

NIGHT LINES

Category: Outdoors At night. It must be dark!
Equipment needed: Each team must have a flashlight. The person leading the game must have made up before hand, 8 cards per team, with a design on the card in light reflecting tape. Maptack or laminate the cards in advance as well so as to be able to use the game again!
The designs could be three lines, 2 triangles, 4 rectangles, one circle, etc.
Ages: I'd say Guides and up.
Preparation: The cards must be hidden, in a certain area while no one else is watching.

The rules: Each team is assigned a kind of card that they are looking for. The boundaries of the game must be described to all the players. Each team sends out one member at a time, with the flashlight to find, and bring back One of their cards. (At that time they may find cards of the other teams, just leave them undisturbed.) When the first team member finds one card, they return and hand the flashlight over to the next member of their team, who hands the flashlight over to the next team member when they find one card etc. The first team to find all their cards wins.

This was a lot of fun. The Guider who set it up for us, had put all the cards at ground level on snow, so the white background of the card did not show up. Black cards would work quite well too. The cards were about 5x7, so recipe cards could be used, and I believe that you can buy the reflective tape at Canadian Tire.

Jane Maddin

DARK - ISN’T IT?

"Tell the audience that this is a test of intelligence, coordination, and the ability to follow directions. Have each person raise his/her left hand and point left index finger to the right, parallel to the floor. Then have them raise the right hand and hold right index finger on a level with the left finger, pointing in the opposite direction. Then raise the left hand 2 inches and lower the right hand 2 inches. Now ask them to close their eyes. After a moment, remark innocently, "Dark, isn't it?"

Joan D. (camp name--Patches)

NIGHT TREK

Lay a trail during the day use duck tape, it reflects light. Set a # of stations along the trail and have a person to man them during the trek. To make this truly a team event, arrange group by lining up by height sm. to lg. Then count off 1 through no of stations you have.

Rules:

No flash lights to be turned on during trek….only in emergency.

Walk only in single file (yes you will have to hang on to each other)

You may use anything you have on you to help you complete your stations

Game:
Start by leading all groups around trail dropping off one group at each station. Game begins when a whistle is blown to start and change stations. Give enough time to complete each station and walk to next station.

#1 Station - leader says "you are trying to escape from Alcatraz. The piece of newspaper on the ground is your boat. You have to keep part of your bodies on it at all times to escape. Newspaper is 1/2 sheet.

#2 Station - three candles and one squirt (washing up liquid bottle) bottle of water. Task from behind the line put out the candles

#3 - Tie this ribbon as high up around the trunk of the tree as you can.

#4 - We arrived at this station to find no leader until we tripped over her on the ground and realized we had learnt emergency CPR earlier during the day so we went in to action

#5 - The leader gave us 2- 2 X4’s (Econo studs) and some rope, showed us a deep ravine marked by duck tape on the ground. Our job was to get from one side to the other/ Only one could be on the 2 X 4 at one time. The 2 -2 X 4's were not long enough to cross the ravine so person had to move them stand on one and push the other out in front of you the hop on it then pick up the one behind and move it in the front.

#6 - You can add more stations as your setting and participants allow.

After the game ends you can all come together for an evaluation. Some of the things we found out were some of us were natural leaders at some of the stations. Trust was a necessary part of working together as a team and lots more besides.

Marian Beswick-Arthur

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