From: mcgrew@ichthous.Eng.Sun.COM (Darin McGrew)
Subject: Re: Quiet games wanted
Date: 26 Oct 1993 18:55:10 GMT

Here are a few that come to mind.  These have worked pretty well
with our group of 3rd - 6th grade boys (8-12 years old).

Darin.McGrew@Eng.Sun.COM     The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth?
                             Who makes him deaf or dumb?  Who gives him sight
Soli Deo Gloria!             or makes him blind?  Is it not I, the LORD?"


I'VE GOT A PROBLEM

One boy is chosen and leaves the room.  The other boys are given
a problem, and have to come up with solutions to the problem.
The chosen boy comes back in and has to guess what the problem
is, based on the solutions offered.

You can either go around the circle having each boy offer his
solution, or let the chosen boy pick whose solution he wants to
hear next.  It is a good idea to prohibit certain obvious words,
so that the solutions don't give away too much.

For example, if the problem is "You have a flat tire on your bike
and you are 10 miles from home," then the prohibited words might
be "flat", "tire", "bike", and "bicycle".  Possible solutions
might include:

	"I find a pay phone, call home, and ask someone to come
	 give me a ride home."
	"I take it off, fix it, put it back on, fill it up, and
	 go home."
	"I take a bus home."
	"I walk to a repair shop, and then ride home."

Other problems might include:

	"Your dog really did eat your homework."
	 (prohibited words: dog, eat, homework)

	"You are at a friend's house, and you break one of his
	 favorite toys while he's out of the room."
	 (prohibited words: toy, break)

	"A friend who sits next to you in class asks you to help
	 them cheat during a test."
	 (prohibited words: cheat, test)


THIS IS KILROY

This is a "get acquainted" game.  The first person (the leader)
hands a small object to the person to his left and says "My name
is [Arthur], and this is Kilroy".  That second person passes the
object to his left, saying "My name is [Bill], and [Arthur] says
that this is Kilroy."  The third person passes the object to his
left, saying "My name is [Chris], and [Bill] says that [Arthur]
says that this is Kilroy."  Obviously, everyone should use their
real names.  Keep it going all the way around the circle if
possible.


DUCKY WUCKY

One person is chosen to be It.  It will approach another player
and say "Ducky Wucky", and the other player must respond "Quack
Quack" without smiling.  If the target smiles, then they become
the new It.  Make sure that after a few seconds, It moves on to
another target rather than waiting for the first target to crack.
Other than that, It is free to use whatever vocal inflections,
facial expressions, physical gestures, etc. he wants, as long as
the only thing he says is "Ducky Wucky".


KILLER I

Everyone closes their eyes, and the leader picks one or more boys
to be killers.  When everyone opens their eyes, the killers try
to kill the other boys by winking at them.  The non-killers try
to expose the killers before everyone is dead.  If a non-killer
announces that someone is a killer, then 1) if they are right,
the killer is "dead", or 2) if they are wrong, the guesser is
"dead".  Killers can kill other killers.  Keep going until all
the killers are dead (or until only one killer is left, but this
is pretty rare).


KILLER II

This is the same as KILLER I, except that 1) everyone in the
circle holds hands, and 2) the method of "killing" other players
is different.  The killer will lightly squeeze the hand of one of
the players next to him n times.  That player will squeeze the
hand of the player on the other side n-1 times.  That player will
squeeze the hand of the player on the other side of them n-2
times.  And so on.  When the player on one side squeezes your
hand n times, you squeeze the hand of the next player n-1 times.
If someone squeezes your hand once, you are "dead".


TELEPHONE

This is a classic.  The leader whispers a sentence to the player
to his left.  That player repeats it to the player on his left.
In the end, the last player says it aloud for everyone, and then
the leader says the original sentence.  Each person is only
allowed to say the sentence once; no repeating it.


PUZZLE GAMES

This general category of games usually involves a leader who
knows "The Secret", and the players who try to figure out what
"The Secret" is.


GOING CAMPING (PUZZLE GAME)

This is another "get acquainted" game of sorts.  The leader says,

	"My name is [Arthur], and I'm going camping, and I'm
	 taking an [Axe]."
	 
He then picks a player and asks

	"What's your name?"
	"My name is [Bill]."
	"Hi, [Bill].  What are you going to bring camping?"
	"I'm going to bring a [Backpack]."
	"Good, you can come camping with us [Bill]."

or	"Hi, [Bill].  What are you going to bring camping?"
	"I'm going to bring a [Tent]."
	"I'm sorry, [Bill], but I don't think you can come
	 camping with us yet."

In this case, "The Secret" is that the item the player is going
to bring has to begin with the same letter as their name.


CROSSED, UNCROSSED (PUZZLE GAME)

Everyone sits in a circle on the floor.

The leader hands a pair of scissors (preferably children's safety
scissors) to the person on his left and says "Crossed" or
"Uncrossed".  The leader should make a point of showing whether
the scissors are being passed to the next person closed or open
(ie, in a cross shape), but shouldn't actually say anything about
this.  Each person passes the scissors to the next person,
announcing either "Crossed" or "Uncrossed", and the leader either
confirms the announcement (eg, "Yes, that was crossed."), or
corrects the player (eg, "No, that was really uncrossed.").

In this case, "The Secret" is that the words "Crossed" or
"Uncrossed" do not refer to the way the scissors are held, but
rather, they refer to whether the legs of the player passing the
scissors were crossed or uncrossed at the time.  If you want to
make it really difficult, "Crossed" or "Uncrossed" can refer to
the legs of the player receiving the scissors, or can refer to
the leader's legs.