Hi there!
We're at that point in September where the calendar has officially stopped pretending it's summer. Practices run late, youth group is back to its regular night, the weeknights get shorter, and somewhere around 7pm you look up and wonder where the day went. I hear from a lot of you this time of year with the same question: "I've got the group, I've got twenty minutes, what do we play?"
That's what this email is for. Nine games below, most of them need a bag of something you already have in the closet, and a few need nothing at all. Fall officially kicks off next Tuesday, so I put together a set of picks to get you outside one more time before the cold weather moves the whole group back indoors. Let's dig in.
New This Week
Find All 100. Scatter the numbers 1 through 100 across a sheet of paper in a jumbled mess, then pass it around the table: the first player circles 1, the next circles 2, and so on until a team reaches 100. Play it as a relay with teams racing to a table, or swap the numbers for words from a book or a phrase you're teaching.
Grab the Supplies →
Download the PDF →
Watch the Game →
Button That Shirt. A reader asked for a couples retreat game and this one is perfect: each person stands behind their spouse, reaches around, and tries to button up the shirt their partner is wearing without looking. First couple fully buttoned wins, and the laughing starts well before anyone finishes.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Find the Leader. Send one player out of the room and secretly pick a leader for everyone else. Bring the player back in while the leader quietly calls the shots (clapping, stomping, patting knees) and the whole group copies along. The player in the middle has to spot who's leading, and the fastest detective of the night wins.
Watch the Game →
Most Played
Three games from the channel that thousands of groups keep coming back to.
Balloon Popping. Every player ties a balloon around their ankle, and on "go" you protect your balloon while trying to stomp everyone else's. Last person with an intact balloon wins.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
No-Prep Clapping Game. Sit in a circle and pass a clap around: the direction you clap is the direction it travels, and a clap with your hands up in the air skips the next person. Anyone who claps out of turn is out, and it gets fast in a hurry.
Watch the Game →
Cup Spin. It's musical chairs with Solo cups. Set out one cup fewer than the number of players, start the music, and everyone spins in a circle until it stops and they scramble to grab a cup. Pull a cup each round until it's two players and one cup.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
This Week's Picks: Fall Kickoff
The first day of fall is next Tuesday, so here are two games for one more big outdoor night and one that brings the candy season inside.
Human Chain Hoop Race. Each team links hands in a line, then passes a hula hoop from one end to the other by climbing through it without letting go of each other. First team to get the hoop all the way down the chain wins.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Medic! Survival Game. Split into two teams: one team throws dodgeballs while the other sends medics out one at a time to carry their wounded soldier back to safety. Every time a medic gets hit, the next one runs out, and the team that gets their soldier home in the fastest time wins.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Sort That Candy. Pour a pile of Skittles on a plate and give each player a straw. Using only suction, players move the candy into cups, one color per cup. The first team to empty their plate with every color sorted wins (and yes, they get to eat the results).
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Know someone who needs a game this week? A youth leader, a teacher, a friend who's hosting the next family night. Take a second and share your personal invite link with them. When they sign up, they'll get our free book of 52 games, and you'll be the reason their next group night went a little smoother.
Every game we've ever shared, with the video and the supply list, lives on the Dig the Games website.
Happy Wednesday!
Jonathan
Dig the Games