Hi there!
Fall officially showed up this week, and I can feel the shift already. The evenings are cooling off, Friday nights belong to football and homecoming, and the group that was happy to run around the parking lot in August is starting to drift back toward the gym and the fellowship hall. That usually means a few more of you are looking at a big open room, a bin of supplies, and a pile of teenagers (or cousins, or coworkers) who need something to do for the next twenty minutes.
So this week leans into that: nine games, most of them built for a crowd, a couple you can run at a table while the pizza gets passed around. Everything below needs nothing more than a bag of something from the party aisle, and a few of them have been on the channel long enough that thousands of groups have already put them to the test. Let's dig in.
New This Week
Trash Can Basketball (No Standing Up). Two teams sit in rows facing each other with a trash can in the middle, and the only rule is nobody leaves their seat. Players bat the ball toward the can, swat it away from the other team, and try to sink it without ever standing, which turns a simple shot into a full-team scramble.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Catch Fish Using Only Air. Cut a pile of paper fish, set a paper plate on the floor, and give each team sixty seconds. Players fan the fish toward the plate with a second plate (no hands allowed), and any fish that lands on the plate before the timer runs out gets collected. Most fish caught wins.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Wrong Color Gets You Tagged. Two teams line up facing each other, each holding a different colored object, and pass them back and forth while the ref waits. When the ref calls a color, whoever is holding it has to sprint to their end zone before the player across from them can tag them. Make it home and nothing happens; get tagged and the other team scores.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Most Played
Three games from the channel that groups keep coming back to, year after year.
Measure Up Cup. Open a tape measure to about three feet on a table and set two Solo cups at each end, with five ping pong balls in one cup per player. On "go," each player moves their ping pong balls from one cup to the other along the tape, and the first player with a full cup wins. Balls that fall off the table go right back in.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Going to Boston. A dice game that works at any table: roll three dice and set aside your highest, roll the remaining two and set aside the highest again, then roll the last die. Add up your three kept dice and write down your score. Highest total takes the round, and you can play to any number of rounds you like.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Knockdown with Ping Pong Balls. Stack a wall of Solo cups on a table and hand each player a pile of ping pong balls. Players fire from behind a line and try to knock every cup off the table before their opponent clears theirs. Quick to set up, quick to reset, and it gets loud in a hurry.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
This Week's Picks: Homecoming Gym Nights
It's homecoming season and the first full week of fall, so here are three big-room games for the nights when the whole group ends up in the gym.
Human Hungry Hippos. Dump a pile of ball-pit balls in the center of the room and line the teams up around the edge. One player from each team drops to their hands while a partner grabs their ankles, and the pair wheelbarrows to the middle, grabs one ball, and walks backwards to their line before the next pair goes. Play against a countdown or until the pile is gone; the team with the most balls wins.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Elephant Soccer. Everyone stands in a circle with their legs spread and feet touching their neighbors', then the ball goes in the middle. Players swat the ball with their hands and try to send it between someone else's legs. If it gets through you, you're out, the circle tightens, and the last player standing wins.
Grab the Supplies →
Watch the Game →
Pizza Box Challenge. Each player balances an empty pizza box on an open palm and holds a pool noodle in the other hand. The goal is to knock your opponent's box off while keeping yours in the air. Last box still balanced wins, and it's a perfect one to run while the actual pizza is on its way.
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