Thursday Night Games

1

A MOVABLE NORTH

Around the circle, that every hall seems to have painted on its floor - not yours, well imagine it, place 16 markers, unnamed but correctly aligned, to represent the 16 points of the compass. Leaving the North point vacant, have a Scout stand at each other marker. Where the number of Scouts exceeds the 15 markers, use your local democratic system to rotate the Scouts.

The game leader stands at the centre of the circle with a staff, standing upright on the floor. The leader calls a compass point by name and lets go of the staff. The appropriate Scout rushes to catch the staff before it hits the ground. On doing so, the Scout takes position at the vacant North point with the vacated position becoming the new North point and each re-calibrating accordingly.

An uncaught staff puts the Scout out, to be replaced by one awaiting in the wings. The leader resumes the centre with the staff and play continues.

Other alternatives include enlarging the circle, meaning further to run to the centre, less time to re-calibrate when the North point moves and using numerical degrees instead of Compass point names.

THE PUSH-UP TEST

Group thinking and reliance on others - either give them the problem and hope that wise heads will work it out or provide the pattern and then stand back.

The problem - is for all members of the Patrol to be raised above the ground with only their hands in contact with the ground - and - with all Patrol members in physical contact with each other - and - using no other objects.

A solution, there must be others but this will do - is for each Patrol member to lie face down on the floor, as for `pushups', with the feet not on the floor but on the shoulders of another. When all is ready, everyone performs a `push-up', leaving only their hands in contact with the floor !

When expertise is achieved, try rotating while in the `up' position.

IN THE RIVER

The strip down the centre of the hall is the river. The right wall is the "lifeboat" and the left wall is the "bank". The leader stands at "X" and the players obey as follows:

On the Bank   Run to left wall

Man the Lifeboats  Run to right wall

In the River   Run to starting position

Freeze   Stand still

Shell coming over  Fall flat on the floor

In every case, the last player to obey is either out of the game or forfeits a life.

THREE CORNERED TUG

A rope is knotted and placed on the ground in the form of a triangle. A stone is placed equal in distance from each corner. Three players lift this geometry and, each holding the rope behind them with their right hands, face their stone and strain to reach it. The one that lifts his or her stone first wins. Extraordinary things happen!!