Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Games - Part II

Blob
The blob begins innocently enough as a mere game of tag.  As soon as a boy catches someone, they join hands.  Now the second boy is part of the blob, and they set out, hand-in-hand, in search of victims.  Everyone the blob catches (only the outside hand on either end of the blob can snatch players) joins hands with it and becomes part of the lengthening protoplasmic chain.  An so the insidious blob keeps growing.
Unlike your run-of-the-mill mad scientist-created blobs, this one is not content merely to ooze along, seeking its prey.  It gallops around the field, cornering stray runners and forcing them to join up.  (You'll have to agree on boundaries for this game; some people will go to any lengths to avoid being caught.)
Moreover (horrors!), the blob can split itself into parts and, with its superior communal intelligence, organize raiding parties on the lone few who have managed to escape.  The thrilling climax occurs when only one player is left to put up a heroic last-ditch stand on behalf of humanity.  But alas, there is no defense against the blob, and humanity succumbs.  (If that seems unfair, well, that's the plot.)
If time permits, you can have the last person caught start the blob for the next game.
Caterpillar
Get everyone lying on their stomachs, side-to-side.  Be sure you're packed closely together and have any little people squeeze between two big ones.  Now, have the person the end of the line roll over onto his neighbor and keep rolling down the corduroy road of bodies.  When he gets to the end of the line, he lies on his stomach, and the next person at the other end starts rolling.
Once the momentum is going, there'll be no stopping the human caterpillar as it advances over meadows and hills.  How about assembling two caterpillars for a cross-country race?
Hunter Hawser
This game is sure to prove that "the bigger they are, the harder they fall."  If you like one-on-one competition, here it is - along with a real surprise as to what can knock you off your pedestal.
Pedestals are about 6 inches high and small enough so that players can't move their feet without losing balance.  (A good mount might be a block of wood or plastic foam, a tree stump, or an overturned cooking, flower, or chimney pot.)
Players hunker down on their platforms, which are set about 6 feet apart, each holding one end of a rope about 1 inch in diameter and at least 15 feet long.  The excess rope lies coiled between the players - but not for long.
On a signal, the players begin reeling the ropes.  The object is to cause your opponent to lose balance by tightening or slackening the rope.  Sound simple?  "oh, I'll just give a good pull and . . ."  Suddenly your opponent relaxes his hold, and over you go in a spectacular backward somersault - defeated by your own energy.  In fact, the more aggressive you become, the more vulnerable you are.  The whole idea of how to win becomes a topsy-turvy in this game as the pot on which you're standing.
Knots
Knots is a game that gets people together by pulling them apart.  About a dozen players can "tie on" a good one.
To form the knot, stand in a circle, shoulder-to-shoulder, and place your hands in the center.  Now, everyone grabs a couple of hands.  If you ever want to get out of this, be sure that no one holds both hands with the same person or holds the hand of a person right next to him.  It might take a bit of switching around to get the knot tied correctly.  (If you have too much trouble tying the knot, you might want to quit before you try untying it!)
Now comes the true test.  You'll probably notice that there are two basic approaches to untangling the knot.  Some dive right into the problem - under, over, and through their teammates - hoping they'll hit upon the solution.  Others might well hit upon the solution firmly rooted, hands locked in a dignified tableau, carefully surveying the situation before instructing each player precisely where to move and in what order.
Because you're all in the same tangle together, you'll have to come to some agreement as to which approach to follow.  (Note:  Pivoting on your handholds without actually breaking your grip will make it smoother and eliminate the need for a chiropractor.)  When at last the knot is unraveled (hurrah!), you will find yourselves in one large circle or, occasionally, two interconnecting ones.
Every once in a while, someone will discover the one tangle that prevents the knot from resolving itself.  At this pint, no other remedy being possible, it may be necessary to administer emergency "knot-aid" (a momentary break in hands) so that you can get on to the next game.

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