The project would not be huge, maybe 100 or so students with about the same for a control group, but it should be for a whole school year and also should statistically show any significant changes in the students in a number of areas. This should include academic achievement, behavior in the classroom, incident reports on the playground, obesity, social skills, and whatever else we can logically include.

Stay tuned!

Playfully,

Dale

Here is where you can hear cooperative New Games in your ear.

In your ear, you say? Cooperative New Games in your ear? How astonishing!

Never would have thought it

I would never have thought to have New Games in my ear.

The first thing I’d like to say is that New or Old, the Earthball is a striking symbol that people quickly and easily relate to. While I’ve long said you don’t need an Earthball to present New Games, it sure does attract a crowd at a festival or event. And, like it or not, the Earthball is the enduring symbol for New Games. Now, of course, it is possible to rent or buy the Earthball for you or your group. It can be used in competitive and a variety of cooperative activities. A summary of these games will be provided upon purchase. 

The New Earthball (above) comes preprinted, saving a lot of time (I know from personal experience painting a number of Old Earthballs in my day). The New ball has the landforms and oceans painted on it PLUS clouds that make it look more realistic as seen from space. It’s a beauty!

It is a lighter than the Old Earthball (13 lbs for New, 30 lbs for Old), making it much safer for all people, especially children (with the Old ball, imagine it coming down on top of you standing upright – 30 lbs on the move!). The New ball is less expensive by a US$150. 

This New Earthball Is a rugged, cloth skinned globe for field games. Brand new to my supplier, they have dye-sub printed, polyester skinned covers. Because they are printed in this way, the ink goes all the way through the fabric. This means the globe image doesn’t scratch off with use. The polyester material is hardy and they have a sturdy bladder inside.

As you can see, the printing these globes is gorgeous. Displayed is one of their 6-foot New Earthballs being played with by children. Notice the color and detail. You could never have done this on a canvas globe.

My supplier will usually have these New Earthballs in stock. If they don’t have the size you need in stock, it will take around 3-4 weeks to make and be delivered. Please inquire to find out shipping costs and

The games presented are proven to work. Naturally, some are more popular than others, but sometimes groups surprise me by picking a favorite that I would never have suspected. You can try them out and see which games are your group’s favorites. I still sell the package of games in various videos – New Parachute Games (Gold Award, Worldliest Houston); Best of Cooperative Games (Silver Award, Worldfest Houston); Best of New Games (Bronze Award, Worldliest Houston); New Soccer, Complete Cooperative New Games (all the videos from the first four mentioned here); Cooperative New Games Leadership (made after “Complete Coop NG); New Games for Social Distancing (a compilation taken from all the videos that allow distancing while playing). All of the videos were recommended, in one form or another, by Kids First.

This is my parting gift with concern to the videos of the games I have made for you, the practitioners of New Games. It is my hope that this will help continue New Games wherever you are. The whole purpose of New Games was to spread the idea far and wide that playing for fun and cooperatively were a good model of how to live our everyday lives. Naturally, not every second of every day can be fun, but by having a playful attitude, we can begin to get past our darkest moments, days, weeks or months. I know this from personal experience.

Where do you find this New Games video giveaway? Right here:

So, enjoy! I’ve had fun making and playing the games for 49 years. I pass it on to you – now go out and play!

So, I’ll likely go on as long as I’m able. I tried retiring but didn’t like it. I found myself walking around my flat wondering what to do. While I have gotten involved with environmental and political groups and causes, all very meaningful and important, I still derive personal joy playing New Games. Some people think I’m a kid in an adults body, especially when playing the games. That’s true, I do feel an energy that is young in nature.

The New Earthball (above) comes preprinted, saving a lot of time (I know from personal experience painting a number of Old Earthballs in my day). The New ball has the landforms and oceans painted on it PLUS clouds that make it look more realistic as seen from space. It’s a beauty!

It is a lighter than the Old Earthball (13 lbs for New, 30 lbs for Old), making it much safer for all people, especially children (with the Old ball, imagine it coming down on top of you standing upright – 30 lbs on the move!). The New ball is less expensive by a US$150.

This New Earthball Is a rugged, cloth skinned globe for field games. Brand new to my supplier, they have dye-sub printed, polyester skinned covers. Because they are printed in this way, the ink goes all the way through the fabric. This means the globe image doesn’t scratch off with use. The polyester material is hardy and they have a sturdy bladder inside.

As you can see, the printing these globes is gorgeous. Displayed is one of their 6-foot New Earthballs being played with by children. Notice the color and detail. You could never have done this on a canvas globe.

My supplier will usually have these New Earthballs in stock. If they don’t have the size you need in stock, it will take around 3-4 weeks to make and be delivered. Please inquire to find out shipping costs and how long it will take to get you an Earth Ball. Location also makes a difference in delivery time from the supplier in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

For those who don’t know, the Old Earthball (shown here) is a white 6 foot (1m 82cm) inflatable canvas ball with a vinyl bladder that has the outlines of the continents and islands on it.

This ball can be painted by you so that oceans and land masses are colored however you wish to do it, whether you would like the oceans and lakes to simply be one color of blue or to show darker blue where the water is deeper and lighter blue where the water is more shallow. And land masses could be solid green, or if you choose to show desert areas as yellow, mountains as brown, Antarctica as white, you can do that, too.

Painting the Old Earthball can be a team building experience by itself. I remember a party I had where the ball was in my living room and I invited people to take up a brush and paint a bit of the ball. It was fun!

I’m working on a version of New Games that’s compatible with social distancing called New Games for Social Distancing.

I’ll be putting together a special launch offer that will be available just for a few days, so if you would like me to let you know when I open the doors to that, please let me know below.

Until then, play safe
Dale

For many people around the world, lockdown is beginning to ease (in other parts the virus is still building or has returned for a second wave), so in this final week of lockdown games, we are looking for the best of your favorites from the last four weeks.

As always, adapt games to the rules that apply where you are. Adapting games is part of New Games, we are always inclusive to the capabilities of people in the group and to the environment and we seek creative solutions to any issues or limitations that we are presented with.

After you’ve tried these games, vote for your favorites at the bottom of this page. That will get us a winner!

Whereas in previous weeks we started out with games for two people and then moved on to slightly larger groups, this time they are mixed up, just play what you can.

My Aunt Comes From …

(5 to 50+ players, moderate activity)

Leader starts by saying to group, “My aunt (uncle, cousin, any relation or friend) comes from Wisconsin (or any other place you can think of in the universe) and she walks like this.” Leader proceeds to demonstrate an exaggerated “walk” that the whole group copies for at least 10 seconds. Any unusual movement will do, as long as others can do it, too. Then anyone can clap, go to the front of the group, and show a new “walk” of one of their relatives. This is one way to energize walks and make them fun.

I remember one time I was doing this walking down a small street with a group in Germany, and a police car came up from a side street. The police were quite surprised and we all had a laugh – but we kept the ‘walk’ up.

This can be done with as few as 2 people.

Why? Because

(2 – 35 players, low activity)

Everyone needs a sheet of paper and pencil. Tear paper in 2 pieces. On one, write a question you would like answered that begins with “Why”. It does not have to be sensible, but can be silly. On the other piece of paper, write an “answer” to your question. It can be completely unrelated to your question. Collect all the questions and answers, keeping them separate. Mix up the questions and pass them out. Do the same for answers. If someone gets actual answer to the question, have her exchange. Then have each person in turn read their question and answer out loud.

For 2 people: Just exchange answers and read out loud the questions with the new answers.

This is on my Best Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Trust Walk

(2 – 30+ players, low activity)
Players form pairs. One person is blindfolded or keeps their eyes closed while being carefully lead around by their partner. The person leading looks out for objects that could hurt the blinded person when bringing them to different places, having them touch or smell various objects to notice different textures. linked person tries to simply experience the objects and textures as they are without naming them.

In The Manner of the Adverb

(2 – 50 players, moderately active)
One (or several) player(s) go out of earshot while the person (or group) chooses an adverb, (a word describing a verb, like “He ran dizzily.”). The guesser(s) return and give the group a verb that they must do in the manner of the adverb that the group has chosen. Based on what they see, the guesser(s) tries to guess the adverb. If wrong, guessers give another verb and try again. Normally this is done with a group, but can be done with as few as two people. Distancing is not a problem in any case, since players do not have to be close to do this game.

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

I Have A Friend Who …

(5 – 50 players, moderately active)

A circle game. There is one less chair (or place marker) than number of people playing. One person standing in the middle says “I have a friend who (for example) wears tennis shoes.” People wearing tennis shoes get up and switch chairs or place markers with each other. (You can’t sit in the same chair you just sat in, or can’t go back to the same place marker). The person left standing (who has no chair/marker) is the next leader. Other examples are: I have a friend who: plays basketball; has two brothers; has a birthday in July; is wearing red, was born in this town; is alive (if everyone doesn’t move for this one, we might have a problem).

This is on my Best Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Group Juggle

(5 – 25 players, moderate activity)

This is a circle game. Everyone has their hands in front of them, waiting for a ball to be passed. The leader starts by passing to one person, who then throws to another person who has their hands up. After passing the ball, a player puts their hands down. The pattern ends when everyone has had the ball and it returns to the leader. Each player must remember who passed the ball to them and who they passed it to. Repeat cycle, add a ball, two, more. See how many you can add. Variations include going in reverse and going to the spot of the person you’ve just thrown to, or even moving randomly around the area. It is possible to do this with as few as 2 people, but it gets difficult very quickly when adding more balls.

This is on my Cooperative New Games Leadership download/DVD, click to purchase.

Make 11

(2 to 50+ players in groups of 2 or 3, low activity)

Group members face each other and at the count of 3, put out one hand with a number of fingers extended, trying to reach a total of 11. (Naturally, with 2 people, you use both hands.) They repeat this until they get it. Then, using both hands, they repeat, trying to total 21. (Or with just two people, some other number under 20.)

This is on my Best of Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

No Teeth

(5-10 players, low activity)

Players hide their teeth with their lips while speaking. Each player chooses a card with the name of a fruit or vegetable on it. The first player starts by saying to another player, with their teeth covering their lips, “I don’t have any fruit (or whatever food is on the other player’s card), could I have your apple?” to which the person with the ‘apple’ says something like “Why yes you can have my apple,” and gives the asking person the ‘apple’ card.

Then the person who has just passed their card says to another “I don’t have any fruit or vegetable, could I have your (name’s the fruit or veg that the other player has)?” To which the player with the fruit or veg replies in an affirmative sentence and passes their card over to the asking player. Th process repeats until someone shows their teeth while speaking, at which point everyone points at the player whose teeth have been exposed and says “Teeth, teeth, teeth!” After this, continue. If a player is having trouble keeping their teeth covered, after they have had the “Teeth, teeth, teeth!” chant, pass on to another player.

The object is to try to get someone to show teeth while speaking.

If you would like to know more about New Games and maybe learn more about how to use them, over my long career I’ve written books and make tutorial videos for you. There are many more fun, educational, therapeutic and community building games you can learn and implement in your group or workplace, so don’t be shy, check out my page of helpful tutorial products.

Vote for the games you liked best here .. drag them around until your favorite is at the top, then scroll for [OK] and [done]. This is the final week and this will get us an overall lockdown games winner, so be sure to contribute your experience and preference.

Create your own user feedback survey

And if you know any groups that would like a New Games session, or any organisation whose members would like to be trained to use New Games in their practice, or any conference or festival that could do with a New Games session .. get in touch.

While things are beginning to open up with seeing other people, but we are still being asked to practicing distancing. There are still quite a few New Games we can play, some with a little adjusting. To play these games, we are assuming that you are doing them with the people you are living with or are allowed to visit, though as the rules of contact change, you will be allowed to have closer contact with others.

After you’ve tried these games, vote for your favorites at the bottom of this page, then we can have a best-of and pick a winner!

We start off with some games for as few as 2 people, though in most cases there can be more than 2.

Make 11

(2 to 50+ players in groups of 2 or 3, low activity)

Group members face each other and at the count of 3, put out one hand with a number of fingers extended, trying to reach a total of 11. (Naturally, with 2 people, you use both hands.) They repeat this until they get it. Then, using both hands, they repeat, trying to total 21. (Or with just two people, some other number under 20.)

This is on my Best of Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Threes

(2 – 30 players, low activity)

Players can gather loosely. The materials needed 4″X5″ paper or larger and a pen or pencil. The object is to depict “3” (or another number chosen) in different ways such as a 3 leaf clover, tricycle, or three balloons. Each person draws or writes their idea in a corner of the paper, crumples the paper and throws it on the floor. For the next round, players pick up someone else’s wadded paper, undoes it, and writes another new depiction of “3” in different corner. Do this four times, once for each corner. After the fourth time, players again pick up a paper, un-crumple it, but this time one player says what they see in each corner. Other players relate things that differ from what the first player has told.

Car-Car

(2 – 50+ players, moderate activity)

Players form pairs (or with an odd number, one group of three), approximately the same height. One person is in front and is the car, the other is in back and is the driver. The car must put her arms up in front of herself in a relaxed fashion with hands open as “bumpers” to protect herself from objects and other cars. Bumpers may be needed because the car then closes its eyes and the driver (with eyes open!) then guides the car carefully.

After a few minutes, everyone is asked to stop: car and driver then switch roles. With kids, it might be good to have a repair station if they collide (a gentle way of giving a short “time out” that is part of the game). If you don’t want to touch or be touched for safety reasons you find other ways to control your car. For instance, you can use a sticks to tap the shoulder of your car to get them to turn in that direction. Tapping both shoulders to stop. Or possibly a skip rope can loop around the front of the ‘car’ under their arms and the driver can pull in the direction they want their car to go, pulling both ends of the rope to have their car stop.

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Two Truths and A (one) Lie

(5-30 players, low activity)

All players sit in a circle. Then players are asked to think up 3 statements about themselves: 2 that are true and 1 that is false. When the game starts, a participant volunteers to say his/her 3 statements. For instance, they could say “I have been hot air ballooning. I have 3 cats. I was born in Wisconsin.”

The player says them once, then repeats them so they are clearly in everyone’s mind. Finally, the player says their statements one last time, and people vote on which statement they think is a lie. The object is for the one making the statements to fool as many people as possible. Therefore, it’s good to include unlikely sounding things that are true and a very likely thing that is not. This game is a good way to learn something about each other.

Here are some games that require a few more people. Some can be done with fewer than 5, but 5 or more is better.

Clothespin Tag

(5 – 50 players, active)

Everyone takes 3 clothespins (or less or more, depending on how many players and clothespins) and attaches them to their shirt sleeve by the shoulder no lower than their elbow. At a given signal, everyone tries to get as many clothespins as they can from others, taking only one at at time. When a player gets one, they get three seconds to attach it. The player who took a clothespin counts out loud “One, two, three,” so other players know they can’t take one from him just then.

There is no guarding of your own clothespins – you can’t knock other player’s hands away. All you can do to protect your pins is to move away. The game goes on for about a minute or so. For fun, see how many pins everyone has at the end.

This is on my Best of Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Sleeping Lions

(5 – 50 players, low activity)

A safari leader is looking for lions, and to start, everyone other than the safari leader is a lion. The lions can keep from being seen by not moving, save for breathing, blinking and moving the eyes (which must be visible and open) and swallowing. The lions faces must also be visible and easy to see.

If the leader sees a lion move, the lion is caught and must join the safari leader searching for other lions. Searchers may not touch the lions, shout in their ears or spit on them, but otherwise they can do what they will to get the lions to move. Usually it’s best to try to get lions to laugh, but a smile is all you need!

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

No Teeth

(5-10 players, low activity)

Players hide their teeth with their lips while speaking. Each player chooses a card with the name of a fruit or vegetable on it. The first player starts by saying to another player, with their teeth covering their lips, “I don’t have any fruit (or whatever food is on the other player’s card), could I have your apple?” to which the person with the ‘apple’ says something like “Why yes you can have my apple,” and gives the asking person the ‘apple’ card.

Then the person who has just passed their card says to another “I don’t have any fruit or vegetable, could I have your (name’s the fruit or veg that the other player has)?” To which the player with the fruit or veg replies in an affirmative sentence and passes their card over to the asking player. Th process repeats until someone shows their teeth while speaking, at which point everyone points at the player whose teeth have been exposed and says “Teeth, teeth, teeth!” After this, continue. If a player is having trouble keeping their teeth covered, after they have had the “Teeth, teeth, teeth!” chant, pass on to another player.

The object is to try to get someone to show teeth while speaking.

This is on my Cooperative New Games Leadership download/DVD, click to purchase.

If you enjoyed these, why not buy a comprehensive guide book or download video lessons.

Vote for the games you liked best here .. drag them around until your favorite is at the top, then scroll for [OK] and [done]. This is the last week, next week we’ll do a best of the best and find your favorite lockdown game!

Create your own user feedback survey

After you’ve tried these games, vote for your favorites at the bottom of this page, then we can have a best-of and pick a winner!

We start off with some games for as few as 2 people, though in most cases there can be more than 2.

Ain’t No Flies On Us

(2 – 50+ players, low activity)

Start with two lines of people (or in this case, as few as 2 people), twenty feet apart facing each other. One line starts by taking a step toward the other and quietly, calmly, and without many gestures saying:

“There ain’t no flies on us, (me, if 2 players)
There ain’t no flies on us.
There may be flies on you guys, (eliminate “guys” if 2 players)
But there ain’t no flies on us.”

The 2nd line takes a step forward and says the same words to 1st line. They are slightly louder, less calm, and a bit more gesticulating. The lines keep alternating steps toward each other and repeating the lines until they are directly in front of each other, all the time getting louder and more animated. When lines within arms reach of one another, suggest hand shake/hug, to show no hard feelings, since there’s no flies on anyone.

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Emotional Numbers

(2- 10 players, low activity)

If more than 2 people, this is a circle game. Players can sit or stand. First player starts by carrying on a conversation with a second player next to her using only numbers, e.g., 25, 902, 7, 3612, while expressing emotion with tone of voice or facial/body expressions. NO OTHER WORDS ARE ALLOWED. After a brief conversation, 2nd player turns to 3rd player to start a new conversation with numbers. Repeat around circle, or with two, back to their partner.

Two Person Kickball

(2 – 50 players, high activity)

The partners have two bases, one each for the pitcher and kicker. Group can be put in 2 lines, one of pitchers and the other, kickers, if there isn’t enough equipment. When the kicker kicks the ball, the pitcher must get it wherever it goes, as long as it is forward, and return it to the kickers’ base only using her/his feet. The kicker, meanwhile, does jumping jacks or some other exercise to see how many they can do before the pitcher returns to the ball to the base. They switch places and, just for fun, see who does the most exercises.

This is on my Best Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Trust Falls

(2 – 50 players, moderate activity)

Everyone gets a partner about the same height and weight. If the partners are different sizes, the smaller one should not go as far away to catch their partner. Partners stand facing the same direction, the one behind closer than an arm’s length away. The person behind gets braced, one leg behind the other, both legs bent. Person in front says “Ready,” to which person behind answers “Ready.” The one in front does not fall until the one behind them answers “ready.” Person in front says “Falling,” to which the person in back replies “Fall away.” Only then does front person fall back into 2nd person’s hands. The 2nd person should start close, and after each try move back a little until either person wants to stop. The 2nd (catching) person must give the falling person full attention while this process is happening. If the catching person is not able to hold the falling person, help break their fall to the ground.

Here are some games that require a few more people. Some can be done with fewer than 5, and I’ll let you know about that, but 5 or more is better.

Group Juggle

(5 – 25 players, moderate activity)

This is a circle game. Everyone has their hands in front of them, waiting for a ball to be passed. The leader starts by passing to one person, who then throws to another person who has their hands up. After passing the ball, a player puts their hands down. The pattern ends when everyone has had the ball and it returns to the leader. Each player must remember who passed the ball to them and who they passed it to. Repeat cycle, add a ball, two, more. See how many you can add. Variations include going in reverse and going to the spot of the person you’ve just thrown to, or even moving randomly around the area. It is possible to do this with as few as 2 people, but it gets difficult very quickly when adding more balls.

This is on my Cooperative New Games Leadership download/DVD, click to purchase.

Sardines

(5-25 players, low/moderate activity)

One player hides in a place that has numerous places to hide, and after a short period of time, about a minute, others try to find him/her. When a player finds the hidden person, they hide with him/her until all find the hiding place and they all hide together until everyone finds the group. However, if you see the person/group while near someone who is also looking from those hiding but who hasn’t seen them, you might want to move on till the other person is gone and come back. Night is the best time to play this game, and you need many places to hide.

I Have A Friend Who …

(5 – 50 players, moderately active)

A circle game. There is one less chair (or place marker) than number of people playing. One person standing in the middle says “I have a friend who (for example) wears tennis shoes.” People wearing tennis shoes get up and switch chairs or place markers with each other. (You can’t sit in the same chair you just sat in, or can’t go back to the same place marker). The person left standing (who has no chair/marker) is the next leader. Other examples are: I have a friend who: plays basketball; has two brothers; has a birthday in July; is wearing red, was born in this town; is alive (if everyone doesn’t move for this one, we might have a problem).

This is on my Best Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

If you enjoyed these, why not buy a comprehensive guide book or download video lessons.

Vote for the games you liked best here .. drag them around until your favorite is at the top, then scroll for [OK] and [done]. If you join in we’ll do this every week for a while and then do a best-of and find a winner!

Create your own user feedback survey

While most of us are in some version of lockdown, or at least practicing distancing, there are still quite a few New Games we can play, with a little adjusting. To play these games, we are assuming that you are doing them with the people you are living with, though as the rules of contact change, you will be allowed to have closer contact with others.

After you’ve tried these games, vote for your favorites at the bottom of this page, then we can have a best-of and pick a winner!

We start off with some games for as few as 2 people, though in most cases there can be more.

Two Person Soccer/Football

(2 – 50+, high activity)
Partners have a ball, and two bases at least 10 feet apart, or as far apart as is possible in your situation. Essentially, it’s a football/soccer game in miniature. Each person tries to score a goal by kicking the ball into or rolling over their base. The one who gets the most goals wins, but who’s keeping score? Not me!

Trust Walk

(2 – 30+ players, low activity)
Players form pairs. One person is blindfolded or keeps their eyes closed while being carefully lead around by their partner. The person leading looks out for objects that could hurt the blinded person when bringing them to different places, having them touch or smell various objects to notice different textures. linked person tries to simply experience the objects and textures as they are without naming them.

In The Manner of the Adverb

(2 – 50 players, moderately active)
One (or several) player(s) go out of earshot while the person (or group) chooses an adverb, (a word describing a verb, like “He ran dizzily.”). The guesser(s) return and give the group a verb that they must do in the manner of the adverb that the group has chosen. Based on what they see, the guesser(s) tries to guess the adverb. If wrong, guessers give another verb and try again. Normally this is done with a group, but can be done with as few as two people. Distancing is not a problem in any case, since players do not have to be close to do this game.

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Face Pass

(2 – 25 players, low activity)
Players are in a close circle. The leader starts by making a funny or unusual face and passes it to a person next to her, who must copy it. Both then turn to show everyone the faces. The second person makes a new face to pass to a third person, next to her. Everyone gets a turn.

With 2 people, just take turns, one makes a face and the other copies it.

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Here are some games that require a few more people. Some can be done with fewer than 5, but 5 or more is better.

Everybody’s It

(5 – 50+ players, high activity)
In this chase game, everybody is “it” and can tag everyone else. Once you are tagged, however, you freeze your feet until the end of the game (which comes quickly). If someone runs too near a frozen person, the frozen person can unfreeze an arm to reach out and freeze the runner, then go back to being frozen.

A variation of this is “Hospital Tag”, where when you are tagged, you must hold that spot with a hand both the first and second times tagged. The third time tagged, you are frozen, but again you can tag people who come too close.

This is on my Best of New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

All Aboard

(5 – 10 players per group, low activity)
Place some 8 1/2 X 11 inch (or A4) pieces of paper randomly in the center of the room. Choose fewer pieces of paper than there are people (eg, 5 pieces for 8 people). Challenge everyone to stand on the pieces of paper. Once they have been successful, remove one piece. Keep removing pieces after each success. See how few pieces of paper on which the entire group can stand.

You can do this game with as little as 2 people: start with larger things to stand on, then pick smaller and smaller ones.

Blob

(5 to 50+ players, active)
Play in a large area with boundaries. One player starts as the “blob.” When she tags someone, that person joins hands with her and they try to catch others together. When there are at least four, they can split into two blobs. This repeats until everyone is caught.

If playing indoors in a somewhat confined space, you may need to experiment to find what makes this work. For instance, you may need the people in the blob link arms to give other players a chance, or instead of running, everyone walks. Or perhaps you can put barriers up to give non-blobs a chance.

This is on my Best New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

If you enjoyed these, why not buy a comprehensive guide book or download video lessons.

Vote for the games you liked best here .. drag them around until your favorite is at the top, then scroll for [OK] and [done]. If you join in we’ll do this every week for a while and then do a best-of and find a winner!

Create your own user feedback survey

New Games you can play in lockdown

While most of us are in lockdown, there are still quite a few New Games we can play, with a little adjusting. We start off with some games for as few as 2 people, though in most cases there can be more.

After you’ve tried these games, vote for your favorites at the bottom of this page, then we can have a best-of and pick a winner!

Partner Tag

(2-50+ players, high activity)

Original explanation: Players are paired up randomly. The boundaries are not that large and vary with the number of participants. This is a tag game between the 2 people in each pair. When a player tags his/her partner, the one tagged must count slowly and out loud to five. Players walk and are very careful to avoid collisions. If they DO collide, they must both shake hands with the person who they bumped into and say “I’m very sorry, this will never happen again.”

With just 2 people: You can play Partner Tag with just two or more people (but in a group as small as that, it helps to place many chairs or other obstacles in the way so that it creates a challenge for the one who is *it* to catch the other person).

This can be played indoors, though a bit more space and outdoors might be better. Of course if there are more players, it is even more fun. Even outdoors, keep the playing area fairly small.

This is on my Best New Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Kevin’s Name Game

(2 – 30 players, low activity)

A person creates a sentence in which the letters of the person’s first name are the first letter of a word in a phrase. For instance, Kevin could say “Ketchup Ensures Vitally Increased Nutrition.” People then can greet Kevin and offer other variations which spell Kevin’s name, eg, “Kitchens Enable Very Interesting Nerds.” See how many variations you can come up with. Others can take a turn. As for the name of the game, guess who taught it to me?

Human Spring

(2 – 50+ players, moderately active)

Each player picks a partner, about the same height and weight. (It’s OK to do with players of different sizes, but then the lighter player must fall further than the heavier player to keep a balance.) Partners stand facing each other an arm’s length apart with their feet together. Partners hold up their hands extended in front of them, fall together to catch each other by the hands, and then push each other back up so as each will not lose her or his balance. When done, try stepping a little step back and trying it again. Keep moving back until partners reach their limit. No need to go too far and fall on your face. When you feel uncomfortable, stop.

This is on my Best Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Why? Because

(2 – 35 players, low activity)

Everyone needs a sheet of paper and pencil. Tear paper in 2 pieces. On one, write a question you would like answered that begins with “Why”. It does not have to be sensible, but can be silly. On the other piece of paper, write an “answer” to your question. It can be completely unrelated to your question. Collect all the questions and answers, keeping them separate. Mix up the questions and pass them out. Do the same for answers. If someone gets actual answer to the question, have her exchange. Then have each person in turn read their question and answer out loud.

For 2 people: Just exchange answers and read out loud the questions with the new answers.

This is on my Best Cooperative Games download/DVD, click to purchase.

Here are some games that require a few more people. Some can be done with fewer, but 5 or more is better.

Bloomps

(5 – 35 players in a circle, low activity)

First player starts by saying “one duck,” second player says “has two legs,” third player: “it falls in the water,” and the fourth player says “bloomps.” (The “sound” of a duck hitting the water.) The fifth player starts over with “Two ducks,” the sixth player says “has four legs,” seventh says, “they fall in the water,” eighth says “bloomps” and the ninth says “bloomps”. Only one bloomps per player. They carry on, usually stopping at 10 or 15.

This game can be done with as few as 3 people: Everyone has to really be paying attention!

This is on my Cooperative New Games Leadership download/DVD, click to purchase.

Borrow It

(5 – 50 players, active)

How this was originally played was to arrange the group into equal teams of between three to five players. Give each group a hula hoop and five objects. Place hoops on the ground in a circle an equal distance from each other and with the objects in the hoop. The object is to get the most objects in your teams’ hoop in one minute. A player can take only one object at a time, and no guarding your objects: you can only go to get objects in other hoops. Also, each player who gets an object must place it in their hoop: no throwing. To start, have everyone put a foot in their hoop and say “Go!” Of course, if you don’t have hoops, improvise! Boxes work, or…. Game usually goes on around a minute, but if everyone needs more exercise, go on a bit longer.

With 5, or even as few as 3 people: Each player can be their whole team. Same basic rules apply.

This is on my Best Cooperative Games Leadership download/DVD, click to purchase.

My Aunt Comes From …

(5 to 50+ players, moderate activity)

Leader starts by saying to group, “My aunt (uncle, cousin, any relation or friend) comes from Wisconsin (or any other place you can think of in the universe) and she walks like this.” Leader proceeds to demonstrate an exaggerated “walk” that the whole group copies for at least 10 seconds. Any unusual movement will do, as long as others can do it, too. Then anyone can clap, go to the front of the group, and show a new “walk” of one of their relatives. This is one way to energize walks and make them fun.

I remember one time I was doing this walking down a small street with a group in Germany, and a police car came up from a side street. The police were quite surprised and we all had a laugh – but we kept the ‘walk’ up.

This can be done with as few as 2 people.

If you enjoyed these, why not buy a comprehensive guide book or download video lessons.

Vote for the games you liked best here .. drag them around until your favorite is at the top, then scroll for [OK] and [done]. If you join in we’ll do this every week for a while and then do a best-of and find a winner!

Create your own user feedback survey

The latest news is that I lead New Games in Montenegro. Sort of. The session was via Skype, but hey, a first is a first. There is a good possibility that I will be able to do so in the flesh at the end of June. This would make my 34th country that I’ve presented New Games in. Stay tuned.

Also, lately I’ve been making some progress finding researchers to take my initial research further and deeper. I feel it will help to show how New Games affects many different areas of student development, including academic, social, physical development, and much more. I have seen it even in the short 6 month pilot project I did with 60 students (half a control group) and I think a longer project with more students would show a more pronounced beneficial effect. It seems that an intuitive knowledge of how the games positively affect students is not enough to get New Games integrated into the school curriculum so I am embarking on showing quantifiable and qualifiable results.

At the moment the goal is to have 3-5 years with several hundred students, at a minimum.

Playfully,

Dale

Transcript:
Hi I’m Dale LeFevre from New Games
and I’m John Allsopp, I’m a marketer
my marketer
absolutely. So you had basically retired, that was the point when I first met you
semi retired
alright semi retired, so what was it that brought you back in?
I say ‘semi retired’ because I was responding to requests but not reaching out, I thought well, if somebody asks me I would be happy to do something but I’m not going to go scouring because that was not very exciting for me to do, it was a lot of work and not so much results and so I thought ahh
It’s exciting for me to do
There you go, that’s .. so I found this guy, that’s what turns you on and what turns me on is just going out and doing the games. I felt like I had a lot to give yet, I’m still fit, I’m still able, I definitely still want to do the workshops and presentations and linking up with you made a difference because you’re willing to do the part that I wasn’t so willing to do. I mean, a little bit’s fine but doing it a lot stresses me out. So I really felt that people still want to do the games once they find out about it, so I wanted to be able to bring the games to them and it’s some kind of a legacy
And I think when I was first talking to you you were knocking around Montenegro, that interested me, it speaks to this idea of the freedom of being able to do New Games pretty much anywhere, literally across the world but also anywhere you’ve got space and people.
Yes, well today I’ve presented New Games in 34 countries literally around the world, Montenegro, I’ve been to India, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and everywhere it was very well received. The thing is, people like to play, they like to have fun, and I just bring that element, not that none of them know how to have fun but this particular way, like, for adults normally it’s ‘oh, play games? Hmm’. Maybe party games but .. this reintroduces an element to them that allows them to have fun in this way. And it’s a very simple way, it doesn’t take a lot of organisation.
I really like the idea that if you train as a hairdresser then you can go and sit on a beach somewhere and earn some money as a hairdresser and that that can fund eternal travel and the freedom, really, from the 9-5 but also the freedom from location and it strikes me that New Games is kind-of similar to that, that you could progress around the world delivering New Games.
Definitely, I was, when I grew up when I was 18 I thought, living in Wisconsin Illinois I thought well, maybe I’ll go to Canada and I took Spanish because I thought maybe I’ll go as far as Mexico someday so it was way beyond my expectations to travel completely around the world and New Games allowed me to do that, I’d find a group and even, well, when it was in East Germany they asked me to come and I got to go to a place where westerners couldn’t get in there very easily, but I was there with New Games and saw what it was like and that was really a thrill for me, and to see different cultures, it’s been quite amazing for me. So yes, yes, you can do these games anywhere.
I’ll start booking the tour of North Korea
Ohhh, maybe hold off on that one for a while
We got an email from Edith Ryan who said that some of her best memories are of taking a parachute to a park and seeing what happens next, what’s that all about?
Well, that can work, if you’re not dependent on money for presenting the games. For a local person, they can go just anywhere and do it. Take out the parachute, flap it around, some kids say ‘oooh’ and it acts like a magnet. I think, ahh yes, in my parachute video we did just that, shake out the parachute and kids are like zzzzp, like crazy. However, that doesn’t always work like for instance today it’s raining so you can’t do parachute outside it just doesn’t work. So you have to think about things like an alternative. Like if you’re doing an event and you do it outside and you think ‘oh, of course it will be perfect weather’ but, you know, that’s not always the case so you book an indoor space where you can go if you need it, I mean, I think that’s just sensible.
And what about things like twisting your ankle on a pothole, that kinda of thing, is that a concern when you go out to a place like that?
Well of course it is. We check the area we are going to play in, a whole group will walk over it to look for things, for potholes or whatever and either we mark them with a cone or a frisbee or something, or we move to a place that doesn’t have potholes. And there’s also things like dog remains that we can remove or whatever. And just anything that would be a hazard. Indoors it’s different of course, we have sharp edges and things that can get you so to bring the people’s awareness to that because when they are playing they are just .. they lose their mind in a way and they forget about these things so if you beforehand bring that to their attention “oh, watch for this” and if you can’t move it or in another way do something about it, there’s a table or a chair or something you have to be aware of and just brings it to their consciousness and they’re like “OK”. You’ve got to keep it safe, as safe as you can. It doesn’t mean no-one will ever get hurt, but in the 43 years I’ve been doing it for my events I’ve only had one person hurt their back a little bit and it wasn’t serious. Yes sometimes you get a turned ankle or whatever, that’s going to happen in normal life.
Coming to the event and leaving it ..
So we’re running an event the 21st/22nd April n Sheffield which is to train people to run New Games, so if you are interested in that there will be a link around or on the video which you can click to hear about that, but we’ve also had lots of people talk to us, well, basically asking ‘when are you coming to America?’, ‘when are you coming to California’ or wherever so that might be the focus for next year, so that’s why we’re saying this event in Sheffield is the only one we’re planning in Sheffield. So if you want to train in Sheffield then this is the event to come to and after that we’ll be all over the place.
Sounds good to me

Transcript:
Hi, I’m Dale LeFevre

I’m John Allsopp, obviously you know Dale but I’m a marketer, that’s my involvement here

We were talking about New Games and the first question really is “what are New Games”?
Fortunately, that’s the easiest question to answer. New Games are co-operative group games for all ages, sizes and abilities. Anybody can play New Games, that’s because the games are adapted to the people rather than the people having to adapt to the game.
Non-competitive, is that a good word for them?

Well no

Good, I’m glad we got this sorted

They are co-operative games and I say that because some of the games do include competition, it just doesn’t matter who wins, so they are not strictly non-competitive. Some games are just a group challenge so they are not really a competition, just something for the group to solve, but a lot of them do include competition but instead of say when you’re caught you’re ‘out’ which is really boring, you have to wait for the whole game to be played and you’re just sitting there, especially if you’re one of the first ones out, what happens is you change roles and you keep playing, in other words you may be part of the other team if you get caught, or instead of a swimmer you are maybe an octopus, it just depends on the game, but you’re still in .. if you want to be. Now some people say “I don’t want to play just now” and that’s fine, we don’t force anybody to play it’s just available for anybody who wants to be in, it doesn’t matter if you are in a wheelchair or on crutches, whatever, we can change the game to suit the players.

So, if you can remember, I mean how long have you been doing this?

A loonng time! Since 1975, so it’s 43 years, actually in February.

Wow, so can you remember what peaked your initial interest, what was it that got you into it?

Yes, I remember exactly

I’m so glad

I’d just left my previous job and I was looking for something that I would enjoy doing that I’d like better than the thing I had, that was my rule of thumb, if I moved on I moved on to something better, I was just watching a programme called Make A Wish on television and they had a segment on New Games and when I saw it I said “that’s what I want to do”. It didn’t instantly happen, but I called ABC Television in New York and they told me who to get in touch with, the producer of the programme he gave me the address of the folks and I wrote a letter and it took a couple of months but a couple of months later I got a phone call and they said ‘would you like to come and train with us?’ and I said ‘”YES!” So a week later I packed up some stuff and caught a ride out to California (I was living on the east coast then) and I’ve been doing it ever since. February 1975.

Excellent, and the life is, apart from delivering New Games and running workshops and so on, it’s collecting and discovering and nurturing new ideas for new games, what’s that all about? Where do you get ideas for new games?

Well, from people who come to my workshops, frankly. There are sections in the workshop where people present games themselves and we give them feedback, we try to keep it positive, what did people like about the way the person presented the game, and then maybe what might they do differently. It’s not necessarily a criticism but maybe just an alternative way of doing a thing. And people bring new games that I’ve never seen before and I’m like “hmmm, I think I’ll add that to my repertoire”, so it’s grown as I’ve travelled round and just experienced other people’s games.

So we’ll talk about what defines a New Game in another video, but we’ve had some feedback as well, Carol Zakaluk says New Games are fantastically fun but how do you entice people over the initial barrier? I’m one of those people who would hang around at the back and not join in and enjoy it all separately.

Good question, well almost invariably, most groups I do the games with, I walk into the room and everyone’s a bit stiff and nervous and I enjoy that moment because I know that within about 5 minutes they are going to be very much different and you have to get them past that barrier somehow, I’ll give an example. I went to, either Buffalo or Rochester, New York and I was supposed to do the games with a group of teenagers and they were all sitting on these bleachers and I came in, I was introduced and I said “OK, come on down we’re going to do some games” and nobody moved! “O K”. So I just got real. I said “look, I’ve travelled an awful long way to be here with you, just try one game. If you don’t like it you can go back to just sitting down.” So they were like “OK, fine, fair enough”, they did come down and they tried one game and after that they were very enthusiastic. You have to do something to get them past that. Whatever it is, you might have to do something spontaneous, that was very spontaneous, but just to “oh, you know, just try it” because once they do often the most resistant, the most sceptical are the most enthusiastic afterwards.

Absolutely. Another question from Rebecca Hodges, she asks “can you use New Games for all sorts of age groups”, and obviously I know you do a lot of work with schools so perhaps she’s thinking of people as they get older.

That I’m aware of, I’ve had people in New Games that are in their 90s and as young as perhaps one and a half or two, although once you get below about 4 years old you really need an adult there because the kids are like “la la, what’s going on” and you’re “get in a circle” and they’re “what’s a circle?” So they need a little bit of guidance to be a part of the thing. For my first session for older folks, I thought I’ve got six games that definitely would work and another six that “hmmm, not sure” and then all the others, so I did the six that I thought would work and they did and that was fine and I tried the other six and I just thought “well, might as well try the others” and what I found was I was the one with the limitations because the people just adapted by themselves. Like if we had to move across the room and somebody was having trouble, somebody would be there to help them, just hold their hand or whatever. And instead of running we walked and that was OK, they adapted the games. That was a big learning experience for me because I was afraid for them but they weren’t afraid at all they just wanted to play and play the best way they could. So .. it works with any group, you just have to not let your own preconceptions get in the way.

Yes, I guess they had pre-selected themselves, they felt capable of joining in, if they are there, they are up for it.

Yes, that’s the main thing and that’s like with people who are resistant, if you just give it a chance, it’ll work.

Cool, so we are aiming to train people as New Games Leaders, is that the phrase we are using, ‘leaders’?

Yes

We have an event on the weekend of the 21 April in Sheffield

2018

Yes, so you should find a link near to this video, somewhere, that you can click and go and register to hear more about that, it’s not signing up to go, it’s if you want to know more about leading New Games

Is this link going to be on the end of the video, or on screen?

I might manage to get it on the video, or it might be underneath or at the side depending on what device you’re using. But yes, if you want to know more about that event then click that and we’ll send you more emails about that.

For some of us, cooperative New Games never went away. We just kept right on doing them since their introduction in the early 1970’s. For others who have come along since then, they may still not know what New Games are. “Oh, you mean computer games.” Um. No. “Oh, you mean non-competitive games.” Still, no. Simply stated, New Games are cooperative group interactive games that are played just for fun, even when there is competition.

Since it doesn’t matter who wins, we can include everyone, those of all ages, sizes, abilities, and both genders. You can be slow, very large or very small, young or old, not very coordinated, in a wheelchair or almost anything else and still be able to join. Even expert athletes enjoy these games because for a change, they can relax and just enjoy playing for the sheer joy of it instead of worrying about winning. Even while trying to win. New Games are one of the few physical activities that whole families can do.

Still don’t get it? No problem. Think of it this way, the games are icebreakers, energizers, and team builders, ways to get a group to relax and get to know each other in new ways. The games look similar to children’s games, but with subtle differences. Player’s jokes and suggestions are incorporated into the games. Winning isn’t everything. It’s only one element of the games, and not the most important element. Having fun and including everyone are more important, to start. We take care of each other so that no one gets hurt and it’s enjoyable for all. Mainly, the idea is to have fun and include everyone who wants to join. We sometimes change the rules so everyone has a chance to enjoy the game and be able to participate fully. That doesn’t mean the games are trivial. I’ll address that at the end of this article.

Where did New Games come from?

Read part 2, to learn how New Games developed and what it can do for your groups…

In addition to the element of softwar, which has become a minor part of New Games, the concept of “creative play” came from a friend of Stewart’s named George Leonard, author of the book The Ultimate Athlete. What was involved here was placing a player “in an open environment and encouraged to use his/her imagination to devise new play forms.” The vitally significant part of this was “How we play the game may turn out to be more important than we imagine, for it signifies our way of being in the world.” Thus, players not only were able to change the games they were playing, even during the course of play, they were able to invent entirely new games.

The other significant addition to the New Games idea came from the human potential movement – Trust Games. In these activities, players had to give up control and literally trust other players to take care of them. And that is much more scary than it sounds. In the game of Trust Lift, for example, the group lifts a person above their heads and moves them around while in the air before lowering them. If you are the person being lifted, this is a frightening, exhilarating, and peaceful experience, all at once.

New Games over the years

In part 5, we look at some places New Games has gone since its beginnings….

This happens because the games have players do some unusual things that lead to unexpected joyful responses. For instance, when people pass the sound “Zoom” (from the ‘game with the same name) from person to person and somebody messes up, such as forgetting to pass the zoom, everyone laughs, including the person who messed up. It’s easy to notice that people are laughing with you, not at you. That creates an atmosphere where it’s not only OK to make a mistake, it also always contributes to the group having fun. Once people realize that the emphasis is on having fun, and not winning – even when there is competition – everyone can relax and have fun.

Since the rules are only a starting point for play, people can play with the rules to make the game more fun. Again using the example of the game “Zoom,” mentally challenged people in South Africa changed the sound during the game to “Soen,” which, so they told me later, meant “kiss!” And when we apply brakes, which reverses the direction of the sound zoom, occasionally someone will do like they did in the workshop in Madison, Wisconsin, and change the zoom to “mooz,” thereby not only reversing the direction the zoom is being passed but also the spelling of zoom. What I really love about New Games is that though I’ve presented and played them hundreds of times, nearly every time someone comes up with a humorous way to change a game that I’ve never seen before. This stimulates creativity in people’s minds, and studies show that this often carries over to other aspects of the lives of participants.

This is very unlike most party games that have fixed rules and single out and embarrass a person who makes a mistake. While it may be entertaining for the people who don’t mess up, it is often uncomfortable and a negative experience for the one who is the butt of the joke. If that happens to be you, you know how unpleasant that can be. Who needs that? We all get enough negative messages about ourselves already.

New Games never single you our for ridicule. Instead, they create a fun, relaxed, imaginative atmosphere where you not only grow closer to the people you love, but also to those who you don’t know so well or are even not so fond of. While it may not result in a deep friendship, it will result in a more tolerant, respectful attitude towards each other. It’s hard to hold a grudge when you are laughing and having fun together.

What more can you ask of a party game?

From the beginning we knew that we had a way of relating to each other, an idea of fun and inclusion that was different than the norm of all-out competition where the winner takes all, gets the accolades, and takes home the trophy. This is still the dominant theme in physical games. With New Games, the winner doesn’t matter and just helps start the next game while we keep on playing. Often times, people such as a little kid, older woman, or another unlikely candidate “win” a game when they had never had done so before, which is both surprising and moving for them.

New Games for everyone!

What it has lead to is doing New Games with all varieties of populations: older people, handicapped, autistic, prisoners, just to name a few that I’ve worked with personally. While the way the games are played is similar, we discovered that the way we present them and adapt them for the group is different. For instance, I might use a fairy tale to introduce “Zoom,” a game where the sound “zoom” is passed from person to person in a circle, to kindergarten children. For a business crowd, as I did recently in Geneva, Switzerland, I made it all about driving a sports car. Same game, different presentation and approach.

While presenting New Games, I also became aware of my own limitations. While planning my first 2 hour session for a senior citizens center in San Francisco, I came up with five games I was pretty sure they could do, another six I thought they might be able to do, and a whole lot of games I thought there was no way they could do. When they arrived, I was taken aback – not only were they old, some were in wheel chairs and others were missing limbs. I was not expecting that. I had no idea how I was going to get through two hours with this group. I went on to do the five “safe” games with no problems, but it only took twenty minutes. Then I tried the six “maybe” games, which also went well, but were done in another twenty five minutes. Now what?

The group was having fun and because I didn’t know what else to do, I tried the games that I didn’t think would work. Surprisingly (to me, anyway) they adapted the games themselves to suite their abilities, sometimes making suggestions so that everyone could all participate and enjoy the game. For example, when we played “Octopus,” which calls for running, they simply each went at their own speed, which in some cases meant slow walking. They still seemed to be having great fun. When one elderly man started wobbling and looked like walking was too big a challenge, without a word being said someone paired up with the man, giving him a hand of support. I came away realizing the limitations were more in my mind than theirs.

New Games now

In the last installment of this article, we will look at how New Games are relevant in the present.

In brief, New Games started as an idea of Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog, in reaction to the Vietnam War. He felt that combat was getting abstract and remote. Stewart was looking for ways for people to channel and express their aggressive tendencies in ways that wouldn’t harm others. When the War Resisters League at San Francisco State College requested him to put on an event to demonstrate the uselessness of war, Stewart chose to create an event which, instead of preaching to the choir, would get people to understand war by experiencing the source of it within themselves. The name of the event? World War IV. (The prospect of WW III looked like it would be an earth destroying nuclear war, so Stewart skipped that to the next phase.)

What Stewart saw in 1966 were peaceniks and war resisters who were against warfare in all forms, including competitive games. But he felt that these pacifists were out of touch with their own bodies and feelings in an unhealthy way. “Consequently, they were starting to project a heaviness on a personal level that was just as bad as the heaviness we were projecting in Vietnam,” he said. He was looking for a game “which would fairly intense physical interaction between players.” Stewart chose the most offensive name imaginable for his game: Slaughter.

This was the beginning of Soft War.

Slaughter was played on a large wrestling mat with players on their knees, without shoes, watches, belts, and other such items to minimize injuries. The game had two levels: to get one of four balls into one of two of the opposition’s movable goals to win; to eliminate opposing players by getting them off the mat, which rendered them “dead.” It was absolutely impossible to keep from becoming involved. What players found was an intense, energetic game with a great deal of body contact. There were no serious injuries, and, to the surprise of the players, it was fun.

Earthball

Read part 3, the phenomenal Earthball, what it stands for, and the games it facilitates…