Part 4

Players are in circle formation about four feet apart. They number off, odds forming one team and evens the other. A ball, eraser or some object is given each team on opposite side of the circle. At a signal the teams pass the object to the right to members of the same team only. Each player must catch the object in his turn. The team which passes its object so that it catches up with the opponent's wins. Any player dropping object must regain it himself and pass it on fairly.

HUMAN TUG OF WAR

Players form in columns of files facing each other. Players stand close together, arms placed about the waist of the player in front (grasping the left wrist with the right hand is the strongest grip). Leading player of each team grasps the opponent about neck or shoulders, team breaking first or having one or more players pulled over the line after thirty seconds is the leader.

VOLLEY BALL

Ten to thirty players may play at one time on playground or gymnasium. Equipment consists of volley ball and tennis net.

For large teams this game is best played on a ground measuring fifty feet in length and twenty-five in width. A tennis net or a net two feet wide is stretched across the center of the ground from side to side, extending one or two feet beyond the boundary on either side. The upper edge should be from six feet and one-half to seven feet and one-half above the ground. The players are evenly divided into two teams. They scatter over their respective courts without special arrangement. A captain is chosen for each side. An umpire is desirable.

Each team tries to keep the ball in lively play toward its opponents' court, as each team scores only on its opponents' failures to return the ball or keep it in the air.

The ball is put in play by being served by a selected member of either team, who should stand at the rear of his court with one foot on the rear boundary line behind the line. From this position the ball is tossed upward lightly from one hand and batted with the open palm of the other hand over the net and into the opponents' court. The server has two trials. A served ball may be assisted on its course by any other player on the server's side using one or both hands (open palm), no player so assisting the ball on the serve may strike it more than twice in succession, and the server under such circumstances may not strike it more than once.

Should the ball then fail to land on the opponents' court, the server loses his second serve. In serving, the ball must be batted at least ten feet by the server before being touched by any other player on his side. If a return ball hits a player on the server's side and bounces into the opponents' court, it is considered no play. The players on a side take turns in serving. A ball which bounds back into the court after striking any other object except the floor or ceiling is still in play.

In sending the ball across the net, players should aim for an unprotected part of the opponents' court or try in other ways to place them at a disadvantage. The service changes to opposite side when the serving side:

1. Allows the ball to touch the floor. 2. Knocks it out of bounds. 3. Fails to return it to the opponents. 4. The ball hits the net during the service. 5. A served ball falls outside the opponents' court. 6. A player on the serving side touches the net at any time.

Score. The game consists of twenty-one points--only the serving side scores.

One point is scored when:

1. A good serve is unreturned. 2. Any time when the opponents fail to return the ball which is in play. 3. When the receiving side touches the net.

(Should the serving side fail to return a ball to the opponents' court, they are put out. The serve passes to the opponents and no score is made.)

Scoring on Fouls.

1. Touching the net by a player on the receiving side allows the serving side one point.

2. A ball sent under the net counts one for the opposing side.

3. If the ball strikes any object outside the court and bounds back, although it is still in play, it counts one for the opposing side. A ball sent out of bounds in returning a service scores one point for the opposing team. One point is scored by the opponents whenever a player catches the ball or holds it for even an instant.

Group Games for Adults

CHARIOT RELAY

Players line up at one end of the room. Count off by threes. Each group joins hands, and on the command "Go!" they run to the other end of the hall and return without letting go of hands. The first group back wins.

HURDLE RACE

Place several objects at different distances. Contestants race, jumping over them.

SONG CONTEST

Song contestants are supplied with pencil and paper. Standing on one foot, each writes two lines of a patriotic song. One finishing first wins.

Contestants are supplied with paper and crayon, and asked to draw a picture representing some popular song. The one whose drawing is the best representation wins the prize.

LAUGHING RELAY

Line up players in twos. Partners face and march backwards four steps. Leaders draw for first chance. One side named Blues, other Reds. If "Blues" have first chance, they try for the space of thirty seconds to make the "Reds" laugh. All "Reds" found laughing are recruited to the other side. Three turns constitute a game. The side having most recruits at the finish wins.

TELEGRAMS

Give each player a pencil and paper. Ask each to write the name of the city (town or state) in which he was born. Then ask each to separate the letters in the name of his birthplace and, using each letter as the initial of a word, to compose a telegram. Some interesting combinations are the result.

WHIRLWIND

This is an old English game. Arrange as many chairs as there are players in a circle. All the players but one are seated. This odd player takes his position in the center of the circle. His object is to take the vacant chair, but this the others prevent by hastily moving up (to right or left, as the movements of the person standing indicate) so as to fill the empty seat whenever the standing player approaches it.

In this manner, the vacancy is kept at the point farthest from him, and unless he is agile, the player cannot capture it.

THE LAUGHING GAME

Players form a circle. The first player starts with the word "ha," the second says "ha, ha," the third "ha, ha, ha," and so on, each one in turn adding one more ha than has been made by his neighbor. In each case, the ha ha's must be made without laughing, which is almost an impossibility. Before the circuit has been completed the entire circle is in peals of laughter. Each one guilty of laughing drops out of the game. The one remaining longest without laughing wins.

GAME OF OPPOSITE

Players stand in a circle. An extra player stands in the center, holding in his hands as many pieces of tape as there are players in the circle. The tape (or ribbons) are of two colors, red and blue. The opposite ends of each tape are held in the hands of a player. When the leader says "Reds let go," "Blues, hold on," the blues will let go, always doing just the opposite of the command given to be obeyed. Commands should be given rapidly and in military tone. When word for "all to hold on" is given the entire circle lets go, and so on.

MUSICAL CIRCLE

All players sit in a circle. One in the centre is the leader. To each one is assigned some musical instrument, which he must play. The leader waves his baton, but from time to time he will quickly begin to pantomime the instrument of someone in the circle. For instance, he plays the cornet, and as soon as he does this, the one to whom the cornet was assigned immediately sits back with folded hands until the leader goes back to his baton. Should a player fail to remark that the leader has taken his instrument he is subject to forfeit.

MEMORY TEST

A tray piled high with all sorts of objects, as diverse as possible in character is brought into the room. The players are given one minute in which to take a rapid survey of same. At the end of that period the tray is taken away and the players, with pencil and paper (previously supplied them) write down the names of as many of the articles as they can remember. The one whose list is largest and most correct is the winner.

FINDING A PARTNER

An odd number of players participate. At a signal (preferably a musical accompaniment), the players, fly or skip promiscuously about the room. When the music stops each player attempts to stand back to back with a partner. The one left without a partner, as the game proceeds, tries to be successful the next time.

NOSE AND TOE TAG

This game is played like ordinary tag, with the exception that no one can be tagged who has his right hand on his toes and left hand on his nose.

SPIRITS MOVE

A leader and his accomplice are required in this game. The one illustrating the game leaves the room. His accomplice passes among the players and stopping before one of the number and with hands outstretched says, "Spirits Move." The leader from without replies "Let them move." Again the accomplice passes among the number and steps in front of another player, saying, as before, with hands outstretched, "Spirits Move." Again the reply from his accomplice, "Let them move." He proceeds in this manner until finally he takes his stand before another one of the group saying "Spirits Move and Rest Upon." The leader from without completes the sentence by adding the name of the person over whose head the hands are extended.

The trick is simply this: The one over whose head the accomplice's hands rest is the one who spoke last before the leader retired from the room.

HANDS OVER HEAD

A leader and his accomplice are necessary to this mystifying game. The leader leaves the room while his accomplice passes around among the players, occasionally stopping in front of one of them, and with hands extending over the player's head says. "Hands Over Head." The leader answers from without "Hands Over Head." He continues around the circle in like manner until finally he stops in front of a player and with hands extended says "Hands Over Head and Rest Upon" whereupon the leader answers "Hands Over Head and Rest upon (John Smith)" naming the person over whom the hands are extended.

The trick: The accomplice places his hands over the head of the person before whom he has been standing at the time the leader withdraws from the room.

BOTTLES

Any number of couples may compete in this game. Arrange two files of Indian clubs, large bottles or ten pins, five in a file, at a distance of four feet apart with an aisle of six feet between files. Each couple is comprised of a man and woman. The man is blindfolded and to his wrists are attached streamers or reins about three feet long. The woman, at a given signal guides her partner by means of these reins on and around each bottle in the first file, returning in like manner by the second file.

The team succeeding in making the circuit without overturning any of the bottles wins.

In no way is the driver permitted to suggest direction except by driving with the reins.

RELAY SPELLING RACE

This game is particularly interesting if the men and women of the party compete. For each team a pronouncer is chosen who takes his place directly to the right of the blackboard immediately in front of his team, who are standing in file formation, and at a distance of about fifteen feet from the blackboard.

Each pronouncer is supplied with a list of words previously agreed upon between themselves, and consisting of words commonly used but frequently misspelled, as necessary, parallel, embarrass, harass, etc.

At a given signal the first contestant leaves his place in the file, runs to the board and as the pronouncer announces the first word to him, proceeds to write it on the board, quickly, but legibly, turns and runs to the end of the file, tagging as he does so the second player in his file. The second contestant in turn, runs to the board, writes the word pronounced to him and in like manner returns to the end of the file, tagging as he does so the third contestant. No contestant except the first leaves his place until tagged by the returning contestant. With ten contestants to a file, count finishing first as equal to two misspelled words at first, later to one misspelled word. The side finishing first is thereafter entitled to consider 2 (or 1) misspelled words as correctly spelled in the final count.

SUGGESTION FOR CONDUCTING PLAY LEADERS' TRAINING CLASS

MELVIN W. SHEPPARD

Community Service, Inc., One Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y.

THE PURPOSE

The purpose of play leaders' training classes is to develop volunteer leaders who will carry on recreational program in various schools, churches and industrial plants, and later on who will organize play groups on vacant lots in home vicinities. This will lead to neighborhood activity. As the schools progress those leaders who display more initiative than the others should be noted as a desirable source from which paid recreational leaders may be drawn by the city recreational commission and other agencies.

PROCEDURE

Before starting the class, confer with superintendents of schools, churches, and industrial leaders, and send to all institutions in the city, which are likely to be interested, invitations to send delegates to the proposed class. After organization of the class there should be some classification of its members so that the most efficient work may be done.

It is desirable in nearly every case that there be separate classes for white leaders and colored leaders in order that there may be the utmost freedom of expression and the least hindrance to the enthusiastic participation in the games.

THE COURSE

Experience shows that ten lessons of one hour's duration each will be sufficient in which to present a total of thirty games with such directions and general suggestions as will enable the leaders to take the games taught back to their organizations.

During the first few lessons, the time should be taken up entirely with the teaching of games and toward the end of the course train all students to act as leaders in turn. This brings out initiative and enables the instructor to prepare tentative lists of the most efficient leaders. Towards the end of the course, the students should do practically all of the game-leading. By dividing them into groups, each under a leader, the instructor can increase his own efficiency and help more specifically the individual members of the class.

RECOGNITION FOR ATTENDANCE

If the instructor deems it advisable, a certificate of attendance testifying to the interest shown by the student may be presented at the end of the course. It should, however, be made plain that this certificate does not indicate that the student is an expert playground director. An expert playground director is one who not only can direct the games on the playground, but also by his influence makes the playground an asset to the neighborhood instead of a liability.

Unless a book on games is provided as a guide to the course, each student should receive at each lesson a mimeographed copy of the direction for the games taught at that class, to become a part of his permanent equipment.

Neighborhood organizations, particularly rural schools and vacant lots, can be put in shape for playgrounds through simple and cheap athletic equipment such as volley balls and net, basket balls, quoits, playground balls and bats, medicine balls, which can be purchased at a very reasonable price and will answer all purposes until more elaborate equipment can be obtained.

End of Project Gutenberg's Games and Play for School Morale, by Various