Games for the Young in Heart

Reunion Games

     My love affair with games started back in the Golden Era of the Fifties, BT-- Before TV. There were five of us kids and we were often snow bound on our farm and games prevented the onslaught of cabin fever. When we weren’t snowed in, we still lived 4 miles from the nearest neighbor who had kids, so we learned to play games with our parents. (Shocking, I know!) Our favorites in those days leaned towards parents’ preferences like Scrabble, Pinochle, Canasta, Aggravation, and Dominoes with a math twist that Dad taught us, so we’d learn to think. We also had a pool table and ping pong table downstairs, which provided lots of friendly competition. Outside we played Annie-I-Over, Horse, Boss of Bunker Hill, Run Sheepie Run, and other games.
     Games are great gathering catalysts and leveling agents. They bring people of all ages together in a friendly, fun challenge, where humor is bound to spill over. There is something very wholesome, joyous and enduring about occasions when families are joined together in a common light-hearted activity. We need to create more opportunities for games in this world of stress and hard work. This gives the left side of the brain time to rest, and the right side a chance to let loose and shine.

With plenty of time still left for reunions and family gatherings this season, both both the formal and informal kind, here are some games that I’ve used over and over with variations through the years. 

Gathering Games: What to do while waiting

Guess how many balloons, candy, angle worms, etc. are in a container:

--or guess how long all the 4 year-olds would be measured end to end, or the teen-agers, or the circumference of a tent or trailer.

--or guess the combined weight or height of all the siblings. Then, of course, the fun thing is doing the measuring! Have prizes for each winner.

Water Rockets: Most recently we’ve upgraded an old Cub Scout activity of shooting soda or water bottles 1/3^rd full of water. My husband has rigged up plastic pipes and a compressor, which makes creating pressure a lot easier than manning a bicycle pump. We’ve done this with kids, Young Singles, and Old fogies and it’s always fun. Get some prizes for those who actually manage to catch one of these high-altitude missiles!

Giant Genealogy Chart: Post the basics of the family tree, i.e. parents, and grandparents. Have each person write down their name and birthday under their parents names. This is fun for cousins to see how they are connected.

Whole Group Get-acquainted Games:

I love noisy games that involve everyone and these are some of the best:

1. Where the West Wind Blows

Everyone sits in a circle; the leader is IT the first time around. If a person matches the criteria IT calls out, then they get up and run to a new seat. Anyone losing their seat, becomes “it”.

Example:

The West Wind blows for everyone wearing contacts, or with sandals or, with a beard…. The West wind blows for everyone who is a cousin to Hailey Wilcox, or a grandchild of Kay Shumway, is a teen-ager,or anyone over 60. It is fun to come up with exotic, strange descriptions, just to see who matches!

In games like this, it’s important to switch games while everyone is still having fun. Keep things moving. I’ll share more another time.

2. Name Bop game: “It” stands in circle, everyone else is seated on chairs. Go around the circle and have everyone give their first name loud enough so that everyone hears and remembers. (If they know each other, pick a category like states). Call on someone to stand and call out a name. That person must jump up, call out another name, before he gets bopped (use rolled up newspapers, wrapping paper inside cone). If he gets hit, then he is “it”. Out-going “It” must stand and say a name before he sits down, or he can be bopped. A wild crazy game. One of my favorites.

3. Family Outburst

Have several members of the family get together and make category cards ahead of time. Each card needs the category listed on one side, and 10 possible right answers on the other side.

Possible family categories: Missions served by family members, favorite places to camp, favorite reunion foods, Favorite primary songs, TV shows, Disney characters, etc, Chores grandpa had to do as a child, Places Grandpa took the family for vacation, States the family now lives in, Names of 1^st cousins, things people forget to bring camping, etc

Divide the whole group into two teams. A moderator holds the cards and gives one with the answers on to the opposing team. When timer beings, the other team shouts out answers they think are on the card. Let them know that not all answers are on card, only 10. They have 2 minutes to name as many as possible in their “outburst”. Award 1 pt, per right answer. Assign a couple of people on the opposing team to be the listeners to mark of the ones guessed. Switch back and forth, making sure teams have the same number of turns. Award prizes to team with most points.

4. Reunion Bingo

-- Design and print off Bingo sheets ahead of time. Most squares on the sheet you will leave blank. However, you can fill in 4 or five with things such as: Someone who was born the same year as you. Someone who has lived in more than 4 states, etc. (If you want a template for this, e-mail me.)

-- Collect information

The purpose of the game is to learn something about their relatives. So ask questions you want to know. It’s important to ask a different question to as many people as possible. Write down the answer in each square and have them sign it. Do that for as many squares as possible.

-- When you have all squares filled call out “Ebenezer Pickle” or some other illustrious family name. I’ve used this many times for reunions of all kinds and as a class get-acquainted activity when I was teaching school. It’s one of my favorites