Some of these ideas involve some equipment, so to make life easier for yourself, make a Troop games box to contain all the odd bits and pieces you will find useful. A good basic selection of equipment will include the following:
* Ropes
* Paper and pencils
* Balls
* Elastic bands
* Scout staves (or old broom handles)
With these 5 items (and a few chairs), the possibilities are endless, so use your imagination and come up with some fillers of your own. To get you started here are a few suggestions. Many of these have been in Scouting for ages but the Scouts still love them (so our thanks must go to the original people who thought of them, whoever they were, lost in the mists of Scouting time)
Patrol Challenges
Ballisters.
Each Patrol gets rope, elastic bands and some Scout staves. They are given a time limit (to suit the programme) to build their ballister. After the time is up the aim is to see which teams ballister fires over the longest distance, and then which is the most accurate.
Reach for the Sky!
With Scout staves and ropes, plus a limited amount of time, each Patrol must build a free standing structure which should be as tall as possible. After the time limit, the tallest structure wins, provided it stays upright for 3 minutes. Try adding a flag to be broken from the top, without pulling down the structure!
The Long Stretch.
Give each Patrol the same number of elastic bands. In a given time limit they have to make the longest chain of bands that they can, which should encourage teamwork and organisation.
Measure the chain without stretching (a break on a 100ft stretched chain can cause problems). An important second part of the challenge is to find the first Patrol who can then take the chain apart again! If you have a box of paper-clips handy, then the same idea can be used.
A Knotty Problem.
Each Patrol has the same number of equal length ropes. The Patrol who can join them all together into the longest joined rope wins. The only complication is that every rope must be joined to the next rope using a different knot (each knot can only be used once in the chain), or if the same knot is used again, then that piece of rope must contain a unique knot or hitch.
For example a rope may have a reef knot at both ends, but only if it contains a sheep shank or bowline. (which shortens the overall length!)
Inventions.
Show each Patrol the games box. Then get them to invent a new game using the equipment that you have, and try the games out.
Chair Race.
Each Patrol has a chair for each member, plus one additional chair. They have to get from one end of the room to the other without touching the floor.
Team Games - Split the Troop into 2 teams.
(Note that these games are just fillers for a Troop Night. For a full selection of games, including tips and tricks on organising and running them, see the Games section here on ScoutBase)
Hockey.
Using Scout staves as hockey sticks and a ball, play hockey. As a change number off each team and call out the numbers. Then the numbered individuals have a one to one challenge with the person scoring a goal earning a point for their team. If you do not have a suitable ball, make a coit out of some old rope.
Chair Basketball.
No hoops - No problem ! Simply get a member of each team to stand on a chair at the other end of the room (the one which that team is attacking). If their team passes the ball to their member on the chair then a point is scored.
Prisoners.
Each team has one half of the room, and a number of balls are used which the teams throw at each other. If a team member is hit below the knees by a throw of an opposing team member, then they must stand behind the opposing team on a chair or bench as a prisoner. They can then be freed to re-join their team if their team can throw a ball to them so that they catch it. Play until the last man is captured, or give a time limit after which the team with the most players left wins.
Games - Individual / Pairs.
Law & Promise.
Give every member of the Troop a pencil and paper. Then simply get them to write down their Law & Promise. The results may surprise you!
Paper Aeroplanes.
Simply give each Scout a piece of paper to make a paper aeroplane. Then one at a time each Scout has 2 throws to get his / her plane the farthest. It sounds simple, but the debates are endless as everyone thinks they know the best design. Another option is to get each individual to make a paper cup, then see who can transport the most water !
Lists.
Each Scout is given a piece of paper and then asked to list an item from a category for each letter of the alphabet. Try using countries, animals, cars, football teams etc as the categories. Allow about 3 minutes for each category so that the Scouts don�t get frustrated.
Horseback.
A Scout gives another Scout a piggyback, and then each team jousts to be the last horse and rider standing. The jousts can be two against two (to even out size differences), or could even be a �free for all�.
There are at least 3 nights worth of programmes in the list above, but they should be used as fillers, or as part of your programme. An evening full of ideas from ScoutBase is not proper programming!
Give it a Go - and Let Us Know.
Why not try some of these ideas, or even keep a hardcopy in the games box for emergencies. Better still think of some novel games for your Troop and give them a whirl.
