Archives by: Kevin Labby

You will need three Nerf balls, masking tape, and a large open space. Place a Nerf ball in the middle of each side of the room. Place the ball on a small stand, so that it doesn’t roll away. We usually use a roll of masking tape, setting the ball on it. Outline a substantial crease around these balls.
Divide kids into two teams, each team selecting a goalie to protect the team’s Nerf ball from being knocked off the stand. Only the goalie is allowed in the crease. At the beginning of play, the two teams run toward the middle of the room – each trying to get a hold of another Nerf ball. Whoever gets a hold of the ball can advance it two steps, before passing it to a team member. The object is to work the ball toward the opposing team’s goal, take a shot, and knock their ball off its stand OR cause their goalie to knock it off.
The ball cannot be stripped off a player. It can only be intercepted, or recovered – as a loose ball – after a bad pass. No physical contact between players is allowed. We do not allow goalies to touch the ball they are protecting, nor rest on both knees. This is an unfair advantage.

You will need three air powered Nerf guns, two youth leaders with good judgment (one to serve as the “Contact Person”, the other to serve as the “Commando”), some candybars (as many as you would like), and a multilevel church building.

First, you will need to hide the candybars throughout the church. Hide them in plain site, not buried beneath a ton of stuff. If you don’t recover them at the end of the game, rats will!

Next, tell the kids that they must recover all candybars (tell them the number hidden), returning them to a youth leader (the “Contact Person”) who roams aimlessly throughout the church. They must do so without getting “shot” by a “commando” (a youth leader stealthfully stalking with a Nerf gun). If they are “shot”, the kids must immediately sit down, next to a wall in the room or hall. They are not permitted to speak to any of their teammates, alerting them to the presence of the “commando”.

If a youth group member is shot while smuggling candy to the “Contact Person”, they must immediately surrender it to the “Commando”. He or she will resist the urge to munch and rehide it.

Announce “ALIVE!” every three minutes, so the “dead” can re-enter the game.

Once the final candy bar is recovered, the “Contact Person” will supply the person who found it with his or her own Nerf “gun”. They will then go hunting for the commando. If the commando “shoots” this young person first, he or she will surrender the “gun” to the “contact person” who will redistribute it. The hunt continues until the commando conquers, or is conquered.

One final note: Once the Nerf “gun” is distributed to the youth from the “contact person”, the call, “ALIVE!”, should no longer be given. The game would go on forever!

Divide your gym or ample-sized room in half, placing halves of your youth group on each side. Tape a small piece of brightly colored paper (or target) to the back wall of each side.

Each team must select two, very accurate throwers to serve as their team’s “snipers”. Proceed with normal dodgeball rules. After being hit, players – including snipers – must move to their team’s sideline and stand in the order in which they were hit. Everytime a ball is caught by a teammate, one person (the first person hit) may re-enter the game.

This game is called “Sniper Dodge Ball” because of one rule variation. The snipers can reintroduce all of their fallen teammates by simply hitting their opposing team’s target. Once that target is hit (totally or in part), all players on the sniper’s team can re-enter the game.