Archives by: Stephen Carnaby

Human Clue

Have six people dress up as the six characters from the board game Clue (a whodunit game where the players have to guess the culprit, murder weapon and the room where the deed was done).
Work out a plot, so that participants can listen in on conversations from the characters which give clues away.
Plant the actual murder weapon somewhere (as well as some false ones!) – e.g., a knife covered with tomato sauce hidden in a sink. Have other clues planted around the rooms, or even on the bottom of shoes, back of jackets etc.
The youth groupers have to wander around all of the rooms, listen, observe, look for physical clues, and at the end of a set period of time guess the murderer, the room and the weapon (perhaps the motive too).

Read more

Where’s Wally?

Go to a crowded market with lots of tourists etc, or a mall/shopping complex. Have a number of Wallys (the group leaders) in various disguise wandering around, and kids in teams have to find them. One or more leaders could dress up as Wally (from the puzzles) and be worth bonus points. This lasts two hours easily at our local market – (kids can look at the stalls as well on the way).
This can be varied in a number of ways, include scavenger hunts, cryptic clues to get to the market etc, etc.
Our last one was renamed “Mission Impossible” and included a cryptic route to the market and then to find the leaders in disguise.

Read more

World Tour

At the beginning of the night youth groupers are put through customs (arrest a few for drug smuggling along the way, put them in jail). Give them money to buy things along he way (Monopoly money).
Send them off on a plane (do stuff on the plane – e.g. a hijacking).
At each stage of the night, we had some “guerillas” come and kidnap the group, blindfold them and take them to the next part of the world tour, e.g. an indian market, a jungle, night animal spotting (real or stuffed). Give them the experience of travelling overseas and plenty of third world hassles, even third world food, passports and problems etc etc. During some of the kidnaps, drive them to different places (suitably “guerrilla type” driving), and have tour guides rescue them.
This is an idea. The fun is in the plot and variations that YOU make up! Depending on your resources. E.g., we had animal spotting in a darkened church, an Arabic market at a friends house with sheets on the ceiling, candles, money to buy things, being ripped off by vendors etc. But YOU make the plot and the tour. Kidnapping and drug busts are good, so is jail.
Can be used as an experience of what missionaries go through in some countries. Tie in a talk along this theme.

Read more