Monthly column for youth leaders: Game on

As Martha and the Vandella's once (almost) sang, 'Calling out around the world / are you ready for a brand new beat? / Summer's here and the time is right / for a column full of fantastic game ideas for summer which sadly don't fit the rhyme or scansion of this song'.

I'm not suggesting any teaching points to come out of any of these games (although I'm sure that creative leaders could find ways of referring to them helpfully). Simply play them with your group to have a good time and build relationships.

Jack the Kipper

Simply find a large open space, bring a cool box and a fish (preferably dead). Teams take it in turns to throw (or 'jack') the fish. The team which produces the greatest total distance is the winner. Alternatively, set up a course for the team to throw their fish around, the team completing it in the smallest number of throws being the winner. If you can manage to have one fish for each team, they can compete against each other at the same time. You might want to have a cool box on hand with a supply of spare fish, just in case any disintegrate during the course of the game. Make up any rules that seem appropriate to make sure that every member of the team takes part.

It might be a good idea to follow this with a game that involves lots of water, so that people have a quick chance to get rid of the fishy smell as soon as possible. (Incidentally, if anyone does play this game, I would be delighted to receive any correspondence about which particular fish proved to be most suitable and long lasting over the course of a game.

The River

Divide into teams of between five and eight. The game works ideally with between three and five teams, but you could get away with two at a pinch (leaders of smaller groups - sorry! Maybe this is the excuse you need to organise a get together with some other church groups in your area). You will need a few plastic footballs (at least four), four cricket stumps, and a collection of things to get people wet with (buckets of water, sponges, powerful water pistols, empty washing up liquid bottles, that kind of thing).

Mark out a square about 8-10 metres per side with the cricket stumps. One team enters the square and may stand, sit, crouch, jump, dodge, etc., as they wish. One (or two) of the other teams will be throwing footballs at them from two opposite sides of the square. If struck by a football on any part of the leg, that team member is out and must leave the square (referee's decision is final). Meanwhile the other team(s) throw and squirt water at the team in the middle in an attempt to distract them (actually, just because it's a bit of a laugh). Whichever team survives the longest is the winner.

A good tactic (which you may decide to ban after a while) is for the team in the middle to form a tight inward facing circle. It isn't impossible to break this (a carefully aimed lob into the middle can be devastating), but most teams will last for a long time. Once one player is out, the others find it harder to cover each other. Anyway, if a team lasts a long time, it just means they get very, very wet.

Ten Bin Bowling

It may take a bit of effort to get the equipment for this one, but it's well worth it. You will need ten kitchen bins and a huge inflatable ball (preferably one that is taller than anyone who will be playing). Set up the bins upside down in the classic bowling triangle, and let teams see how many they can knock over. If you can't get hold of a suitable ball, try with the biggest ball you can find, but be ready to scale down to smaller bins if the ball fails to make an impact on them.

Ninja combat

You will need a target (preferably human shaped - a shop window dummy is perfect, but a drawn life-size silhouette will do) and a plentiful supply of toast, cut into triangles. Players take it in turns to throw toast at the target. Hits to different parts of the target score different points. Adding strawberry jam to the toast sounds like making it more fun, but you will probably find that this diminishes the life expectancy of your toast, and will also invite the local wasp population to come and spoil the game.

Create your own game

All of the above require specific equipment. If you have odd bits and bobs hanging around, try to invent a game around them. At my CYFA camp, we have had a collection of rubber ducks hanging around for years with no apparent purpose. And so was born 'Chuck-a-duck'. Different targets scored different points according to difficulty, and certain ducks were worth double points. Your groups new favourite game could be hidden in the rubbish in your garden shed - it's up to you to go and discover it. (If you do strike gold, let me know.)

Monthly column for youth leaders: Game on

Games for summer to help your group have a good time and build relationships

Jack the Kipper

The River

Ten Bin Bowling

Ninja combat

Create your own game

Steve Couch

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