Fostering Cooperation: Recommended Games to Enjoy in the Boy Scouts
The Boy Scouts is an organization that aims to help children grow into healthy, wonderful adults by connecting with nature and interacting with friends from various generations.
Within the Boy Scouts, games are sometimes played as part of various activities.
In this article, we’ll introduce recommended games that you can enjoy in the Boy Scouts!
We’ve gathered a variety of games, including ones that use the knowledge and skills gained through contact with nature, as well as games that foster cooperation.
If you’re not sure which games to choose, be sure to use this as a reference!
- Recommended outdoor games and recreational activities for lower elementary school children
- Play ideas kids can enjoy from 1st to 6th grade [indoors & outdoors]
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
- Recommended for upper elementary grades! Exciting indoor recreation and games
- Great for camping! Recreation games for kids
- Recommended outdoor recreation for junior high school students: A roundup of fun outdoor activities
- Outdoor games and recreational activities recommended for children
- Fun activities for junior high school students. Recreation games.
- [Play Right Away!] Exciting Recreation Games Recommended for Elementary School Students
- [For Kids] Outdoor Recreation Games: Fun Outdoor Play
- Fun nature activities that children will love. Recreational games.
- [Elementary School] Quick and Easy! Indoor Recreational Activities Perfect for Lower Grades
- [For Kids] Fun Indoor Game Ideas for After-School Day Services
[Fostering Cooperation] Recommended Games You Can Enjoy in the Boy Scouts (1–10)
Cat and Mouse
Draw two lines and have the children split into a Cat team and a Mouse team, standing facing each other.
It’s easier to tell them apart if they wear different colors, like hats or sashes.
At the leader’s call—“ne, ne, ne, neko” (cat) or “ne, ne, ne, nezumi” (mouse)—the called team chases the other team to tag them.
The opposing team runs to cross the line drawn behind them.
It’s a game that requires alertness and quick reactions.
Anyone who gets tagged joins the other team, and the team with more players at the end wins.
Finger Catch
Form a circle with all participants.
Prepare by opening your right hand flat and raising only your left index finger.
Bring your neighbor’s left index finger close to your right hand, and place your own left index finger on the right hand of the person on your other side.
Start the game in this position.
At a cue like “Catch!”, use your right hand to grab your neighbor’s index finger, while trying to pull your own left index finger away to avoid being caught.
It’s a game that only works with others, so it fosters cooperation.
Try it with a large group!
Card collecting
Scatter cards, each with a single hiragana character, around the room, and have players pick them up while forming words that match a given theme—this is “Card Collecting.” It’s simple, has a treasure-hunt feel, and really gets everyone excited! You can adjust the difficulty depending on the prompt.
Kids of a wide range of ages can play—from little ones who only know a few words to upper elementary students.
I said hiragana one character per card, but using the alphabet to make English words could be great too! If you play in teams, it becomes important to know which cards your teammates are holding, so it naturally sparks conversation.
[Fostering Cooperation] Recommended Games to Enjoy in the Boy Scouts (11–20)
Kim’s Game
Kim’s Game is a game that values observation and memory.
For example, you line up 15 outdoor items such as a rope and a knife, and participants observe them for one minute.
Then the items are hidden, and the participants write in a notebook what items they remember seeing.
The game is to see how many of the actual items they can name correctly.
There are also variations, such as smelling a scent and finding the flower with the same smell, or touching a leaf without seeing it and finding the same one based on touch alone.
Drop the Handkerchief
Possibly the top of the top when it comes to recreation: “Drop the Handkerchief.” Everyone sits in a circle and one person is chosen as “it.” The person who’s it walks around the outside of the circle and, at a moment of their choosing, secretly drops the handkerchief behind a target.
Once they drop it, they run away, and the person who got the handkerchief chases them…
It’s a game that really builds suspense.
Because it’s important to watch the movements of the person who’s it, players naturally develop an eye for observing others.
The more people, the better!
log pulling
For those looking for outdoorsy activities with a Boy Scout vibe, “log pulling” is a great pick.
It’s a very simple game: you run while pulling a log with a rope.
But the log bangs into bumps in the ground and veers right and left, which really shakes you around and makes it hard to run.
If you split into teams and do it as a relay, it should turn into an exciting competition.
To avoid injuries from the log, it’s best to play in as wide an area as possible.
Dizzy Bat Race
The “Guruguru Bat Race” is a game where you press a bat to your forehead, spin around on the spot until you lose your sense of balance, then dash off and pass the baton to the next person.
It’s a classic event at elementary and junior high school sports days, and you often see it on TV shows, too.
At first glance it looks like an individual challenge, but to aim for the goal while you’re dizzy, it’s important to figure out where your teammates’ voices are coming from and to focus on their uniforms as your target.
In that sense, it helps build trust among teammates.
So get everyone involved—cheer loudly for the wobbly runners and have fun together!