Youth Alpha

You will need:

Opaque ground sheet/blanket/bed sheet that is large enough to hold so that people can’t see over it or round it or under it. If the sheet is not big enough then you will need to do this in smaller groups and make sure that people cannot cheat by looking underneath the sheet at people’s shoes!

Prizes if applicable, or somewhere to write up team scores as you go along

How it works:

I’m going to divide all of you into ___ teams (work out the logistics of this beforehand based on the size of your group and size of the sheet you have).

This game requires you to know the names of new friends you have just met. The more names you can remember, the more marks you will get for your team. The game assistants will hold up the sheet between the two teams. Both teams will squat behind the sheet. No one should stand up to see the other team’s members. Each team will send one representative into play to squat in front of their team but facing the sheet. Make sure that the representative is way ahead of other members and clearly the one playing for this round. When the sheet is dropped at the count of 3, the person who is able to stand up and shout the opponent’s name first will win 10 points for your team. 

Give the groups 2 minutes to familiarise themselves with the names of the other team.

(Play a few rounds so that more people participate in this game. This will also give them a chance to know one another’s names. One variation is to get them to share their nicknames, surnames, Chinese names or whatever would be appropriate for the local cultural context.)