Simple Games for Young People
Remember back when playing a game with friends didn’t involve using technology, take forever or cost the earth…Those were the days! Even here at WiseUp HQ, our office team occasionally needs a brain break and lately, we’ve been enjoying our favourite paper based activities. These games are great for a quick pick me up, and are super easy for young people to do – all you need is a few pieces of paper and a pen/pencil and you’re good to go! With numerous studies recently noting the negative impact on kids of spending too much time looking at screens we think it’s time for a revival of the classic pen and paper game. These are 5 of our favourites:
1. Dots and Squares
For this game, if you have paper that already has dots on it, that makes life easier, but it doesn’t take long to set up if not. Draw a square grid of dots on a page – 6 x 6 is a good number to start with, but if you’re in the mood for a longer game, try 10 x 10 or even 30 x 30. Once the square is created, players (2 or more) take turns with a different colour pen creating line segments between dots. When a player forms a square with their line, they may put their initial in that square and play again. The game continues until all the lines between the dots have been drawn.
Image Source: L.Pollard
2. Battleships
Players begin by drawing two grids with ten vertical and ten horizontal lines on two separate sheets of paper. The horizontal side is lettered and the vertical side numbered. On one sheet, each player draws rectangles representing a fleet of ships without letting the other player see their location. On the other grid, hits are marked with an “X” and misses with an “O”. The ships must take adjacent squares vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. Each player’s fleet consists of the following:
Aircraft carrier covering five squares x 1
Battleship covering four squares x 1
Cruiser covering three squares x 1
Destroyers covering two squares each x 2
Submarines covering one square each x 2
Players then take turns calling out a grid reference where they think their opponent’s ships may be, for example B5 or F9. If the guess is correct, the player who’s ship has been targeted must say “Hit” and put a cross through that square. The other player then gets another turn to call a location. If their guess is incorrect, the player who’s ships have been targeted says “Miss” and the first players turn is over. Once all of the squares of a particular vessel have been hit, the player must say “You sunk my battleship!” The winner is the player who sinks all of their opponents ships first.
Image Source: L.Pollard
3. Categories
These games can be played a few different ways by young people, but this is how we like to do it at WiseUp HQ.
First, come up with a list of categories. The more you have, the harder the game is. Some examples are:
- Male Name
- Female Name
- Vehicle Brand
- Fruit
- Vegetable
- Country
- City
- Famous Actor/Singer/Author
- Animal
- Sport
Once you have chosen your categories, ask someone at random to choose a letter (or pick one out of a hat!). Everyone playing then has 60 seconds to come up with an answer for each category. In the event of a disputed answer, try research it by looking in books, online or asking others. The person with the most points wins the round. Then choose another letter and repeat. The person who wins the most rounds wins the whole game!
Image Source: L.Pollard
4. Words of Wisdom
This is one that will really test your brain! All young people begin the games with a piece of paper with a grid drawn on it, 4 squares across and 4 squares down so it looks like this:
Image Source: L.Pollard
You then take it in turns to call out one letter until all the blocks are filled. When a letter is called, each player must write it in their grid and they can write it in which ever block they want to. There can only be one letter in each block, and once a letter is in a block, it cannot be moved to a different block. The aim is to make as many 4 letter words as you can, going across and down your grid, so careful letter placement is crucial!
5. SOS/Shoji
This is a variation on the classic Noughts & Crosses (or Tic Tac Toe as it’s known by some) and starts with a 3×3 grid draw exactly the same. Players then take it in turns to draw either an “S” or an “O” into a box. Each player should use a different colour pen and can only write one letter on each turn. The aim is to complete the letter sequence SOS. If a player is successful, they draw a line through the letters in their colour to indicate it is theirs. Letters can be used multiple times, for example the same “S” can be used for an SOS going across and down.
Increase the size of the grid to increase the length of the game.
Image Source: L.Pollard
These games are a fantastic way to enjoy a bit of fun away from a screen.
Get in Touch for Team Building Activities
If you are looking for other fun activities that don’t involve computers, phones or tablets for your students, please get in touch to see what WiseUp Team Building can offer.
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