Hide - Tiny Games for Kids

This electronic edition published in 2016 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Osprey Publishing,

PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UK

PO Box 3985, New York, NY 10185-3985, USA

E-mail:

Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Osprey Publishing, part of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

2015 Alex Fleetwood & Osprey Games

All rights reserved.
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Print ISBN: 978-1-4728-1597-2

PDF e-book ISBN: 978-1-4728-1598-9

EPUB e-book ISBN: 978-1-4728-1599-6

www.ospreygames.co.uk

Osprey Publishing supports the Woodland Trust, the UKs leading woodland conservation charity. Between 2014 and 2018 our donations will be spent on their Centenary Woods project in the UK.

HELLO!

THESE GAMES ARE DESIGNED FOR ONE GROWNUP TO PLAY WITH A BUNCH OF KIDS!

Beside the title of each game is a listing of how many kids can play. Most of the games can be played with more grown-ups, but if you ever need more than one grownup, the game will specify this.

Weve split the book into two sections: . Dont worry if youve got a favourite game and want to play it everywhere. Most of these games will work in any context with a little imagination. These games are safe, but use common sense! Silliness is encouraged, but foolishness is not.

This book is not designed to be read in order. Head to the list at the back of the book to find a game with the most fun-sounding name!

INTRODUCTION

Ten years ago, a new addition was announced for the National Toy Hall Of Fame in New York: the cardboard box. In among the videogame consoles and Barbies and yo-yos that made up the rest of the list, it looked out of place. A cardboard box wasnt designed as a toy, or meant for children, or even for fun. A cardboard box is a boring, brown lump, something that only matters because of what might be in it, not because of what it is.

But every child, and every grown-up child, can tell you the opposite. The cardboard box deserves to be on that list, maybe even more than some of the bright, brash toys that are forgotten within a generation. It deserves its place because the cardboard box knows a secret about toys. A cardboard box knows that toys dont exist.

Theres no such thing as a toy. A toy is name we give to any object that helps us play. Sometimes that object is a doll, or a ball, or a puzzle. Sometimes its a Playstation, or a water pistol, or ten thousand pieces of Lego. But sometimes its a cardboard box, or a blanket, or a park bench or a crack in the pavement.

Tiny Games For Kids knows the same secret that cardboard boxes know everything has some playfulness hidden inside it if you just know the right way to look at it. Making this book gave us a chance to discover hundreds of new toys. We hope that spending a little time with it will fill your world with toys you never knew you had.

Margaret Robertson

GAMES FOR INDOORS

POSTURE PERFECT
2+

ARE THERE ANY MAGAZINES AROUND?

In this game players balance magazines on their head for as long as they can.

First, have the kids stand in front of you. Have them practice standing very straight, and very still. Now place a magazine on their head. For an easier challenge, use an open magazine, or for a tougher challenge, keep it closed. Once its balanced on there, point to something across the room and see if they can walk to it without losing the magazine. And no using their hands!

Challenge mode: have the players keep the magazine on their head while you tell jokes, or even tickle!

NO-LOOK HIGH FIVE
1

CLOSED EYE, FIVE HIGH

Youll need to sit across from each other, and high five. Then do it again, but very softly. Then both grownup and kid will close their eyes and try to high five! If youve mastered the high-five, try to touch each others noses with your thumbs instead, while your eyes are closed! Its harder than it sounds, isnt it?

CAT CATCH
2+

DO YOU HAVE A TABLE KIDS CAN GET UNDER, AND SOME SMALL OBJECTS THEY CAN COLLECT, LIKE STUFFED ANIMALS OR BLOCKS?

In this game kids pretend to be busy cats, while the grownup is a dog who tries to tag them.

Scatter some toys or small objects around the room (if the kids have not already done so). These are your mice! Have all the kids get under the table. Explain that they are a team of cats who are safe here and you cannot touch them. However, when they are out from under the table, you will try and tag them. If you do, they have to sit out for the rest of the game (or a short time, if that will work better for your group).

The kids goal is to collect all the mice scattered around the room, without you catching them. If the kids can collect all the mice and bring them back to under the table, they win! If you tag all the kids first, play again! Okay ready? GO!

STUFFED ANIMAL AIRLINES
2+

DO YOU HAVE A TOWEL, A SOFA, AND A STUFFED ANIMAL? AND ARE YOU COOL WITH STUFFED ANIMALS FLYING AROUND THE ROOM?

This is a game where everyone tries to launch a stuffed animal onto the couch using a towel.

Gather the kids together several feet from the couch and give them a towel and the stuffed animal (try to find one thats not afraid of flying). Help the kids hold the towel so that its stretched tight between the group. Place the stuffed animal onto the stretched towel. Tell everyone that it wants to fly to the couch, but it cant afford first class. On the count of three, everyone has to use the towel to launch the stuffed animal onto the couch. Count to three and LAUNCH! You all win if the stuffed animal makes it. How was the flight?

Challenge mode: take a step back after each successful landing. Can you make it to three steps back?

CUP HANDED ROBOTS
1+

DO YOU HAVE SEVERAL PLASTIC CUPS?

This is a race to see how fast you can pick things up with cups on your hands.

Scatter several soft objects (clothes, stuffed animals, towels) around the room. When youre done, have everyone put their hands in plastic cups. When you say GO! everyone races to pick up things and put them in a basket (or pile) at your feet. How quickly did the robots collect everything? Once everything is picked up, count out the objects in the pile to see how many points the team scored.

Tip: you can use this game to get kids to clean their room. Cleaning is always better with robots.

THATS NOT HOW IT GOES!
1-3

DO YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A FAVOURITE BOOK, OR CAN YOU REMEMBER A FAVOURITE STORY?