source: www.youthwork-practice.com | 2000 Games, Devotions, Themes, Ideas and more for Youth Work
only for private using

The War of Colours

Cost:	low
Players:	8 - 40
Length:	60 minutes
Materials:	low
Age:	not relevant
Place:	indoors
Time of year:	not relevant
Action factor:	low
Material:	washable colours (red, blue, black, green), plasters (tape, crepe band), fabric cloths, safety pins, water pistols, water containers, water and bonus cards

Description:

This game is principally a water fight - but just principally. After all, there are a few elements added to make the game a bit more interesting and demanding.

For this game, you will need to arrange for the kids to arrive in old clothes and wearing an old white T-shirt and you will need to emphasise the importance of sticking to the game rules (this is actually the case for games, because it's the only way of making sure it's fun).

The weapons:

Last but not least: arrange for the kids all to bring their own suitable water pistol. Now there are water pistols that have a tank sized container and others can only take a little bit of water. Therefore, make sure that the groups are divided fairly so that they all have similar "armoury". An option for making sure that the game is fair is to give the children the same sized pistols (e.g. disposable syringes from a hospital) or hand out tubes with cotton wool sticks as ammunition. The version with cotton wool sticks is recommended if there is no water nearby or you are playing in enclosed space. The cotton wool sticks are simply dipped into a stronger paint. Three sticks are handed out per player.

The playing area:

A water storage tank is hidden in the playing area (approx. 300x300 Meter) - one per group. This tank contains coloured water. In order to colour the water, use washable paints e.g. such as finger paints - there is a certain colour allocated to each group. This makes it easy to determine which group has scored.

The military hospital:

Anyone who is hit may not carry on shooting and has to be delivered into the military hospital. The “injured” person’s “wound” is dressed with a bandage. You can use the following as a bandage: 1. A large plaster (crepe band, tape), or 2. Pieces of cloth fixed with a safety pin, or 3. A real bandage (old medical materials that can no longer be used). Once the wound is hidden, the person may leave the medical hospital and return to the battle. Less material will be required in the military hospital for the version with the cotton wool sticks. A plaster is usually enough.

Other information:

What can go wrong with this game? It is not always clear who shot first and who was second (and this person should not have been allowed to shoot). In case of any doubt, both have to be delivered to the military hospital because no one who is wounded is allowed to carry on playing. It is recommended that neutral observers (blue helmets) are spread out around the area to keep an eye on the game. The blue helmets can also hand out “bonus cards” if someone has been unfairly shot. These bonus cards come into play at the end of the game and eliminate a wound. The game is suitable for a group with 8 to 40 participants. The larger the group, the more injured players there will be and the more employees should work in the military hospital/monitor the game as a blue helmet in the playing area.

The assessment:

Who wins this game? The group with the least wounds. This is easy to determine because every bandage and every visible mark counts as a wound. Each bonus card heals one wound. For the version with the cotton wool sticks, the amount of ammunition can also be incorporated in the valuation.