source: www.youthwork-practice.com | 2000 Games, Devotions, Themes, Ideas and more for Youth Work
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Island in the Sun

The game was developed and sent in by Stefan B. The youth group “Schiffdorf” brought this game to life during a camp for children (“The Tikki Camp”). You may change the rules and conditions and develop the game even further.

Island in the Sun

The game is divided into eight game phases:

Introduction
Reach dry land
Explanation of the game /splitting into groups
Five groups are divided among five game stations
Get the rafts ready to go
Last meal before the escape
The escape
Conclusion

Introduction

We are on board of a huge sailing ship, background noise (A sinking ship from an mp3 track, the volume at full blast), the timberwork creaks violently and the storm rages. We hit a reef, the ship sinks and we have to save ourselves with our last ounce of strength.
Reach dry land

Obstacle courses on the sports field: We act like ants; we crawl, we grab each other, so we cannot get lost in the rough sea.
Explanation of the game structure, splitting into groups

Arriving at the bank (the other side of the sports field), the children run into a castaway. The guy is a little bit weird because he lived alone on the isle for fourteen years. His only contact is his volleyball “Wilson”. (The volleyball has got a face and a walkie-talkie. The gag is that the ball is really able to talk.) The man has tousled hair and his teeth are bad. He is not able to clean them anymore, because his toothbrush has been broken. He shows it to us …

Then he tells his story: He was a passenger in a plane that crashed. Except him, the whole crew died by trying to reach the island. He therefore splits the children into groups of five, so that each group can visit one station. During the game they go round and visit the other stations, too.

The game plans are handed out with an overview of the area and the five stations. If necessary the five stations are explained briefly.

You have to point out, that the children have to hurry up because a volcanic eruption is threatening. (Take a cardboard tube and stick a picture of a volcano at one end, so you have a set of home- made binoculars)

The five groups divide themselves among the five stations

To avoid congestion at the stations, groups who have finished their station have to do fitness training so that the children are “fit” for the raft trip. There are two coaches responsible for this.
- Station 1, the castaway and raft building
  
  The castaway guides one group to station 1 and instructs them to construct a raft. We play “On the table of the house” and collect materials, which we need for building the raft. We need:
  - Two branches, one of them 1.5 foot long and the other about 1 foot long (as a mast)
  - A t-shirt as sail
  - A camp bed as raft
  - Anything else to clip the mast together
  Now we can construct the raft and put it on the sports field.
- Station 2, native inhabitants and provisions
  
  We meet the native inhabitants; King Louis and his tribe. There is a little guy called “Atu- Atu”, who can translate his chief’s fantasy language so he is able to explain to the children how the game works. (We had always a lot of fun during this game. With his loud and piercing voice saying “Calamaris halamad dadadat cinquecento kamasutraahhh” the children were held in awe and the standard greeting was to stroke his feet.)
  - “Apple ducking”; the children try to catch an apple taking turns
  - “Sausage catch”, with candies on a rope. In pairs, the kids have to stack on top of each other to be tall enough. They are not allowed to use their hands, while trying to get the candies. Each group should have bitten at least one “sausage”.
  - One candy is on the top of a tree. The bravest one in each group has to climb up and fetch the candy.
- Station 3, the ghost pilot and the map
  
  The children find a secret map. (It is drawn on their map as a station) The map was drawn by the pilot, who flew the plane. He was one of the crew. Although the man became mentally ill, his calculation is helpful for the escape. The pilots´ ghost narrates this station.
  - The first challenge is, to find the right bottle. Just in one bottle they can find the map, the others are filled in with different drinks. A brave member has to test the bottles. We stick a straw in each bottle. The bottles stand in a carton and the content is invisible.
  - Now we have to solve the mystery. The children have to remember the solutions for their escape. They have to remember how many steps they can take and how they can avoid the quicksand.
- Station 4, the island bird‘s (a soft- toy toucan) SOS
  
  The wise island toucan talks with the children. He has collected a few golden stones, which he has hidden in the woods. From above it is very easy to see those golden stones. And so the children go and look for them until they have enough to form the letters “SOS”.
- Station 5, the merman and water
  
  The merman wears swimming trunks, a snorkel, a trident, shells, a starfish and fishing net. He is covered all over with green, brown and blue jelly (as algae). Of course we need water for our journey and nobody knows more about water than the merman! (A little bit of general knowledge; salt water cannot be drunk). But the route to the source of drinking water is exhausting.
  - A water relay- team, an obstacle course over the adventure field
Get the rafts ready to go

The acquired goods are brought to the rafts after each station.
Last meal before the escape

We have lunch.
Escape

The rafts are built and everything is ready and placed in the sand pit. (Other side of the island) The children twist around like a cyclone, stop and then start to run. With this game the children produce air for the sail (whirlwind). After that, they have to transport the rafts with the provisions (this makes them dizzy and is funny). We make wind sounds, so that the children know how long they have to twist round and how long they can run. Suddenly sharks appear (the staff), which are overpowered by the children.
End

At the end there is a big reception at the bank with reporters and photographers and a group photo. Everyone sings shanties.