Take the initiative! - initiative games

Camping Magazine, Sept-Oct, 1996 by Faith Evans, Jane Sanborn

Initiative games allow campers to solve problems and make decisions while developing communication skills, leadership, and creativity. Initiatives can be used as an hour-long activity or a full-day program and are appropriate for a wide range of ages. Most staff can successfully lead initiatives with a moderate amount of preparation.

Unlike many traditional games, initiatives focus on the process or the journey of the group, rather than on the result or the destination. The group's process is one of discovery and exploration. It should not be directed or led by the staff. The staff's role is to support the group by asking thoughtful, well-placed questions that inspire campers to reflect on their actions. Physical and psychological safety is always monitored.

The number of uses for initiative games is limited only by the imagination: camper programming, staff training, (including counselors-in-training), athletic teams, families, office personnel, special populations, and so on. When sequenced from easy to challenging, initiatives are ideal for creating a rallying point with groups, creating unity and confidence as success builds on success.

Quad Jam

Target results: Support, cooperation, leadership, communication.

Equipment: Four 4[inches] x 4[inches] boards, eight feet long, placed in a square atop four cinder blocks, one cinder block at each corner.

Group size: About 12 to 16, depending on body size and length of boards. Need room for all players to stand on three boards.

Activity: Invite all players to "take a stand" together, balancing atop the boards, without touching the cinder blocks or the ground.

Ask players to walk around all four boards, without falling off, returning to their home boards. Notice whether players help each other or do it alone. Notice whether they take others with them when they fall. Do they need to be told or given permission to help each other or do they take initiative?

Ask: How many fell off? What would it take for everyone to balance atop the boards? What kind of support can you give or ask for? How will you communicate that? Ask all players to stand on three boards and declare a home board. Remove the fourth board. Challenge each camper to move from her home board to another board without stepping off or touching the cinder blocks.

Debrief: To gather understanding and insight about the process, ask questions directly related to the stated goal of the activity. Facilitators should customize their questions to suit the situation. Ask only a few questions that the group will be able to respond to.

What was the hard part? The easy part? Why? What did support and helping look like? Specifically, how did you offer support? Who helped you and how? Are there people who offer support at camp? Who? What do they do? How do you support others at camp? Be specific. Other points: How did you begin? Did you plan or did you act? How do you know when to plan, when to act? Was there a leader? If so, who and how did that occur? If not, how did you get the job done? Did you develop any strategies? What were they? If you did this again, what would you do differently?

Note: Sizes of boards may be altered to accommodate skill levels. When players fall off, give them a non-punishing consequence (e.g., challenge campers to cross to more than one board, share an embarrassing moment, tell the group how they got their names). Offer group bonuses (one free ground touch) for examples of excellent support or teamwork.

Bridges

Target results: Communication, problem solving, teamwork.

Equipment: One bridge per player (basically, a trough). Permanent bridges can be made from 1/4[inches] PVC pipe, band sawed to 12[inches] lengths and in half lengthwise. Several bags of marbles. Easier, larger bridges can be cut from foam pipe insulation; use ping pong balls instead of marbles.

Group size: Minimum of five, maximum is limited only by number of bridges. Two campers per bridge is an alternative but is more difficult.

Activity: A team of five to eight campers moves a marble from point A to point B, using the bridge as the only means of transporting the marble. 1. The marble may not be touched or dropped. 2. Campers may not block or manipulate the marble on the bridge; free roll is required. The marble may not be flipped or thrown. 3. The campers' feet may not move when the marbles are on their bridges. If the marble falls, the group returns to point A. This is a team effort, not a race. Groups may seem puzzled until their strategy emerges and then several attempts are usually needed. When a team reaches point B, offer it more marbles to transport. Give the team a choice of how many marbles it can carry safely.

Debrief: What worked? What didn't? How did you feel when you had to begin again? What are times at camp when you begin again? What difference did it make when more marbles were added? What plans did you make before you started? How did you decide? Was there a leader? Why did the marble(s) drop? What did you do to alter your plans? Rate yourself as a team. Hold up your fingers to indicate an individual rating. Ten fingers mean "awesome with no room for improvement." One finger means "we have a long way to go." Notice the variety of responses and ask players what they based their ratings on.