Observation GamesObservation games or memory games can be used in a variety of ways. If the kids are overly excited, they can be used to calm them down and rest. Observation games could also be used as an ice-breaker at children's birthday parties. These types of games are great memory boosters too.
If you are on a picnic, why not try a game of "Going On A Picnic"? Have everyone sit in a circle. The first player says, "I'm going on a picnic, and I'm going to bring ___." (The player must say something that begins with the letter A). The next player has to remember what the first player is bringing and then say something beginning with the letter B. The game continues with players naming items through the alphabet. You will be amazed with how much the kids can remember.
This is a good observation game for a group of approx. 10 young children. One player leaves the room; he'll be the detective. The other players, while standing up in a circle, choose one player who will be the assassin. The assassin chooses a discrete move that he'll use to "kill" the other players, such as a wink of the eye, sticking his tongue out or raising his eyebrows. He tells the other players what his secret move is. The detective is called back in, his goal is to guess who the assassin is. To "kill" someone, the assassin looks a player in the eye and makes his secret move. The killed player may sit down, or may make a fabulous death scene before falling down. If another player sees the assassin doing the killing signal, but the assassin was not looking at them, that player does not sit down. When the detective has guessed who the assassin is, he becomes the assassin, and the games starts over. Younger detectives should be given more than one guess (2 or 3 guesses).
This is similar to The Assassin game above. One person leaves the room or the area. The other players are sitting in a circle and choose who will be the maestro. The maestro makes a series of gestures that must be imitated by the other players (for example, scratching is nose, clapping his lap, clapping his hands on the ground, crossing is arms, make funny gestures with his face). The player that left the room is called back, and his objective is to guess who is leading the gestures (who is the maestro). The maestro changes the gesture when the detective isn't looking at him. When the detective has guessed who the maestro is, he takes his place and someone else is the detective.
One player is designated as the psychologist and leaves the area. One or more "patients" are given a problem or nervous habit. When the psychologist returns, he must interrogate the group in order to identify the patients. Examples for nervous habits: winking eye, twitching foot, hair twirling, excessive shyness, excessive laughter (can be obvious, but if it's from someone who's always laughing...). When the psychologist correctly diagnoses a patient, the patient becomes the psychologist and the game starts over.
In this observation game, everyone is seated in a circle. One player in the center of the circle knows a rule that will decide whether or not an object can be in the "luggage" or not (i.e. any object that has the letter "p" in it). The center player can give examples, by saying something like: I'm going on a trip and in my luggage, I pack a soap, but no comb. Then all players around the circle get a turn to try and pack something in the luggage. One player could say: I'm going on a trip and in my luggage I pack my pyjamas, and the center player would answer "yes". The second player could say: I'm going on a trip and in my luggage I pack a toothbrush, to which the center player would reply "no". If a player thinks he knows the rule, he raises his hand and makes his guess. If it's correct, that player goes to the center and makes up a new rule, and gives a new example. Examples: words that begin with the same letter, contain the same letter, or rhyme with a sound. Examples of very hard rules: objects that have a hole in them (a pair of pants but not a comb), or objects that begin with a consecutive letter of the alphabet.
The objective is to get on the cruise ship and stay on board. It's important that everyone knows each others first name, or else learn them very quickly! There should be a few players that know the rules (an adult or two would be sufficient), to either help or confuse those trying to discover the trick to get on board. The players are in a circle around the "cruise ship", and the trick is to bring along an object that begins with the first letter of your first name. For example: My name is Peter and I'm bringing my pyjamas. The game is over when everyone is on board. Those who know the game can keep getting on and off the cruise ship, in order to confuse the other players. A player can't bring the same object twice. If a new player has the right object, he gets congratulated and gets on board. But just to make sure it wasn't by luck, the player must whisper to the others on board what the trick is - if it's the right answer, the player can stay on board. Otherwise the player has to get off and try again. Identifying who is on board is up to the organizers. Either they move forward in the circle, or get up, or wear a hat...
Everyone is seated in a circle. One player in the center knows the rule that determines if an object can be in the picnic basket or not. For example, objects that don't have the letters "o" or "i", hence the name of this game. The center player can give examples at the start of the game, such as: I'm going to the market, and in my picnic basket I put a cucumber but not a carrot. Next every other player says the sentence: I'm going to the market and in my picnic basket I put ... a word related to food. The first player could say: I'm going to the market and in my picnic basket I put a steak. The center player says yes. The second player could say:I'm going to the market and in my picnic basket I put a tomato. The center player says no. If a player thinks he knows the rule, he raises his hand and says the rule. If it's correct, he wins.
Equipment: A slipper or other similar object (mitten, glove, tuque, scarf, etc) This is a quiet observation game that can be played either indoors or out. The players are seated in a circle, with their hands behind their back, and they pass along the object behind their back. One player is sitting in the middle with his eyes closed. When the game leader says "stop", the object must stop circulating. The player in the middle has to guess who has the object behind their back. If he guesses right, the player with the object switches places with the player in the center of the circle.
Equipment: paper or plastic bag, lots of small objects - the same set of objects for each team. Sheet of paper and pencil for each team. This is another great observation game for all ages. Just choose the objects for the right age group. Players from each team sit legs crossed on the ground, one behind the other. A bag containing all the objects is placed in front of the first person in line. An empty bag is also given to the last person in line. When the start signal is given, the players must pass the object to the back of the line as quickly as possible, to fill the bag at the back of the line. Players can't turn around, so they must pass the objects overhead. When all teams have passed all the objects to the bag at the back of the line, the first team that finished thinks they've won, but wait !! The game isn't over yet. Now all teams are given a fixed amount of time (depending on how many objects there were, and how fast they can write for their age), and the team that really wins is the one that remembers the most objects. If there is a tie between to teams for the number of objects remembered, the one with the shortest time for transferring the objects to the back wins. Examples of objects that can go in the bag: Toothbrush, hairbrush, soap, pencils, erasers, notebooks, paperclips, candles, envelopes, flashlights, pieces of clothing, any object that can be obtained for all the teams - all bags should contain the same objects for the game to be fair.
Here's a mysterious and intriguing observation game that will have the children laughing in amazement, and the adults wondering how it's done... The players are sitting in a half-circle in front of a person (the "transmitter") sitting on a chair. The telepath exits the room or walks out of the semi-circle if the picnic is outside. The players in the semi-circle agree on a number that must be guessed by the telepath. The telepath is brought back into the game, and to "synchronize his thoughts" with the the transmitter, he puts his hands on the temples or upper cheeks of the transmitter. The transmitter clenches his teeth as many times as the number that was chosen, and the telepath, picking up the muscle movement, gives out the number. Variation: Instead of picking a number, the players pick someone within the group. When the telepath comes back, the transmitter is sitting on the chair with his left hand on top of his right hand if counting starts from the left of the semi-circle, or his right hand on top of his left hand if counting is to start from the right. So if the selected player is 4 from the right, the transmitter has his right hand on top, and clenches 4 times.
All players sit in a circle, except for one who leaves the area. While he's away, the players in the circle decide what profession he will have (i.e. a policeman). The player is called back, and starts asking the players what he must buy to do his job. One player might say black boots, another would say a whistle, a flashlight, and so on. From these clues, the player tries to guess what his profession is, and if he doesn't succeed he leaves the room again and we start over with another profession or identity.
Equipment: Eight popsicle sticks with one colored end (color them with a marker). Players are grouped together in teams. The game leader draws a shape with the sticks and lets the players observe it for a few seconds. Then the teams go away and try to reproduce the shape as accurately as possible, while making sure the colored end of the sticks are the same. The most accurate reproduction wins. It may be helpful to retain the master shape and cover it with a scarf or cloth after the observation period, so that judging is easier.
Equipment: One book, and a pad of paper and pencils for each team. Players are divided in teams. The game leader passes a book around, so that each team can inspect it for a set amount of time. When all teams have seen the book, they must answer a bunch of questions prepared in advance by the game leader, such as: weight of the book, number of pages, dimensions, how many colors can be seen on the cover, what are these colors, number of drawings inside, etc. The team with the most correct answers wins.
Players are lined up in two lines, facing each other. They are given time to mutually observe each other, and at the start signal, everybody turns around such that both lines are back to back. Each player changes three things on himself. When everyone is ready, everyone turns around to be face to face again, and each player must find what’s changed on the other.
This is a fun game for younger children. Every one is seated in a circle, and the “blind” player is in the middle, blindfolded. He spins around, stops, points at someone in the circle and says a sentence. The player being pointed at must repeat the sentence (using a funny voice if they wish). The blind player must then guess who it was.
Players are walking around blindfolded or with their eyes covered by their hands. The game leader touches someone who must leave the room as quickly as possible. If playing this picnic game outside, find a place where that player can hide quickly, like a tent or a large garbage can. When the game leader gives the stop signal, the players stop walking, uncover their eyes and must find out who is missing. The first player who names the missing person wins. Note: Try to find a clear area to play this game, as walking blindfolded can be hazardous. Also, watch for cheaters who look through their fingers or blindfold. Variation: Players are seated in a circle, one player sits in the middle blindfolded. One person in the circle leaves, the player in the middle removes his blindfold and must guess who left the circle.
I always get a kick playing this picnic game, with kids or all ages really. The older the kids, the faster they can figure out what’s going on, of course. The game goes like this: The players are seated in a semi-circle, with the game leader standing in the middle, with a broomstick. The game leader clears his throat, and says “I’m taking a walk around my broom”. The players in the semi-circle are all asked to get up and try to do exactly the same as the game leader did. If the player clears his throat before saying the sentence and going around the broom, he wins. The game leader can use another special gesture instead of clearing his throat, like scratching his nose, rubbing his hands against his pants, anything really !
Equipment: a piece of rope, long enough to go around the circle of players. A ring, through which the rope has been inserted. The rope’s ends are tied, and the knot must be small enough to let the ring through. This picnic game goes like this: All players in the circle hold the rope, and the player in the middle is blindfolded or covers his eyes with his hands. On the start signal, players in the circle pass around the ring, by sliding it along the rope. At the stop signal, the ring must stop circulating and covered by a player’s hands. The player in the middle must now guess who has the ring. If you have music available at your picnic or event, you could play this game a bit like musical chairs, where the ring can circulate while there is music, and must stop when the music stops. The trick for the player in the middle is to uncover his eyes quickly so he can perhaps catch someone hiding the ring when the music stops.
This game is a bit tricky to understand, so it might be easier with slightly older kids. Two players announce that they’ll do telepathy with “black magic”. One of them (the guesser) leaves the play area, and all the remaining players agree on an object that must be guessed. The guesser is brough back, and him and his partner “synchronize their wavelenghts” by doing a little act - totally meaningless of course. Now the guesser’s partner starts naming objects in the room, like so: Is it the table? Answer is no. Is it this player’s black T-shirt? Guesser answers no again. The partner names two other objects for which the answer will be “no”, and on the third object the answer will be “yes”. The trick: It is the third object after the color of the magic has been named. The partners must agree on the color and the number of objects that come between the color and the correct object.
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