How to play Pony Express — even more fun than relay races!

This week's game makes running fun, builds camaraderie and encourages good sporting behavior. Gather a group and few minor pieces of equipment, and try playing this new game. The Game of the Week is Pony Express!

Group Size: 

 Large group (10 or more)

Age Group: 

 Grades 1+

Length of Activity: 

 10 minutes or more

Developmental Goal: 

 To develop teamwork and cooperation

Equipment: 

 Chalk, Cones, 2 Bean Bags

Before You Start: 

Skills Practiced:  Running, endurance and pacing

  • Demonstrate safe tagging:

    • Light touch, like butterfly wings on the shoulder
    • Unsafe tags: hard contact that might cause the person being tagged to fall
  • Divide the group into two teams.
  • Have one team line up diagonally at one cone, and the other team line up diagonally at the other cone.
  • Hand a bean bag to the first person in each line.

Set Up: 

A very large square or rectangle

How To Play: 
  • On the leader’s signal, the first person in each line begins to run counterclockwise around the square/rectangle, making sure to run completely around the lines (i.e. no cutting corners).
  • After the first person has run an entire lap, s/he hands off the bean bag to the next person in line, and s/he begins to run a lap.
  • The object for both teams is to catch up to the other team and tag that runner on the shoulder.
  • If someone is tagged, a new round begins at each cone with the first person in line.

Variations: 
  • Try walking, skipping, hopping, etc. (if the space is smaller, or for younger players)
  • With more advanced groups, no equipment is necessary if you have natural boundaries, and they can high-five the next person in line

Find more new and exciting games in our games database!
 

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