Human Noughts and Crosses
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Description
Complete challenges and questions to become a game piece. Will your team leader outwit their opponent to get three in a row?
Questions and Challenges version courtesy The Scout Association: https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/human-noughts-and-crosses/
Resources
9 chairs or hula-hoops
Instructions
---Questions and Challenges version---
Young people can lead plenty of other games and activities themselves, but this is a great way to focus on leadership skills and teamwork.
TALK ABOUT AND CHOOSE A LEADER
1. The person leading the activity should ask everyone what they think is important when someone’s leading a game.
People could think about things such as listening to everyone, giving instructions that are easy to understand, helping anyone who doesn’t understand, making fair decisions, and sorting out any problems.
2. The person leading the activity should choose two people to be the game leaders. They may ask for volunteers, or they may have some people in mind. (You could choose two people at a time, or people could lead in pairs.)
3. The person leading the activity should remind everyone else to be good team players so they enjoy the game and help the game leader—leading everyone can be a bit scary if you’re not used to it.
PLAY THE GAME
1. Everyone should work together to set up nine chairs in a three by three grid.
2. The two team leaders should talk to each other about the questions or challenges they’ll ask their teams to do.
- Questions could be about badges or activities everyone’s been doing, local knowledge, or simple facts about topics such as compass points, colours, planets, animals, or plants. Challenges could include hop on one leg for 20 seconds, make an animal noise that your team can guess, or tell a joke.
3. Everyone should split into two teams—one team is ‘noughts’ and the other team is ‘crosses’. One team leader should join each team.
4. The team leaders should run through steps five to seven as a practice round—each team should have one practice turn.
5. The ‘crosses’ team leader should choose a ‘nought’, and ask them a question or give them a challenge.
- The team leaders should make sure all of the players get a chance to have a go at a question or challenge—perhaps they could ask the teams to line up and work from one end of the line to the other.
6. If the ‘nought’ gets the question right or completes the challenge, the noughts team leader should choose a chair for the ‘nought’ to sit on. The nought should make a ‘O’ sign with their hands. If the ‘nought’ gets the question wrong, they can’t sit down.
- It’s up to the team leader where their player sits, but other people can call out suggestions and encouragement.
7. Repeat steps five and six with the other team—the noughts team leader should challenge a ‘cross’, if they get it right the ‘crosses’ team leader tells them where to sit.
8. Once each team has had one practice turn, the game should begin.
9. Teams should take it in turns to repeat steps five to seven until one team has three players in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row. When a team gets a winning line, they get a point and the game starts again with everyone standing up and re-joining their team.
- If all nine seats are filled without either team having three players in a row, it’s a draw. No-one gets a point, and the game should start again.
10. Once the game leader has finished their turn at leading, everyone should give them a clap for trying their best.
- You may want to let lots of people have turns at being team leader. Make sure each leader doesn’t lead for too long so the players don’t get bored.
REFLECTION
This activity gave everyone a chance to think about what makes a great leader, and gave some people the chance to give it a go. The team leaders were responsible for asking questions and choosing where their team members should sit. How did it feel to be responsible for your whole team? You may have been nervous at first—did you start to feel more confident? Can anyone name someone who’s famous for being a good leader? What made them a good leader?
This activity also needed everyone to work together as a team player. It can be hard to be a good leader and leaders need support and encouragement. How did you help your team leader (and even the other team’s leader)? How did you help the other players in your team? Did the team leaders do a good job? Don’t forget to tell them what they did well and what they were good at.
SAFETY
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
CHANGE THE LEVEL OF CHALLENGE
You could make some question and challenge cards to help the team leaders so they don’t have to come up with all of the ideas. Teams could also come up with the questions and challenges and write them down (perhaps with some help) before the game.
SEE PDF OF CHALLENGES AND QUESTIONS GENERATED BY CHAT GPT!
The person leading the activity could ask the questions so the team leaders can focus on telling their team where to sit.
You could allow players to ‘ask a friend’ so they can choose someone else to help them with their question or challenge.
---original version---
9 chairs or huila hoops should be placed in the middle of the room or playing area in a 3x3 grid formation.
The group should be split in two and then made to line up against opposite walls facing inwards.
Each team should be numbered with each number corresponding to the other team.
The leader should call out numbers and that number from both teams must run and sit down on one of the chairs, or stand fully inside the hulahoop, as fast as they can and show their team symbol (noughts or crosses). The person that sits down on the chair they wanted first wins the round and gets to stay sat down.
*Rules*
Be careful when sitting on the chairs not to fall or sit on someone else.
You must be sat down and with your symbol held above your head first to stay stay down.
You may chose to play this game in silence to stop them from helping each other and planning where to go.
Tags
- Chair game
- game
- noughts and crosses
- team building
- team game
Badge Links
- Teamwork - Lead
- Teamwork - Team game
- Teamwork - Team game