Magic Carpet

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Description

A great team building game!You’re hovering on a magic carpet, when you realise it’s upside down. Can you flip it over without anyone falling off?

Courtesy of The Scout Association
https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/magic-carpet/

Resources

A sheet, tarpaulin, rug, or blanket (big enough for around six payers to stand on) for each team.

Instructions

REMEMBER to adjust the activity to remain COVID Safe - consider increasing the size of the tarp. or reduce the number of players in each team

Play the game
1. Split into teams of up to six people, and give each team a sheet. This is their magic carpet. Everyone should help anyone who’s new to join in.

2. Each team should get into a space, and lay out their magic carpet. Once their carpet is ready, the team should jump aboard and get ready to go.[You might want to say a rhyme, invent a magic word, or make a sound to command your magic carpets to rise.]

3. Now each team is hovering, the person leading the game should check they’re all ready to fly… and notice that all of the teams have got their carpets the wrong way up.

4. Teams need to work together to flip their magic carpet over, so that the side facing the floor faces the sky. No one can step off the carpet, as they’re already in the air.

5.The person leading the game should let each team try to figure the puzzle out for themselves. After a while, they can start giving hints using the solution provided.

[Remember, the teams should still try to solve the problem themselves. The person leading the game should give them one step of the solution at a time, not the whole thing at once.]


The solution
Teams might find other ways to complete the challenge – but this is one solution.

1. Take hold of one corner of the sheet (the bottom left corner if viewed from above).
2. Drag it over the top of the sheet – so that the side of the sheet that was on the left is now at the top.
3. This edge should stick out above the square of folded over sheet, so that there’s a strip where only a single layer of sheet is touching the floor.
4. Everyone should move to stand on this strip of single layered sheet.
5. Slowly and carefully, untuck the sheet so it’s no longer folded over. The whole carpet should now be the right way up. [It’s probably easiest to start with the top left corner, where players can stand on the ‘strip’ and untuck the sheet from underneath.]


Take it further
Players could work towards their Team Leader Challenge Award, if they lead their group or captain their team.

Tags

  • team building

Badge Links

  • Skills - New sport
  • Skills - Problem solving
  • Skills - Problem solving
  • Skills - Problem solving
  • Teamwork - Challenge
  • Teamwork - Team game
  • Teamwork - Team game
  • Teamwork - Team-building
  • Teamwork - Team-building