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Description

Think on your feet and try to impress the master of tasks with these fun challenges.

Includes running challenges: in a meeting; between meetings (at home; online

Courtesy of The Scout Association https://www.scouts.org.uk/activities/taskmaster/

Resources

45 minutes
Device with access to the internet (OPTIONAL)
Stopwatch or online timer
Specific equipment for tasks (see below)

Take it further
Why not run a series of challenges over a term to help everyone work towards a specific Activity Badge or Challenge Award?

Youth shaped guidance
Challenge the group to come up with some of their own tasks. You could ask a Young Leader or Patrol Leader to run the session.

Safety
All activities must be safely managed. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Do a risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Always get approval for the activity and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Instructions

BEFORE YOU BEGIN
- You could run the activity live in one meeting or set a task each week and review the entries together each time you meet online.
- Prepare your tasks in advance and let people know if they’ll need any specific equipment for your session.


TASKMASTER LIVE – run the activity during a face-to-face meeting (or online meeting)
1. The person leading the activity should welcome everyone to the game (if online: ask them to mute themselves).

2. Introduce the challenge and share the ground rules. The person leading should explain that they’ll be setting everyone some tasks and that everyone will need to think creatively to impress the Taskmaster and earn points. If you have the facilities, watch this introduction video from Alex Horne to start the session (if online: you could share your screen) - https://taskmaster.tv/schools-groups

3. Now it’s time to start tasking! The Taskmaster should read out the first challenge.

4. Everyone should complete the task. The Taskmaster should keep track of time with a stopwatch (if online: an online timer).

5. Depending on the challenge, everyone could take it in turns to share their results or entries when the time is up.

6. The Taskmaster should award points. It’s up to them how you do this – they could give points to the best entry, or to their top three entries. [Think about nominating a different Taskmaster for each task – why not use Young Leaders if you have them?]

7. Everyone should keep playing with new tasks until the meeting ends or the Taskmaster has seen enough!

8. The Taskmaster should congratulate the winner (and everyone for taking part).


TASKMASTER HOME EDITION – run the activity at home between meetings
1. The person leading the challenge should explain it to everyone – they could use an online meeting or another means of communication like email. They should share the ground rules and explain that they’ll be setting everyone some tasks – people will need to think creatively to impress the Taskmaster and earn points. [You could share your screen and watch this introduction video from Alex Horne or include the link in an email. https://taskmaster.tv/schools-groups]

2. The person leading the activity should remind everyone of the hazards involved, particularly those related to running around (for example, doorways, stairs, and so on).

3. The Taskmaster should set their first task. (If you share it during a live meeting, send a message afterwards to remind everyone about it.)

4. Everyone should have fun completing the task. They should take a photo or video of themselves and send it to the Taskmaster before their next meeting. [It’s a good idea to set a time limit for the videos, for example, no longer than 60 seconds. Remind everyone to follow the Yellow Card guidance when they're submitting their videos or images.]

5. Next time you meet, the Taskmaster should share the pictures or videos of everyone completing the task and judge the entries.

6. The person leading the activity should keep track of any points that are awarded.

7. The Taskmaster should set another task and everyone should enjoy getting stuck in. Think about nominating a different Taskmaster for each task – why not use Young Leaders if you have them?


THE GROUND RULES
- Be ready, respectful, and safe at all times.
- The Taskmaster’s decision is final.
- Do not put yourself or others in danger.
- If you move something, put it back.
- If you make a mess, clean it up.
- Do not argue with the Taskmaster, your team mates, or members of other teams.
- Have fun.


IDEAS FOR TASKS
The sky’s the limit when it comes to thinking of your tasks. Check out South London Scouts’ challenges (https://southlondonscouts.org.uk/members-area/programme/home-adventures/taskmaster-challenge/taskmaster-challenge) or the Taskmaster YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/hometasking) for some inspiration. Some of our favourites include:

Home tasking:
- Recreate the fleur-de-lis in food form. You could bake a cake or make some bread.
- Plan and then record a route on an app that makes a picture or word. Who can guess the picture or word?
- Draw a self-portrait blindfolded. Share your work of art and a selfie too.
- Recreate your leader’s face out of items in your kitchen.
- Collect as many objects of a certain colour in five minutes.
- Invent a new mocktail using only things already in your kitchen. Pitch it and make it sound delicious.
- Make a recipe for under £3 – you can use seasoning already in the house.
- Make your own musical instrument and perform your favourite song. Extra points if anyone can guess the song.
- Spend the night in a tent or den, indoors or outdoors.
- Make a catchy, five minute long fitness video for others to follow.
- Find a fun dance online and spend 10 minutes learning it.
- Recreate a scene from an expedition or camp in your home.
- Invent a new indoor sport and introduce it to the group.
- Find the most creative or unique use for your necker and demonstrate it.
- Tie a reef knot (or another knot) behind your back (or blindfolded) as fast as you can.
- Write your name or draw a picture in light for others to guess.
- Make a meal from ingredients beginning with certain letters. You could use this random word generator to decide the letters.
- Learn and perform a new magic trick.
- Record your own warm-up routine for others to follow: the most original or entertaining wins.
- Disguise a piece of fruit as a different piece of fruit.
- Recreate a famous painting.
- Blow a candle out from the furthest distance.
- Demonstrate the best quick change outfit.
- Silently recreate a famous movie scene.
- Create the best domino rally.
- Do the most amazing thing with one hand on your hip.
- Create a shelter at home and sleep in it.
- Create an epic sporting moment in your kitchen.
- Make a really big version of something that is usually small.
- Make one of your knees look like a famous person.
- Create your own task (then use them next time or with another section).


Live tasking:
- Throw a piece of paper into a bin... spectacularly.
- Camouflage yourself, then reveal yourself.
- Throw a teabag into a mug from the furthest distance.
- Fly a paper aeroplane as far as possible.
- Make a sandwich using one hand.
- Draw one hundred circles on a piece of paper.
- Without lifting your pen from the paper, draw the most ambitious animal.
- Place three different yellow things in a glass.
- Tear an animal shape out of a piece of paper.
- Drink a cup of water from the wrong side of the cup.
- Write a happy haiku.
- Put on a blindfold and stand up after exactly 200 seconds.
- Use a toothpick to count the number of beans in a tin.
- Make an exotic sandwich.
- Catch the most socks in a bowl.
- Balance on one leg for the longest time.
- Throw an egg as high as you can and catch it.
- Eat a bowl of cereal without using your thumbs.
- Eat a rainbow.
- Balance a spoon on your nose for 30 seconds.
- Balance a square thing on a round thing.
- Throw something into something.
- Make the unlikeliest object wear a Scout necker.
- Put on an item of clothing in the most unusual way.
- Keep your eyes shut as you draw a self-portrait – you have as long as you can keep your eyes shut for. The best likeness wins.
- Find an inanimate object that looks like you.
- Make a dramatic entrance – the most dramatic wins.
- Create your own task (then use them next time or with another section)


Reflection
This activity was all about giving everyone the chance to think on their feet and solve problems in a creative way. Ask everyone how they found the activity. Does anyone want to share which tasks they found the easiest or most difficult, and why? Did they find it easy to think of fun ways to complete all the tasks? Not all problems are easy to solve, but thinking outside the box and being creative are great skills to learn and can help in a lot of different situations.

Tags

• online activity

Badge Links

• Skills - Problem solving
• Skills - Problem solving
• Teamwork - Team game
• Teamwork - Team-building