Games to Play With a String

Kid Activities

• If you are in the presence of kids, you can show them how to make string figures. You make string figures by taking a loop of string and twisting it around your hands and fingers into different patterns and shapes. Children may be familiar with cat's cradle, a string game that involves two people passing a string back and forth between them as they create different patterns. You can find string figure patterns on the Alysion String Figures website, or you can read books, like Anne Akers Johnson's "String Figures from Around the World," that come with step-by-step instructions on how to make string figures.

Ice Breakers

• Ice breaker games are games that a group plays to get to know one another. Take a ball of string and cut pieces of the string into various lengths. Gather all of the strings into a ball and have each person randomly pick a string. As you go around the room, each person must introduce himself while wrapping the string around his index finger. Since the length of string determines how long a person must talk, some people will have to talk longer about themselves than others. You can also break the ice by forming a circle and tossing a ball of string from one person to another, thereby creating a web of string in the center of the circle. Only the person holding the ball of string can talk.

Baby Showers

• You can also play games with strings at a baby shower. Ask each woman at the baby shower to cut a piece of string to the size that she feels will measure the circumference of the mother-to-be's belly. Once all the strings are cut, each woman will measure her string around the mother-to-be's belly to see who has the closest circumference to the real belly. Another baby shower game uses on an old wives' tale as its base. Take a ring and attach it one end of a string, which creates a pendulum. Hold the pendulum over the mother-to-be's belly. If the string swings in circles, the baby will be a boy, but if it swings side to side, the baby will be a girl.

Parties

• If you are having a party, you can ask everyone to take part in a string scavenger hunt. Take balls of colored string and unwind them all around the interior and exterior of your house. Make sure to only unwind the string and not cut it into pieces. Have all of the strings lead to the same hidden treasure. Divide players into teams and assign each team a colored ball of string. Have each team roll up its ball of string to see which is the first to find the hidden treasure. Another game idea is to line up two teams side by side and see which team can become entangled in string the fastest. Players pass a ball of string down the front of their line and then pass it behind their backs, repeating the process until they are all out of string and completely entangled in it.