Hobbies And Interests
Games for the Whole Church
When the whole church gets together, horseshoes is a great game to play. This game requires players to throw horseshoes at posts a set distance away. To increase the competition, have a horseshoe tournament. Another game for large groups is cornhole. In this game, teams throw beanbags at wedge-shaped boards, aiming for the hole in the top of the board. Like horseshoes, cornhole works well for tournament competition.
Group games at church gatherings could also include a sack race. Get large potato sacks and have each participant stand in a sack. At your command, players try to hop from the starting point to the finish line. Another option is a three-legged man race. Teams are made up of two people. Tie one of each teammate's legs together. At your command, every team must race toward the finish line.
Games for Small Group Settings
Mafia is a great game for smaller church gatherings. Have all players sit in a circle facing each other. Pass out playing cards to each person. Each player should be the only person to see his card. Include in the deck two aces, which are the Mafia, two kings, which are the detectives, and one queen, which is the doctor. The rest of the cards should be face cards, or townspeople. Start the game by telling everyone to go to sleep. Everyone closes their eyes and puts their heads down. Then, have the Mafia wake up. The Mafia silently decide on someone to "kill." Then, they go to sleep. Have the detectives wake up. They silently decide on a "suspect" who they think might be the Mafia, and you nod "yes" or "no" to their guess. They go to sleep. Finally, the doctor wakes. The Doctor can heal any one person they think the Mafia might have killed. Then, the doctor goes to sleep.
Everyone wakes up. Make up some elaborate story about how the Mafia killed the person who died. When someone dies, they are out of the game and can no longer comment. Her card also gets overturned for everyone to see. Then, the group debates who they think the Mafia members are. Every round, the group accuses people. The accused person must defend herself as to why she is not the Mafia. Then, the townspeople vote. Majority rules, and whoever is convicted is out of the game. One player must be convicted each round. Play continues until both Mafia are convicted or everyone else is killed.
Another game that can be played in a small church gathering is Two Truths and a Lie. In this game, each player thinks of two true statements about himself and one false statement. Then, on his turn, he tells the group all three statements. The group has to decide which statement is false.