Home >> Games & Cards >> Kids Games

Children's Games to Build Teamwork

One way to teach children to play cooperatively and build a sense of teamwork among their group is by playing games. Similar to sporting activities such as football and baseball, many children's games require the participants to develop ways to communicate their ideas clearly and to work together toward a common goal. Great games that promote teamwork exist for children to play in both small and large groups.

Squeeze Game
- This game works well with groups of 10 to 20 participants. Outline a square area using masking tape on the floor surface that is smaller than the area required for all participants to stand inside comfortably. Participants must work together to bring everyone inside the square. Each time they succeed, the boundaries are reset and the square becomes smaller, so the participants must work harder to bring everyone inside.
Freeze Tag
- In this game, one participant is chosen to be the tagger throughout the length of the game. This person chases other players and tags them. When players are tagged, they must "freeze" in the location where they were first touched. Other players must work together to "unfreeze" tagged players by once again touching them.
  
  To make the game more challenging and encourage more player cooperation, designate two participants as the taggers.
Blindfolded Obstacle Course
- Participants pair up, and one individual from each team is blindfolded and placed at the beginning of an obstacle course. The other team member must give vocal directions to his or her partner as to how to navigate the obstacle course.
  
  After the pair completes the obstacle course, the roles are reversed, the course is reset, and the game is played again. To make the game more challenging, each team can be timed to see how quickly they can navigate the course.
Egg Drop
- In this game, participants are divided into equal teams, ideally of four to six participants. Each team is assigned the task of designing and constructing an apparatus that will protect a raw egg from a 10-foot fall. Every team member is responsible for supplying an item to be used in the construction of the apparatus. Items that can be used include cotton balls, Popsicle sticks, paper, etc. Once all teams have finished building their egg apparatus, they take turns dropping their eggs from a 10-foot ladder.
Capture the Flag
- Participants are divided into two equal teams. Each team is given a flag to hide within their half of the designated playing area. While the teams are hiding their flags, several spies from each team are able to sneak into the other's territory to try to discover the location of their opponent's flag.
  
  Once both teams have signaled that their flag is hidden, members from each team try to get past their opponents and steal their flag. If a participant is tagged by an opposing team member, on the opposing side's territory, that person is sent to "jail" and must remain there until a player from his team is able to sneak over and tag him to release him. Any participant that is touched on the opposing side of play must report to jail.
  
  The game ends when either all the players from one team have been sent to jail or one team captures the other's flag.

Kids Games