Game & activities for the mini bus
Alphabet signs
How to play:
➔ Players must watch signs out the windows. The goal is to go through the alphabet (in alphabetical order), finding a word that begins with each letter while you are are "on" it. This is great for beginning readers and older people alike.
Alphabet Search
How to play:
➔ Same premise as alphabet signs, but in this game you are not looking for signs. You are looking for actual objects or physical entities that begin with the letter you are "on." This is much more challenging than it seems, because most people tend not to see visually and think in terms of words simultaneously. *A Variation: Play alphabet search using objects inside the bus itself.
Buzz
How to play:
➔ Buzz is a game where the rules are straightforward, which makes it all the more frustrating when you get it wrong. The aim of the game is to count to 100 by going around the passengers on the bus. However, when a player gets to a number which is divisional by 7 (is in the 7 times tables) e.g. 7, 21, 28 etc, he or she must say Buzz, instead of the number. Players must also say buzz in place of numbers with a 7 in them e.g. 17. * Variations: try other numbers or ask young people to make other noises and sounds.
The License Plate Game
How to play:
➔ There are many versions of the License Plate Game, however the basic versions calls for players to spot car registration plates starting with every letter of the alphabet starting with A in the correct order right through to Z – the first there wins.
Chain Game
How to play:
➔ Pick a topic, such as names of celebrities or titles of movies or TV shows. The first person says a name, such as "Michael Jackson." The next player must use the first letter of the celebrity's last name, in this case, "J," to come up with another name, such as "John Travolta." Start at the front of the bus and work your way back. Any player who misses a turn or stumbles while thinking of an answer is out.
Geography Game
How to play:
➔ One person begins by mentioning a city. It can be from anywhere in the world. An example would be San Diego. The next person must mention a city using the last letter from the previous one. So that person could say Orlando.
Name That Tune
How to play:
➔ Have people sing a line or two of a song of their choice. People can then guess what song it is. Whoever guesses correctly gets to sing the next song. If a radio is playing, this can be done with a song when it first comes on. If you have access to an iPod this game can also be played through the games section.
The Green Glass Door
How to play:
➔ Basically, explain to the group that there is something called the green glass door, and only certain objects (and possibly actions) are allowed inside of it. Give them a few examples like these: you can have a hammer but no nails; you can have a spoon but no fork; books but no words; trees but no leaves; apples but no oranges; moon but no sun; glasses but no eyes; feet but no toes; etc. Try to get the players to come up with objects that go inside and respond with "yes" or "no." (The secret rule is that only words with a double letter are allowed.) If they don't understand the pattern at all and are terribly frustrated at this seemingly illogical place, you can give them a hint along the lines of "look at the letters," or "what do 'green,' 'glass,' and 'room' have in common?" This game is fun when you have other people in the know with whom you can create new examples.
The Hat Game (aka Magic Finger)
How to play:
➔ For this game, you need an imaginary hat and having 4 or more people is helpful. For example, Peter, Alex, Steve, and John are four players, and Peter is the caller, meaning he is the one who knows the game and no one else does. Peter says, "If I have the hat, and I pass it to Steve, who passes it to Alex, who passes it to John, who has the hat?" Almost undoubtedly, someone in the group would answer that John has the hat, but this is not always true. The caller should then declare who really has the hat, and then the caller starts a new "round." The caller can change the order in which he passes it, and to make it more confusing, he can even pass it to himself, non-players, or inanimate objects.
➔ (The secret is that the first person who talks after the question "Who has the hat?" is told that he/she has the hat.) This one can really make people confused, but someone will probably catch on eventually.
Twenty Questions
How to play:
➔ Have a person mention whether she is a person, place or thing. The others ask the person 20 different questions. The person can only answer by saying yes or no. Whoever guesses correctly gets to be the next to choose what to guess.
The Metro Game
How to play:
➔ Using the free morning Metro paper, find articles and headlines in the paper and ask the group answer questions about them. First one to answer correctly wins.
➔ Make sure you stock up on free papers on your way into work that morning.
The Name Game
How to play:
➔ See the ‘Name Game Grid’ resource. Print out and keep stocked on the mini bus.
➔ Adapt and leave categories blank so the group can choose their own.
Lateral Thinking Puzzles
How to play:
➔ See the ‘lateral thinking puzzles’ resource sheet. Great riddles to give the brain a healthy work out.
Reading Material
➔ Make reading material available on the bus: free Metros and magazines that are young person friendly.