There are loads of different games played in Scouts. It is impossible to remember the rules for them all. However, there are plenty of websites out there with rules for games and variations of them. If there is one that you find you want to play, you can always suggest it.

These resources can be extremely valuable if you are organising a Troop night or camp.

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Types of games

The first thing to think about when choosing a game is what type it will be. This will depend on:

• The environment you are in. Are you indoors or outdoors? Is it night-time or daytime?
• The weather.
• The number of people playing.
• The equipment you have at your disposal.
• The available set up time.
• What you want to achieve. Is it going to be something exciting and on an individual basis or a team based strategy game.

The main types of games can be generally catagorised as:

• Ball Games - Obvious what these are!
• Memory Games - Ones that require you to remember something in order to win.
• Obstacle Courses - You have to fight your way through a course with a number number of obstacles, either as a race or a challenge.
• Pencil and Paper Games - Simple games that are done on paper, which means that they are easy to set up and transport.
• Races & Relays - Just like they sound, but can have a lot of variations such as, being suspended in the air, blindfolded, going backwards, etc.
• Strategy Games - Games which require thinking rather than going gung-ho.
• Water Games - Games that require water in some way or another.
• Wide Games - Many peoples favourate. Games that are normally outdoor, over a wide area and often at night.
• Construction Challenges - A Longham tradition. You have to build something to compete with. It normally involves an egg!
• Extreme Duration Games - A recent Longham conception. A game that normally takes place on a camp that lasts a very long time. It can be anything from 12 hours to a few days in length! This includes the new 'Robber Game'.  See the Top Secret section for more about this sort of game.

Finding rules and ideas for games

There are lots of places to find game rules and ideas. These can include:

• Friends and fellow Scouts.
• Your PL - they will have played many before.
• A leader - they have organised many before.
• Your own imagination.
• Game books.
• The internet.

Here are some places on the internet that have a huge list of games and their rules:

• Scoutbase Games Database
• The Games Compendium
• CHSScout Games Collection
• Inquiry.net Games
• 4th Tyldesley Scouts Games

We hope to get some of our own games on here soon. If you have any rules you wish to submit, please send them to us!