Games (Video): Elves, Wizards & Giants

Dick Moss, Editor, Physical Education Update

Your students will love this tag game. It's a Rock, Paper, Scissors variation using fitness actions instead of hand signals.

Setup
Divide your class into two teams and have them stand facing each other across a line in your gym or playing field.

The game will be played like of Rock, Paper, Scissors, but using Elves, Wizards, and Giants instead. Here's how it works:

The Giants will stomp the wizards using an exaggerated high knee stomping action.
The Wizards zap the elves by spinning in a circle and casting a spell on them.
The Elves knock out the giants by jumping high in the air and tapping them with their staff.

To summarize the actions:

Stomping beats spinning.
Spinning beats jumping.
Jumping beats stomping.

How to Play
The teams huddle up and decide which character they'll be and which action they'll perform: Giants (stomping), Elves (jumping), or Wizards (spinning).

The two teams then face each other across the line and, on the count of three, perform their action.

As soon as the teacher declares a winner, that team has 10 seconds to tag as many players from the losing team as possible. Players who were tagged go to the winning team's side of the line. Then another round of play begins.

The first team to get everyone on their side of the line wins the game. As in and Rock, Paper, Scissors, if both teams perform the same action, they are tied, so must immediately begin another round.

To see a demonstration of Elves, Wizards, Giants,
play the following video:

Reference: Active Games: Elves, Wizards, Giants, Camp Resources.co.uk Website, 2006. http://www.campresources.co.uk/activities/Active-Games/57.html

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