"Ice Floe" Games

A simple seasonal variant on "Musical Chairs."

EQUIPMENT : sheets of newspaper - one fewer than the number of people playing the game. Music - something suitably wintry or Christmassy, either live (eg. a pianist) or on tape / CD, plus the means to play it.

You need at least two people to supervise and preferably more, one to take charge of the music and one to supervise the game.

Spread the sheets of paper, opened out, all round the floor , as widely spaced as possible. Play as in any other "musical chairs / mats" game : the players move round to the music while it is playing; when it stops they must stand on the nearest sheet of newspaper (only one "penguin" per "ice floe!") The person without an ice floe is out and can help referee, especially in the later stages of the game.

When the music starts again, remove one sheet and then everyone has to fold or tear their sheet of paper in half and lay it out flat again, then continue as before, the "ice floes" shrinking and the numbers decreasing each round. As the "floes" get smaller and smaller, be very strict - any penguin which falls off its ice floe before the music restarts is also out (remove an extra sheet for each person out.)

The winner, obviously, is the last one left on an ice-floe!

A team ice-floe game :

Again, issue newspaper "ice floes, " this time one per patrol or six. At a given signal, all members of the patrol have to stand on the sheet of paper. (Easy at first!)

Fold the paper in half and again, everyone has to stand on it.

Continue, folding the paper in half each time - as it gets smaller, it becomes more difficult but to succeed, every member of the patrol / six must be on the sheet. If someone falls off or touches the floor when they are supposed to be on the "ice floe" the whole patrol / six is out.

The winning team is the one who can get all their patrol / six on the smallest ice-floe (it is physically impossible to fold a piece of paper more than seven times, but don't worry, they'll be out long before then!)