There is no distinction between people when we are playing. Race, religion, gender and nationality do not matter. Therefore, the practice of physical activity is a healthy way to facilitate the inclusion and physical and psychological well-being of people in a situation of social exclusion or people at risk of social exclusion.
This article is part of a series of training sessions for professionals who work with vulnerable groups to implement Socio-Sports Meetings, a socio-educational intervention based on cooperative physical activity and service learning that promotes social inclusion and facilitates the well-being of people at risk of exclusion.
This type of intervention is usually implemented by professionals active in social work or social assistance, education, pedagogy, psychology, physical education or sports.
This training session provides five motor-skill games that are used in these Meetings. The objective of these games is for participants to do physical exercise from lower to higher intensity while having fun playing. Between three and five of these games are usually played in each session.
Socio-Sports Meetings
Socio-Sports Meetings are a socio-educational intervention model based on cooperative physical activity that has been developed at the Faculty of Education of the University of Barcelona since 1993.
During the Meetings, two groups of people practice cooperative sports activities to develop social, cognitive and emotional abilities, improve knowledge and mutual understanding based on equality and work on issues such as discrimination, racism, coexistence, interculturality and others. As a result, there is a gradually improvement in the quality of life and segregation in society is reduced.
The differentiating characteristic of this methodology is that it uses motor-skill games and cooperative challenges that leave aside the competitiveness of standard sports to promote the formation of positive bonds between the participating groups. One group is made up of people at risk of social exclusion and the other is made up of people from the society in which they live. The ‘COMMUNITY’ project brings together refugees with students and volunteers from Barcelona.
You can consult the complete structure of a Socio-Sports Meeting in the article “Example of implementation of a Socio-Sports Meeting”. If you want to experience this socio-educational intervention in person, we invite you to attend! We hold them weekly in Barcelona. Here is more information.
Group motor-skill games
The objective of group motor-skill games is for participants to do physical exercise of lesser to greater intensity while having fun playing and socialising without anyone being excluded at any time.
Here we present five of these games. Some are new, while others are traditional games redesigned to be inclusive. All types of people can play, regardless of their origin, ability or age, and they can be adapted for people with functional diversity or any other condition. The goal is to have fun and for everyone to have a good time!
1. Glances
- Type: Group game
- Material: None
- Game description:
The participants stand in a circle, with one in the middle. The objective of the people in the circle is to switch places. Each person must try to agree with another to switch places, but communication can only be done through glances.
The person in the middle should try to find a position in the circle when two people exchange places. There must be one person in the middle of the circle at all times. Places can only be swapped by people who have made an agreement through a glance. A third person cannot leave their place to take advantage of two others switching places. - Variation:
The participants form pairs and stand in a circle. One of the couples stands in the middle. The same game dynamics are followed. - Observations:
Visually mark the space of each person or couple in the circle to guarantee separation and clearly identify empty spaces. You can mark the ground with chalk or make a cross with your own foot if it is made of sand.
Tell the participants to be careful not to collide with anyone when they switch places.
2. The spell
- Type: Group game
- Material: Bibs or balls
- Game description:
There are two figures in this game: the people pursuers and the people being pursued. The pursuers wear a bib or carry a ball in their hand to identify them and they are the magical people.
When a magical person catches someone in the group, they freeze and turn them into a statue, who must stay still.
Each frozen person can represent the statue they prefer and can move again when a person who has not been caught imitates their posture precisely. - Variation:
Use other practices to free the people who have been turned into statues:
– High-fiving each other.
– Doing a dance together (in front of each other).
– Singing together.
– Greeting each other in a fun way. - Observations:
The number of pursuers must be well calibrated so that the game is dynamic and everyone enjoys participating in it. For example, for a group of 20 people it may be appropriate for between four and five to have the role of magical people. The dynamics of the game must also be observed carefully to identify when the time comes to change roles.
3. Keys
- Type: Group game
- Material: Set of keys and a chair
If you do not have a set of keys, you can use sound material (such as bells or a squeezed plastic bag). If there is no chair, the person can sit on the floor with the keys behind them or stand with the keys on the floor. - Game description:
Groups are formed with between six and eight people. A participant sits in the chair with their eyes closed and with their back to the group. The set of keys is under the chair. The rest of the group is located approximately 10 steps from the chair. Next, the story of the game is told to present it more attractively:
Grandma won’t let you out of the house and she has hidden the keys! Luckily, she always falls asleep watching television and you know that she hides her keys under the chair. You must find a way to take the keys and open the door. Be careful, because Grandma has very sharp hearing and if she hears the keys, she will wake up and know who took them!
The group must find a way to take the keys in silence and return to the starting point. The keys can be passed from one participant to another. The person playing the role of Grandma wakes up when she hears the sound of the keys and says the name of the person she thinks has them. - Variation: Pass the ball
Groups are formed with between six and eight people. One person takes on the role of guard, stands at the end of the field and begins the game with their back to the group. The rest of the group is 10 steps away from the guard and has to set a ball or any other small object at the guard’s feet without them knowing where the ball is at any time. The following story can be used to explain the variation:
You are a group of friends who want to go to the park with the ball, but there is a person always watching at the park gate to make sure that nobody enters with a ball. You must try to get the ball to the park gate.
Whenever the guard turns their back, the group can advance towards them. Before leaving the ball at the guard’s feet, each person must have carried the ball at least once.
The guard counts to eight with their back to the group. When they turn around, they can guess who has the ball. They have all the time they need to observe the group from this position, but they cannot move.
– If the person with the ball is correct, the group must return to the starting point of the game.
– If they do not get it right, the guard turns their back again and counts to eight.
Meanwhile, the group continues advancing and the ball changes hands. - Observations:
Stress the importance of being honest for the game to make sense.
4. Cooperative hoops
- Type: Group game
- Material: Hoops, ropes or chalk; stereo
- Game description:
We distribute the hoops throughout the space. The participants move freely around to the sound of the music. When the facilitator stops the music, the group must get inside the hoops in the shortest time possible. As many people can get inside each hoop as they wish. Everyone must have at least one foot inside the hoop until the music starts again. Every time the music plays again, the facilitator takes a hoop out of the game. - Variation:
Energise the participants’ movement while the music plays, giving instructions on how to move:
– Walking backwards.
– In slow motion.
– Dancing.
– Making some representation (animal, zombie, others).
– In pairs, holding hands. - Observations:
We must ensure that there is a hoop for each participant. If you do not have enough, place the maximum number possible. You can also create hoops with ropes, draw them with chalk or with your foot if the ground is sandy.
If you do not have a stereo, you can give a signal with an agreed word (“Go!”, “Get in the hoops!”, etc.), use a whistle or clap your hands. You can also replace the music with a song sung by the group.
5. Rock, paper, scissors
- Type: Group game
- Material: None
- Game description:
The participants form groups of three holding hands. The groups move through the space and when the facilitator gives a signal (“Now!”), two groups meet and play three games of rock, paper, scissors through body language.
– When the group decides to represent a rock, the three people crouch down.
– When the group wants to represent paper, the three people stand tall, stretching their arms and separating their legs.
– When the group decides to act out scissors, the two people at the ends stay standing and the person in the middle crouches down.
We must remember that paper beats rock, wrapping it, rock beats scissors, smashing them and scissors beats paper, cutting it.
When the groups have finished the three games, they move again. When the facilitators see that all the groups are moving, they will give a new signal and look for a group different from the previous one to play again.
- Variation:
Instead of starting the game by forming groups of three people, you can start with the people separated one by one. After a while, group them two by two, then three by three, and so on. - Observations:
We must know how many people are going to participate before forming the groups. If there are one or two that are unable to form a group of three, they can join other groups or form a group of two. In both cases, make it clear how the groups with more or less than three members are going to represent the three objects (rock, paper and scissors).
