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Discover what this means

Gridlocked people

First suggested by 22nd Bromley Scout Troop
Work together while you’re distanced to crack this life-size people puzzle.

Back to Activities

You’ll need

  • Hoops, cones or other markers

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

 

Play the game

  1. The person leading the game should lay out nine hula hoops in a three by three grid on the ground. 
  2. This game works for eight players. If you have more people, they’ll have to take it in turns to swap in and can shout encouragement from the sidelines. If you have sixteen people or more, you could set up two grids to play at the same time.
  3. Eight people should move onto the grid and stand in a hoop. There should be one empty spot left in the grid. To start off with, make sure this space is in a corner.
  4. The person leading the game should choose a player standing in a corner.
  5. Explain that the first challenge is to move this player into the empty space while following the rules: only one person can move at a time and people can only move if they're next to (not diagonally across from) the empty space. 
  6. Everyone should work together to move one by one until the chosen player's in the correct corner. 
  7. The person leading the activity should set a new challenge. For example, moving an entire row of people from one side to the other and keeping them in the right order, rearranging everyone in order of height or age, or numbering people and asking them to get in order. 

Reflection

This activity needed everyone to play their part in solving a problem. How did people work together to move around? People could think about how they waited their turn or let someone else move before them. Did people always agree on the best way to solve the problem? How did people decide what to do? Maybe they learned from their first challenge or tried a few different techniques. 

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

  • Make the game more difficult by asking everyone to complete a challenge without speaking.
  • If you have enough people, you could try making a four by four grid with 16 hoops (and 15 players). 

You could use chairs instead of hula hoops to mark the places if anyone finds it difficult standing for a long time. Make sure people wash their hands before and after playing. Pick challenges that work for everyone – if anyone finds numbers tricky, avoid number-based challenges, for example.  

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts Teamwork Challenge Award