Hobby-go-round
A hobby can be anything from knitting to visiting castles, painting to dancing. It doesn’t have to be a sport or a craft. If everyone’s looking for a hobby to take up, try playing this game to get and give some inspiration.
- Everyone should sit in a circle.
- Going around the circle, everyone should take it in turns to name hobbies beginning with each letter of the alphabet in order (A: abseiling, B: baking, C: crochet, D: drawing). If anyone gets stuck, the person leading the game could give them a clue for an answer, or they could just say pass.
- Once you’ve named 26 possible hobbies, the person leading the game should ask everyone if they’ve tried (or would like to try) any of the mentioned hobbies. Are there any they’d never heard of?
~A~
- Acrobatics
- Acting
- Air sports
- Aircraft spotting
- Airsoft
- Amateur astronomy
- Amateur radio
- American football
- Animation
- Antiquities
- Aquascaping
- Archery
- Association football
- Astrology
- Auto racing
- Axe throwing
~B~
- Badminton
- Baking
- BASE jumping
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Baton twirling
- Beachcombing
- Beach volleyball
- Beatboxing
- Beekeeping
- Billiards
- Birdwatching
- Blacksmithing
- BMX
- Board sports
- Board games
- Book restoration
- Bowling
- Boxing
- Breakdancing
- Bridge
- Bus spotting
- Butterfly watching
~C~
- Calligraphy
- Camping
- Candle making
- Canoeing
- Canyoning
- Cheerleading
- Chess
- Climbing
- Collecting
- Colouring
- Computer programming
- Cooking
- Creative writing
- Cricket
- Crocheting
- Cross-stitch
- Crossword puzzles
- Cryptography
- Curling
- Cycling
~D~
- Dance
- Dancing
- Darts
- Debate
- Disc golf
- Drama
- Drawing
~E~
- Electronics
- Embroidery
- Equestrianism
- ESports
~F~
- Fashion
- Fencing
- Field hockey
- Figure skating
- Fishing
- Fishkeeping
- Flag football
- Flower arranging
- Flower collecting and pressing
- Flying
- Flying disc
- Foraging
- Foreign language learning
- Fossil hunting
- Freestyle football
~G~
- Gaming
- Gardening
- Genealogy
- Geocaching
- Glassblowing
- Gold prospecting
- Golfing
- Gongoozling
- Graffiti
- Graphic design
- Gymnastics
~H~
- Handball
- Herb keeping
- Hiking
- Hooping
- Horseback riding
- Hydroponics
~H~
- Ice hockey
- Ice skating
- Inline skating
- Insect collecting
~J~
- Jewellery making
- Jigsaw puzzles
- Jogging
- Judo
- Juggling
~K~
- Karate
- Kart racing
- Kayaking
- Kite flying
- Kitesurfing
- Knife throwing
- Knitting
~L~
- Lace making
- Lacrosse
- Lapidary
- LARPing
- Laser tag
- Leather crafting
- Lego building
- Listening to music
- Longboarding
~M~
- Machining
- Magic
- Magnet fishing
- Mahjong
- Marbles
- Marching band
- Martial arts
- Meditation
- Metal detecting
- Metalworking
- Meteorology
- Microscopy
- Mineral collecting
- Model aircraft
- Model building
- Model engineering
- Motor sports
- Mountain biking
- Mountaineering
- Mushroom hunting (Mycology)
~N~
- Needlepoint
- Netball
- Nordic skating
~O~
- Orienteering
- Origami
~P~
- Paintball
- Painting
- Parkour
- Philately
- Photography
- Playing musical instruments
- Polo
- Pottery
- Powerlifting
- Puzzles
~Q~
- Quilling
- Quilting
~R~
- Racquetball
- Radio-controlled car racing
- Rafting
- Rappelling
- Reading
- Road biking
- Robot making
- Rock balancing
- Rock climbing
- Roller derby
- Roller skating
- Rugby
- Rugby league football
- Running
~S~
- Sailing
- Sand art
- Satellite watching
- Scrapbooking
- Scuba diving
- Sculling or rowing
- Sculpting
- Sewing
- Shogi
- Shooting sport
- Shopping
- Shortwave listening
- Singing
- Skateboarding
- Sketching
- Skiing
- Skimboarding
- Skydiving
- Slacklining
- Slot car racing
- Snowboarding
- Soapmaking
- Soccer
- Softball
- Speed skating
- Speedcubing
- Sport stacking
- Squash
- Stand-up comedy
- Stone collecting
- Stone skipping
- Surfing
- Surfing
- Swimming
~T~
- Table football
- Table tennis
- Taekwondo
- Tai chi
- Tennis
- Topiary
- Tour skating
- Trainspotting
- Travel
- Traveling
- Triathlon
~U~
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Urban exploration
~V~
- Vacation
- Vehicle restoration
- Video editing
- Video gaming
- Videophilia
- Volleyball
~W~
- Walking
- Watching movies
- Water polo
- Water sports
- Weightlifting
- Whale watching
- Whittling
- Wood carving
- Woodworking
- Worldbuilding
- Wrestling
- Writing
~X~
~Y~
- Yoga
- Yo-yoing
~Z~
Reflection
Trying out a hobby is a great way to try new things. There’s no such thing as being 'good' or 'bad' at a hobby because it’s just about enjoying it and having fun. What do you think you could do if you’ve given a hobby a chance, but you’re still not enjoying it (talk to someone about it, try something else)? Are there any new hobbies you’d like to try? How does it feel to try new things?
Hobbies can also help to improve our wellbeing. What do you do that makes you feel happy? When do you feel like you’re doing something worthwhile? Why do you think people (including grown ups) like to spend their time doing hobbies?
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.
Write down different hobbies on scraps of paper and see if you can sort them into an order or some categories.
Make it accessible
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
