Nest raiders

You’ll need

At least one token for each player (for example, silver chocolate coins, bouncy balls, or glowsticks
A small number of more exciting versions of the tokens (for example, gold chocolate coins)
Materials to build nests (twigs and leaves, buckets, or ropes)

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

Setting up the area

Find an area with plenty of safe hiding spaces, without people leaving the agreed boundaries.
Set boundaries with your group for during the game, which you could mark out with cones or natural features, such as walls and hedges.
Remember to check the terrain and make sure the game area is free of hazards. For example, hazards could be roads, dips in the grass, steps, rocks or rivers if you’re playing outside.

Introducing the playing area

Explain the boundaries of the playing area and where the no-go zones are. Tell people how they can use the space respectfully, without disturbing the wildlife or other people enjoying the site if you're in a public space.
Tell everyone where adults will be around the site and what people should do if anyone in their team needs help. This should include setting memorable spot where an adult will always stay.
Explain the signal to stop play and how long the game will go on for. A long blast on a whistle works well as a signal to stop the game.
If playing in a public space, young people should be paired up so no young person is left alone, and they should run or move together.

Getting ready to play

Divide everyone into at least three equally sized teams.
Create a central nest, which could be a bucket or a circle made from cones or rope.
Each team needs to make a nest, which could be a bowl or bucket. Each team’s nest should be the same distance away from the central nest. The team’s nests should be equally the same distance apart from each other too.
Give every player one token. For example, you could use counters, bouncy balls or cards as tokens. They all need to be the same colour. The players should put their token into their team’s nest.
Decide on another type of token, different to the ones given to players, such as a different coloured counter or card. Place these tokens into the central nest. These more exciting tokens are worth two points each but must be collected by two people at a time.

Play the game

Before you start, the person leading the game should explain that it’s never OK to raid a real bird’s nest – it’s against the law to take anything from birds’ nests in the UK. In this game, you can pretend to be jay birds - they raid other birds’ nests and eat their eggs.
The aim of the game is to get the most tokens in your nest.
When the game starts, players should steal tokens from other teams’ nests, as well as the central nest, and bring them back to their own nest.
The person leading the game should explain all of the rules, and give teams a few minutes to discuss their tactics. Will they prioritise defending their nest, or collecting tokens? Will they try to collect the more exciting tokens?
The person leading the game should count down from three. When they reach zero, everyone can go.
Players should steal tokens from other teams’ nests (and the central nest), and put them back in their own nest. They need to stick to the rules while they do this.
A team becomes ‘out’ if their nest becomes empty, even if it’s just for a few seconds.
When there are only two teams left in play, the person leading the game should make a signal to end the game.
The winning team is the one with the most tokens in their nest.
A team is ‘out’ if their nest becomes empty, even if it’s just for a few seconds.

Rules

Explain the following rules and give teams some time to discuss their tactics, before saying ‘go!’:

No physical contact is allowed.
Players can only carry one token at a time.
Two players must work together if they want to take a more exciting token from the central nest back to their own nest.
Tokens can only be taken from a nest – not from a person carrying a token.
If a team wants to join back in when they become out, they can cause mischief by raiding other nests and return tokens to the central nest.

Reflection

This game needed you to be a team player. Did you work well with your team? Did you decide on any tactics before you started to play? Did you stick to these tactics, or did you start to do your own thing? What worked well, and what didn’t work so well? How did you communicate with each other in the middle of the game? Did you collect the more exciting looking tokens, or just focus on keeping your nest full? Did anyone take the lead? Is having a leader in this game helpful?

This game was also a fun way to be active. Did you enjoy running around? How did it make your body feel during the game – was it tiring, exciting, easy, or difficult? Did you feel motivated to keep going if you started to feel tired? Why is it important to find enjoyable ways to be active? How does your body feel now that you’ve had some time to rest and recover?

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.
Contact games and activities: Make sure everyone understands what contact is acceptable, and monitor contact throughout the activity.