Play a game of Race for the Promise
You’ll need
- Scissors
- Sticky tape
Before you begin
- Print and cut out the ‘Actions dice’ template. You’ll need two, one for each team. The teams will use their die to decide now to move – it’s up you whether you use our suggestions, add your own ideas, or let the players create their own.
- Use tape to put the dice together so they’re cubes.
- Print out the relevant Promise (and Law, if there is one) from the ‘Promise pieces’ sheet. You’ll need a copy for each team. Cut the Promise (and Law) along the dotted lines to make strips, and shuffle them well.
- You may want to use cones (or chalk) to make a start line.
Go through the Promise
- Everyone should split into two teams.
- Each team should line up at one end of the meeting place. The person leading the game should put one set of Promise pieces opposite each team, at the other end of the meeting place.
- The person leading the game should count down from three, and say ‘go’.
- The first player in each team should roll their team’s die. They should look and see how the die tells them to travel.
- The first player should travel to their Promise pieces as the die told them to.
- When the player reaches the Promise pieces, they should collect one. They should return it to their team, still travelling as the die told them to.
- When the player arrives back at their team, the next person should repeat steps four to seven, rolling the die, travelling, collecting a piece, and coming back.
- Once a team has collected all of their Promise pieces, they should work together to get them in the right order.
- The first team to get all of their Promise pieces in the right order is the winner.
Reflection
This activity helped everyone learn and remember the Scout Promise, and maybe the Law too. The Promise is a really important part of being a Scout. Can anyone think of another example of people sharing beliefs or agreeing to all do the same things? People should share their ideas – people might have thought about people who have a faith sharing beliefs and values, or all the people in a country following its laws. How can Scouts help each other to live by their Promise (and Law)?
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.
- Scissors
Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
If you have both a Promise and a Law, it’s up to you whether you keep the pieces separate or mix them for an extra challenge.
You could give each team a different version of the Promise, then have a chat about why there are different versions.
Make sure all of the ways of travelling are suitable for everyone – you can use the blank die template to make changes to suit players’ needs. People can work in pairs for their turn if that works better for them. Make sure everyone can pick up the Promise pieces – you could stick them onto bigger objects that will be easier to pick up, or an adult could hand people a piece when they reach the other end.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
You could use this activity to help people learn their Promise as part of their Membership Award. You could also use this activity to explore the Promise (or Law) for Scouts in other countries – this could count towards an International Bade, the My World Challenge Award, or the Our World Challenge Award.
Young people could choose their own ways of travelling for the die. To keep it fair, it might be best to keep both teams’ dice the same.