Play Command The Castle

You’ll need

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.

Use cones, hoops or markers for half your group and place them in the middle of the space.
Make sure to have a device to play music prepared, with young person-friendly and appropriate music and songs. Take a look at our music licensing guidance.

Gather everyone together and tell them they’re going to play ‘Command the Castle’.
Ask half the group to stand on a cone, hoop or marker each. They should be stood in the middle of the space.
Explain to everyone that they’re the ‘Kings’ or ‘Queens’.
Ask everyone else to spread themselves out around the space.
Explain to everyone that the aim of the game is to be a ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ at the end of the game.
To become a King or Queen, when the music starts, the people not on a marker need to circle around the kings, just like a moat around a castle.
When the music stops, everyone in the moat challenges a ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ with rock, paper, scissors.
If the ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ wins they stay in the castle.
However, if the challenger wins, they become the ‘King’ or ‘Queen’.
Start the music and play the game.
Repeat this until everyone has had a chance at becoming a ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ of the castle.

This game gave everyone the opportunity to have fun and learn to not give up, while also trying to become the ‘King’ or ‘Queen’ of the castle.

Has anyone played this game before? Did you have fun? Was it easy or hard? What did you enjoy most? Did anyone have any special techniques?

You had to persevere if you weren’t becoming a ‘King’ or ‘Queen’. How did you motivate yourself or someone else to keep trying?

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.
Electrical equipment: Inspect cables for any damage before each use. A responsible adult should supervise people using equipment, and people should follow instructions on how to use them correctly and safely. They should be properly maintained and stored. Be extra cautious of trailing cables and water when using electric equipment.