Happy Thanksgiving! Take time to give thanks to God for all you have been blessed with. Most of us, even on our worst day, have far more than the rest of this world. After you are done giving thanks, take a moment to read the rest of this blog and check out some of our archive of games before the tryptophan kicks in!
If you are new to my blog (and you all are at this point!), I will be sharing a gaming tip every Thursday. It may be tempting to look past this, but I highly recommend taking two minutes to read the post. If you are the Student/Youth Pastor, you may find this as a helpful resource to pass on to leaders who assist or run the games for your ministry.
In 15+ years of working with students, I have come to realize a few things that will help ensure that your games become a hit. There’s nothing more disappointing than getting a bunch of people excited for a game, only to see it fizzle before your eyes. To make sure that doesn’t happen to you, I will share the first of my 7 Golden Rules of Gaming.
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!
My High School math teacher always yelled at us because we over complicated problems. He would then write “KISS” on the chalkboard and then tell us to “KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID”. The same rule needs to be held for group games as well.
Every time I break this rule, I regret it. I can’t tell you how often I am tempted to over complicate games with long-winded explanations that require the participants and audience to listen for extended periods of time. Sure, in my mind, the game seems amazing, but if a game can’t be executed, what good does it do?
As a rule of thumb, most games should not take longer than 20 seconds to explain (shorter is better!), and they should be clearly communicated to the group playing, and audience as well. I find that a brief illustration works best if at all possible.
Keep in mind, the participants aren’t there to listen to the rules, they are there to play the game!
So there it is, our first Thursday Tip of the Day. Get more great games and tips by subscribing to our blog, liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter @stumingames!
