Zip Zap Boing

Materials

• None

How to play

1. Form a circle, choose a starting player and begin clockwise. On your turn, choose one of three words to pass the signal onwards.
2. “Zip” sends it to your immediate neighbour in the current direction. Indicate them with an open palm; they choose the next signal.
3. “Zap” reverses direction. Send it back to the neighbour it just came from. Continue in this new direction.
4. “Boing” skips one person in the current direction and sends the turn to the next. The skipped player stays still. Direction remains unchanged.
5. After a mistake, pause, identify the intended receiver and restart with the player who made it. Twenty consecutive correct passes are a shared success. Change starting players and try again.

Ways to adapt

Younger primary: begin with Zip and Zap only. You can use the words “next”, “reverse” and “skip” in a familiar language instead. Play seated if preferred.

Sources and references

• Scout Adventures Managing groups outdoors p.2 Zip, zap, boing! ↗