The Shrinking Island
The whole group must fit on a fabric "island" that gets folded smaller every round. Nobody is knocked out - the whole group survives or nobody does.
- Age
- 6–16 yrs
- Players
- 6–30
- Duration
- 15–25 min
- Setting
- Indoors · Outdoors
- Equipment
- Equipment needed
- Prep
- 2 min
- Energy
- Medium
A cooperative alternative to musical chairs: instead of knocking people out each round, the challenge is to keep the whole group in. Expect lots of laughter, closeness and conversations about how we organise ourselves.
Step by step
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Spread the fabric on the ground and tell the story - the group was shipwrecked on an island, but the tide is rising and the island keeps getting smaller.
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While the music plays (or the counselor counts to 20), the group walks around the island. When it stops, everyone must get onto the fabric with no foot touching the ground for 5 seconds.
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If they succeed, the counselor folds the fabric in half and you go again. If anyone touches the ground, the group retries with the same island (nobody is out).
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Before each round, give the group 30 seconds to plan how they'll fit.
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Stop when the island is so small the group decides it can't go further, or after 6–7 rounds.
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Debrief - whose idea worked? Was everyone listened to? How did we look after each other?
Variations & adaptations
Newspaper version
Everyone starts with one sheet of newspaper. Each round sheets are removed and the group has to share what's left.
Silent mode
From round three, no talking allowed. Gestures only.
Inclusion
Replace "get onto the island" with "touch the island with any part of your body", so wheelchair users or players with balance difficulties can take part.
