Having formed a circle, your next task is to invite your group to mimic a series of three unique physical gestures, all of which involve extending two fingers (middle and pointer) on one of your hands in one of three places:
- Above one’s eyes (eyebrows;)
- Above one’s mouth / below the nose (moustache;) and
- Under one’s chin / on neck (bowtie.)
Practice these gestures a couple of times by calling each one randomly in a row, eg “MOUSTACHE. EYEBROWS. MOUSTACHE. EYEBROWS. BOWTIE…” You get the idea.
Next, announce that you want to establish a particular rhythm that will punctuate each of these three gestures. Any beat will do, but I have found this to be the most simple to teach and perform – slap thighs x 2, clap x 2, slap thighs x 2 and then show (any) one of the three gestures.
For example, it will sound and look like this – SLAP, SLAP, CLAP, CLAP, SLAP, SLAP, [gesture.]
Practice this rhythm a few times by immediately resuming your beat as soon as one of the gestures has been performed. When you feel that your group has got it, you are ready to move on.
It’s now time to explain the purpose of the two-finger gesture.
Announce that as the beat progresses, each time the group performs the two-finger gesture, every person who reveals the exact same gesture as you (let’s call you ‘It’) will be eliminated and invited to take a big step out of the circle.
This means if you happen to show a moustache, every other person in the circle who also reveals a moustache is out of the game.
As soon as possible, you will resume the beat encouraging your group to keep up and mimic the beat with you. In quick time, you will have (randomly) performed another of the three gestures and once again, everyone who happens to match your gesture will be eliminated from the game.
If it’s not already clear, the ultimate objective for each person is to stay in the game for as long as possible.
Play a couple of dummy rounds before playing for real, ie all those who match your gesture will now be eliminated. ie asked to step out of the circle. My advice is to start with a slow beat and as your group becomes more familiar with it, pick up the pace.
On average each round will eliminate about one-third of your group, so it won’t take long to get down to the last couple of people. Play continues until everyone is out of the game.
Introduce several rounds, or invite a new person to be ‘It’ or try something new from the Variations tab.
As they say, a fast game is a good game. As your group becomes more familiar with the rhythm and the process, the beat can be maintained almost without stopping, ie those who are eliminated simply pull out of the circle as the game (and beat) continues.
Some people feel pretty strongly about not using elimination games in their repertoire. While I do understand their concern, if you’re not sure what the pro’s and con’s are of eliminating folks from a game, take a look at Episode 29 of the Facilitator Tips video series for some helpful advice.
Beware the boredom factor when people have nothing to do after they have been eliminated and await a new round to begin. If necessary, consider introducing the role of a heckler (see Ah So Ko for a useful description of this role.)
Take the time to help players figure out what parts of the instructions are getting in the way of them being successful.
Take time to practice slowly if the participants feel that this would be helpful.
You could integrate Match & Out as part of a well-designed SEL program to promote and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse people.
Specifically, this activity offers opportunities to explore and practice the following social & interpersonal skills:
Self-Awareness
- Demonstrating Self-Confidence, Honesty & Integrity
- Experiencing Self-Efficacy
Self-Management
- Demonstrating Self-Discipline & Self-Motivation
- Setting Personal & Group Goals
- Use Planning & Organisational Skills
Relationship Skills
- Communicate & Listen Effectively
- Build Positive Relationships
- Work Collaboratively
Responsible Decision-Making
- Demonstrating Curiosity & Open-Mindedness
- Making Reasoned Judgements
- Anticipating & Evaluating the Consequences of One’s Actions
- Promoting Personal & Collective Well-Being
You can learn more about SEL and how it can support character education here.
There is no specific health & wellness perspective to this activity other than promoting the benefits to one’s well-being of enjoying a fun game.
In a small way, you could argue that the motivation required to keep playing when, perhaps, one is frequently eliminated may speak to the resilient characteristics of a person, but this would not be considered the primary purpose of this game.
If you can think of more explicit ways in which Match & Out could be purposefully integrated into a health and wellness program, please leave a comment at the base of this page.
Zoom Alternative: Teach the players the movements and add that there are two positions, 1) standing, and 2) sitting. Have players go to gallery view. Have players identify and keep to themselves (maybe even write down the name of) another player who they want to “match” at the end of a seven minute game. Now, have players choose a player to watch for play. This can be the same player as their “match,” another player, or can change players between rounds. Start play, *pat pat, clap clap, tap tap, ‘Throw’* If the movement you are displaying is the same as the person you were watching you will switch positions (from standing to sitting or sitting to standing) and then be ready to and continue to play the next rounds. At the end of seven minutes worth of rounds, look to the person you were trying to “match.” If your position (standing or sitting) matches that person, you can award yourself five self esteem points. if your position does not match, you can award yourself five self esteem points! way to go!