Everybody needs to be sitting down in a circle, positioned so that they can see everybody else from where they sit. Then, invite each person to think of a unique action and sound which mimics an animal.
For example, someone may choose to be a gorilla by beating their pumped-up chest vigorously with their clenched fists, and making gorilla-like noises. Or, flapping their arms like a bird and tweeting.
After a little thinking time, introduce yourself as ‘King Frog’ or ‘Queen Frog’ as the case may be. The action can be up to you, but try moving one palm swiftly across the palm of your other hand away from you to give the impression that the frog has jumped off his/her lily pad.
Allow your group an opportunity to repeat your actions before continuing around the circle to learn all of the other animal actions and sounds, one at a time. Ensure that all actions are unique, ie it’s OK to have three types of birds, as long as they all have distinct gestures and sounds.
Explain that each round will start with King Frog. That person (you, to begin) will perform their gesture and sound, and then, perform the gesture and sound of another animal in the group. This is a signal to this next ‘animal’ that it is their turn.
They must respond by quickly doing their action and follow it with the actions of another animal, and so on.
A slow start will help people get the idea of what is going on. Then the pace, and the fun, will pick up. But wait, there is more…
If someone is too slow, or mucks up the actions, performs them in the wrong sequence, or forgets to make the appropriate sound, everything stops. This person is obliged to leave their seat, and sit to the left of King Frog in the circle.
This causes everyone sitting between King Frog and this person, to move along one seat (clockwise direction) to fill the gaps.
Now, get ready for the clincher – the animal does not move with the person – the actions and sounds belong to the seat.
So when a person sits in a new seat, they will assume the actions and sounds of the animal belonging to that seat (which is likely new to them.) Oh, I can hear the groans from here!
The object of the game is to move steadily around the circle until you arrive in the royal throne, King Frog’s seat. Only then, do you have control.
So, each time King Frog makes a mistake (that’s a hint,) everyone moves one seat to their left and closer to the throne. Hooray!
This has got to be one of my all-time favourite games, appearing somewhere in my top-sixty activities!
Sitting is suggested, only because your group may be standing in a circle for a long while. By all means, invite people to create an animal gesture that involves some form of movement, eg standing up to represent a tall giraffe. Attracting a wide variety of gestures and movements will make the game even more fun to play.
King Frog works best with groups of up to 20 players – any more, and it gets difficult to remember all of the animals. So, if you have a large group, divide into smaller groups of 10 to 15 people.
You could just invite people to create a gesture to match their animal, but it is MUCH more fun when you require a sound to accompany it.
Strictly speaking, King Frog may resume play at any time they wish, ie moments after people have sat down in their new seat (which is typically characterised by a lot of “What animal sits here?”) This would be ruthless play, and even more reason for the group to gang-up on him/her, by constantly initiating King Frog’s gesture.
In the beginning, encourage the group to be a little lenient on slow responses. But with each successful round, the tolerance for imperfection should diminish. As I say, a quick game’s a good game.
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What You Need: 8+ people, 60 mins
Props: two sticks or pens
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What You Need: 8+ people, 60 mins
Props: Nil
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User Reviews, Comments & Ideas...
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