Wizz Bang

1. Form a circle, including yourself, with people standing close to their neighbours.
2. Your group’s goal is to pass an imaginary impulse around the group as fast and as accurately as possible.
3. To start, flick your hand rapidly in front of you as you say “WIZZ” causing the impulse to travel to your left (or right) neighbour.
4. Upon receiving a ‘Wizz,’ an individual has two options:
   – Flick their hand and call ‘WIZZ’ allowing the impulse to travel in the same direction; or
   – Thrust their forearm vertically in front of themselves and say “BANG” causing the impulse to reverse direction.
5. Once started, the imaginary impulse will travel in both directions around the circle.
6. After 30 seconds has elapsed, introduce one and eventually both of the following pairs of gestures into the game:
   – VROOM: sends the impulse anywhere in the circle by rapidly extending one’s arms towards the direction of a random person in the circle and saying “VROOM.” Must receive an ‘Ahhhh’ in response.
   – AHHHH: receives a ‘Vroom’ by holding one’s arms and hands as if catching an object, and then quickly nursing the imaginary impulse into their chest, and saying “AHHHH.”
   – SHOOT: sends the impulse anywhere in the circle as if it was a basketball, holding one’s arms up high, flicking their fingers forward and shooting for a goal, saying “SHOOT.” Must receive a ‘Kerplunk’ in response.
   – KERPLUNK: receives the ‘Shoot’ by forming a ring with one’s arms, and upon watching the imaginary impulse swish through, calls out “KERPLUNK.”
7. Upon completing an ‘Ahhhh’ or a ‘Kerplunk’ an individual may ‘Wizz,’ ‘Vroom’ or ‘Shoot.’
8. Continue playing until your group’s interest is piqued.

Form a stand-up circle, including yourself, with people standing within arm’s reach of their neighbours.

Announce that you would like to pass an imaginary impulse around the group, but there are only a limited number of ways in which it can be passed.

Start by introducing a ‘Wizz,’ which is demonstrated by flicking one’s open hand as if shooing something away in front of yourself, and saying the word “WIZZ.”

Explain that there are only two directions a ‘Wizz’ can travel – to the left or right of the person ‘Wizzing.’ To move the impulse to the right, one must wizz with their left hand, and vice versa.

When a person receives the wizzed impulse, they can choose to ‘Wizz’ it in the same direction, or introduce ‘Bang’ which effectively prevents the impulse from travelling any further in that direction, and causes it to travel in reverse. To ‘Bang,’ a person will thrust their forearm vertically in front of themselves as if impeding the traffic of the impulse, and say “BANG.”

Note, the correct arm to ‘Bang’ is the arm furthest (or opposite) the place from which the ‘Wizz’ travelled, or that which will have its palm facing the oncoming ‘Wizz.’

Allow this action to settle in for a moment. Sounds of “WIZZ, WIZZ, WIZZ, WIZZ, BANG, WIZZ, WIZZ, BANG, WIZZ, BANG” etc are what you can expect.

The options for sound and movement are endless, but here are two more sets of paired gestures for you to try. Introduce one set at a time, and play until your group’s interest is piqued.

• VROOM – a person who receives the impulse may alter its path completely and send it anywhere in the circle, simply by looking at a random person across the other side of the circle and then extending one’s arms in their direction and saying “VROOOOOOMMMMM.” Explain that a ‘Vroom’ must receive an ‘Ahhhh’ in response.
• AHHHH – to receive a ‘Vroom’ a person holds their hands and arms up graciously as if catching an object, and then quickly nurses the imaginary impulse gently into their chest. All of which compels the receiver to sigh heavily with an “AHHHHH,” and then choose how they would like to send the impulse on its way again.
• SHOOT – upon receiving the impulse, this person will hold it up as if it was a basketball, flick their fingers forward and ‘Shoot’ for a goal, all the while looking in the direction of a random person (the ‘Kerplunker’) across the other side of the circle. Explain that a ”Shoot” must receive an ”Kerplunk” in response.
• KERPLUNK – the receiving end of the ‘Shoot,’ this person forms a ring with their arms, and upon watching the imaginary impulse swish through, calls out “KERPLUNK.” The impulse is now ready to travel again.

Note that upon completion of an ‘Ahhhh’ or a ‘Kerplunk’ an individual may ‘Wizz,’ ‘Vroom’ or ‘Shoot.’

Integrating all of these motions together, your game may sound like this – “WIZZ, WIZZ, WIZZ, BANG, WIZZ, BANG, WIZZZ, VROOM, AHHHH, WIZZ, WIZZ, BANG, SHOOT, KERPLUNK, VROOM, AHHHH, WIZZ…”

It is entirely possible to enjoy this activity sitting down or in chairs, but it just seems more fun standing up.

This is a classic example of FUNN at work. There is little if any obvious intrinsic value to be found in the exercise of this game. But… when presented with enthusiasm, and energy, most groups will be more than willing to play. And this is where the value lies.

Naturally, your circle needs to be a circle-circle, not a square-circle, or another shape that makes it difficult for each person to see others clearly.

You could integrate Wizz Bang 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
• Taking Initiative
• Use Planning & Organisational Skills

Relationship Skills

• Communicate & Listen Effectively
• Seeking and/or Offering Support
• Build Positive Relationships
• Work Collaboratively
• Showing Leadership

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 nonsensical game and a good laugh.

If you can think of more explicit ways in which Wizz Bang could be purposefully integrated into a health and wellness program, please leave a comment at the base of this page.

• Inventive Passes: Create your own methods of motion, or invite your group to invent a series of interesting gestures and sounds.
• Multiple Impulses: Ideal for larger groups, introduce two or more ‘impulses’ for the group to pass simultaneously.
• Championship Rounds: Introduce the game as an elimination, whereby anyone making a mistake or taking too long to respond is ‘outta the game.’
• Animal Impulses: Take a look at Ah So Ko and King Frog to play two more infectiously funny, impulse-passing games.

A person with a vivid imagination can see anything before their eyes. If you watch an actor or even a mime artist, their gestures and belief in the object is so strong, it is possible for the audience to begin to ‘see’ the object as well. Well, in this game, I’d like to introduce an imaginary object around the circle…

We all know that a fast game is a good game, and this next game relies heavily on that principle. All you have to do is pass an imaginary object around and within the circle…

Coupled with one or more reflection strategies, here are some sample questions you could use to process your group’s experience after playing this nonsensical, energising fun game:

• Was the game fun? Why or why not?
• What was the hardest part of the exercise?
• Did you ever make a mistake? On these occasions, what did you say to yourself?
• What skills were required to pass the impulse quickly and accurately?

Fun Large Group ‘Evening’ Session

What You Need:
10+ people, 60 mins, Mr & Mrs Wright story (Print+Play), pens & paper, roll of masking tape

• Wizz Bang – fun, nonsensical circle game
• Mr & Mrs Wright – energetic story game which involves everybody
• Evolution – innovative elimination game involving ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’
• Pruie? – addictively fun, blindfold exercise, ideal for large groups
• Pictionary – one of the most successful large group activities I know
• Sticky Beak – rapid elimination-style game that will end your night on a high