Here’s a great youth group game that can be played with all your young people in teams or with just a handful of them up front – the Michelin Man Game.
Here’s how to play it:
Resources
- Balloons
- Oversized clothing
- Rulers
Preparation
Get hold of some oversized clothing from a thrift store. You’ll need at least one large top per team (either a T-shirt or sweatshirt), but also having a pair of large pants for each team will make this even funnier.
If you’ll be playing this as an up front game, blow up all the balloons in advance so that they’re about 5″ – 6″ in diameter – this part can be skipped if everyone will be playing in teams.
Teams
If you want everyone to participate, split them into equal sized teams by gender – this will hopefully reduce the risk of wandering hands.
For use as an upfront game, pick two to four teams with two or three people in each team.
Instructions
Entire Group Playing
Give each team the same number of balloons and the same items of clothing. They have to pick one person on the team to wear the clothing – it’ll work out best for them if it’s the slimmest person.
The rest of the players have to blow up the balloons so that they’re 5″ – 6″ wide – they should use the ruler to make sure they’re large enough. The person wearing the clothing then has to stuff the balloons inside their top (and pants if applicable).
Do this for about 5-10 minutes – the length of time will vary depending on how many people are blowing up the balloons and how large the clothing is.
Towards the end, the player wearing the clothes will probably need help stuffing the last few balloons in – make sure there are leaders on hand to ensure things stay appropriate.
Up Front
This version is much more fast and furious. As the balloons are already blown up, it’s simply a race to try and shove the balloons inside the clothing.
Initially the non-oversized clothes wearing players should help their teammate by passing them the balloons to stuff inside, but towards the end they’ll probably need to assist by pushing the last few balloons in.
Winner
The winning team is the one that has the most unburst balloons inside the clothes at the end. There will probably be some burst balloons along the way, so those don’t count.
Tip
Don’t forget to get photos!
Question: How would you make the Michelin Man game even better? We’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.
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