Fox and the hound!

Name:
Fox and the squirrel
Stuck in the middle
Squeezed

Recommended number of Participants:
min 10 - max 25

Required material:
2 foam balls of the same color
1 foam ball of an alternate color. The foam squares work very well for this game 

Overview:

This game is a great indoor activity on a rainy day when the children have lots of energy, but you don't have a large area. The children sit in a circle and move the foam balls around, working together and against each other at the same time. A quick paced fun game that only gets better the more time the kids play.

Objective:
The objective is to trap the fox between the two hounds. The hounds can roll across the circle and go to where ever they wish. The fox can only be handed to the person on your left or right. If the fox has a hound on either side of him and can't go left or right, then the fox is out for that round.

Rules:

• Children sit in a circle
• The single foam ball or square (the fox) is only allowed to be passed left or right in the circle.
• The two similar foam balls (the hounds) may be rolled across the ground to anyone in the circle.
• If the two hounds are end on either side of the fox, the fox is trapped and is out.
• The game continues until their is only three people left.
• Those three people get to start the next game with a hound or fox.

Basic Instructions and things of note:  

1. This game is good for children between 5 and 12 years of age. It is a fast paced game that requires them to think.
2. The story sells the game. Start the game by telling the children a story about a mean fox that was not being kind to the forest creatures, so the creatures called upon the hounds to find him and make him leave the forest until he was nice to everyone. *Any variation of the story works that is age appropriate and gets the kid's excited.
3. Remind the children to roll the hounds, as there is no such thing as a flying dog. This will help keep the game under control and relatively calm.
4. Start the fox first and allow the children to move him left or right to learn the concept. Introduce the hounds one at a time, so the children can learn the different movements. 
5. As the children start to learn the movements of the different balls you will see them start to work together to trap the fox.
6. Make sure that they are not isolating any individual to be out (you don't see this normally in the younger children, however it becomes more common in older kids.)

This game idea if for informational purposes only and should be played with all safety considerations possible. A game is not fun if someone gets hurt.

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