Energizers

• Aims of the exercise: ice-breaker / energizer
• Group size: 4–25
• Time: 10 min
• Supplies: none

Instructions

1. The group stands in a circle. The participants pass round the circle word “Shwish” from one to the other, with the voice, the head and movement of the hands.
2. To change the action and stop the flow anyone can in her turn use the word “Bang” and make a stopping movement with their hands.
3. Third option is “Poing”, which can be tossed across to someone on the other side of the circle by movement and voice.  For example; A gives a “Shwish” to the person standing on her right and he/she (B) may change the circle’s flow by giving A back a “Bang”, so A must  “Shwish” to  the one that stands on her left (C), who passes it to her left to person D who sends a “Poing” to the other side of the circle to E who will then pass a “Shwish” to the person standing on her left, and so on.

• Aim: energizer
• Group size: 5+
• Time: 5–10 minutes
• Supplies: none

Instructions

1. The facilitator asks the participants to stand up, look at a paper sheet, imagine that they are this sheet and repeat sheet movements. The left top corner is your left hand, the right top corner – your right hand, the left lower corner – your left leg, the right lower corner – your right leg. The top of sheet – your head.
2. The facilitator moves the paper sheet while the participants repeat the movements.

• Aim: energizer
• Group size: 5–50
• Time: 15 min
• Supplies: open space

Instructions

1. The group stands in a circle. Everyone looks around and chooses someone from the group without telling anyone who that person is. This person is going to be their bomb. The facilitator must now explain, that when she says “Bomb!” everyone must get as far away from their bomb as possible. No talking!
2. After a short time the facilitator asks everyone to choose another person from the circle, but again without telling anyone who that person is. When the facilitator says “Shield!” Everyone must get away from their bomb and try to position themselves so that their shield is between them and their bomb.
3. After some time, the facilitator shouts “FREEZE!” and everyone must freeze where they are. Then the facilitator asks them to point out all together at the same time who their bomb is and next who their shield is. Now everyone can check whether their shield is between them and their bomb and whether they are they safe or not.

• Aim: energizer
• Group size: 3–50
• Time: 5–15 min
• Supplies: open space

Instructions

1. The participants are asked to move around the room and follow the instructions given by the facilitator: “Touch something blue!”, “Get down on the floor!”, “Touch something light !” “Touch someone with your elbow!”, “3 heads together!”, “make a circle with 5 people!” etc.

• Category: ice breakers/ warm up   and energizers
• Group size: 7–30
• Time: 15 min
• Supplies: A big room that would fit all of the participants moving around it

Instructions 

1. The group stands in a circle. One person is chosen to stand in the center of the circle.
2. The facilitator will explain the rules of the game and introduces the figures  with just a verbal description of the figure or showing in detail: 

Figures: 

Mixer

The chosen person in the middle is the mixer. Both hands are stretched out with the fingers pointing downwards. The other two players position themselves under the hands of the middle player and spin around.

Puking kangaroo

The person in the middle forms a circle with their arms (a pouch), the people to the left and right pretend to throw up into the pouch and make the necessary sound effects.

James Bond

The chosen person in the middle is James Bond. This person moves into a casual gun pose of James Bond (hands made into a pistol). The two people to the left and right are the bond girls who look at James Bond adoringly and say “oooohhh Jaaames”.

1. The person who is standing in the center chooses one person by pointing at the person and tells the figure he/she must perform e.g:” James Bond!”. The neighbouring people standing to the right and to the left of the chosen player automatically become the fellow players. The facilitator tells them when it is time they will change roles and the new person in the middle points another person and shouts a new figure  and the game continues.

Variation: The one of the three persons performing the figure who reacts last or does a wrong figure, will swap places with the one in the middle.

Another Variation:  As a facilitator you can encourage the participants to create new figures as the game goes on.

1. The difficulty level is increased according to the speed at which the figures are called out. 

• Category:  ice breakers/ warm up   and energizers
• Group size: 6 + you have to have an even number of participants!
• Time: 5- 10  minutes
• Supplies: chairs, a tennis ball, a hacky sack or bean bag.

Instructions

1. Group forms a circle of chairs. The facilitator divides the participants into a two equal teams counting from one to two,starting with one person and following the circle. Each participant will have a number one or two in the end. Group remains seated. Everyone with the number one belongs to team number one, everyone with number 2 belongs to the other team. Each person must have members of the opponent team sitting to the left and right of them. 
2. Each group gets an item: e.g. a pillow, a tennis ball, a hacky sack or bean bag.  The item will be handed to two people from the opponent teams sitting across from each other. The facilitator shouts: Ready-Set-Go! The teams start passing the item around. The item will only be passed to the team member that sits right next to the person who is about to pass the item on. Aim is to try to overtake the opponent team’s item. 
3. As a facilitator you can randomly change the direction in which the item is passed around. 

• Category: Getting to know your name / energizers
• Group size: 10-20
• Time:  20  minutes
• Supplies: open sheltered space

Instructions:

1. We stand in a circle and keep our distance. We give each person a role that cannot be taught to anyone; or we secretly show the paper to each person so they don’t have to touch it.
2. All the papers are blank except one in which a drawn eye appears and says “PIM”. The person who has that role must wink at another person who will crouch down saying “PAM” and, automatically, the two people who are left and right have to say “PUM” and point with their finger. Whoever does it more slowly loses the duel and is eliminated from the game or plays with a limitation (lame leg, arms on the head, etc)

• PIM: wink at someone (without others knowing)

• PAM: The person who received the wink squats down

• PUM: The two people on the left and right of the “pam” are pointed like a pistol and have to decide the name of their opponent as soon as possible

1. To make the game easier, you can designate the person who says “pim” out loud and let the whole group know who it is.

• Category: energizers / warm up
• Group size: 10-20
• Time:  20  minutes
• Supplies: open sheltered space

Instructions:

1. The group has to make different gestures according to the phase of the moon that the person who encourages the activity tells them. 
2. The person leading the activity has to shout a phase of the moon pointing to a partner and the latter has to make the gesture.
3. Whoever makes a mistake can be left out of the game or have an added difficulty (squat, covered eyes, tongue out…).
4. Phases: 

• New Moon, you have to cover your face with both hands;
• Full moon, you have to make a circle with your arms in front of your face; 
• Waning moon, C-shaped arms (looking to the right) 
• Crescent moon, D-shaped arms (looking to the left).

• Category: energizers / warm up
• Group size: 10-20
• Time:  20  minutes
• Supplies: open sheltered space and a large rope

Instructions:

1. For this exercise we need a long rope. We stand in a row along the rope that is on the ground, so that the rope is between our feet (we open our legs and leave the rope in the middle).
2. The person who energizes the activity has 4 words to say: EARTH, SEA, FIRE AND AIR.

• EARTH: starting position with the rope between the legs.
• MAR: we jump to the right
• FIRE: we jump to the left
• AIR: we jump up (regardless of our position)

1. Whoever dynamizes the activity intersperses the words earth, sea, fire and air so that we have to jump and place ourselves in the correct area. In case of error, the person can be eliminated or continue playing with a limitation (lame leg, hands on the head, etc).
2. An adaptation that increases the difficulty of the game is to say names of animals that live on land, sea or that fly.

• Category: energizers / warm up / Bodily improvisation
• Group size: 10-20
• Time:  15-20  minutes
• Supplies: open sheltered space 

Instructions:

1. We stand in a circle and each person thinks a distinctive gesture (peace sign, hands up, touching their nose, tapping…). With claps we will all set the rhythm of the famous song We will rock you.
2. When the person who has the first turn deems it appropriate, substitute the pat for the gesture that he/she has thought. After him/her, the partner on the right must follow the rhythm of the song by adding his/her own gesture, but always leaving a rhythm + clap between the gestures.
3. Thus, the turn will go by indicating it by gestures. In case of error, the person can be penalized or removed from the game

Example:

Player 1: rhythm + clap, rhythm + touch nose, rhythm + clap, rhythm + touch nose …

Player 2: rhythm + clap, rhythm + touch nose, rhythm + clap, rhythm + wave in the air, rhythm + clap, rhythm + touch nose, rhythm + clap, rhythm + wave in the air …

Player 3: rhythm + clap, rhythm + touch nose, rhythm + clap, rhythm + wave in the air, rhythm + clap, rhythm + jump, rhythm + clap, rhythm + touch nose, rhythm + clap, rhythm + wave in the air, rhythm + clap, rhythm + jump…