Scootch!

Overview

How quickly can you "scootch" your bottom around a circle of chairs to keep "it" from getting a seat?! Play this game and you are sure to find out! Super fun and fast paced, Scootch not only gets your bodies movin' and jigglin' it will keep you laughing all the while. I recommend limiting this game to your older more able-bodied kids, as the play can become quite physical.

Age

Preschool, School-age, Tweens

Number of Players

10 to 20, 20+

Team Division

All together now! (everyone works together)

Competitiveness

Non-competitive (cooperative)

Difficulty

Easy peasy (fun and simple)

Indoor or Outdoor

Either

Space Needed

Small (a clearable open space the size of a 1-car garage), Medium (a clearable open space the size of a 2-car garage)

Noise Level

Rowdy

Mess Factor

Clean and tidy

Prep Time

5 - 10 minutes

Game Time Length

5 - 15 minutes

Supplies

1 chair per person without arm rests

Setup

1. Set all the chairs up in a close circle, immediately next to each other, facing inward.
2. Have all the players sit in a chair.
3. Select one person to be "it"
4. "It" stands in the middle of the circle. Leaving one empty chair.
5. Remind kids to keep their hands away from the sides of the chairs to avoid any pinched fingers.
6. You may need to reconfigure your chairs between rounds as they tend to slide out from their original positions as the play gets more and more rambunctious.

How to Play

1. On "Go" the kid in the center tries to sit in an ENTIRELY EMPTY SEAT (no half sitting, sitting on players, or sharing seats allowed).
2. As "it" runs towards the empty seat, the player to the left of the empty seat "scootches" into that empty seat (leaving their seat vacant). This is in turn followed by the person to their left scootching into the seat and so on around the circle.
3. The available empty seat keeps changing as the kids keep scootching, causing the kid in the center to run around madly trying to find an open spot.
4. Once "it" is able to steal a seat, the person to their left (who in essence failed to cover the seat in time) goes into the center.

Variations

Play with more than 1 person in the center, making it a race to see who can sit down first.

Tips

1. Keep the game fast paced, kids may start to taunt the center person, which is fine, but don't let it get bogged down...this game is at it's best when it's really fast.
2. Make sure kids keep their fingers away from the sides of the chairs - pinched fingers are no fun.
3. Unless you are on carpet the chairs will slide out of position during the game, leaving gaps between the chairs. Make sure to reset with every round.