Type/Purpose: Obstacle Course/Race/Relay, Outdoor, Seasonal–Summer, Water

Materials:

  • At least 100 small paper/plastic cups (more for larger groups)
  • Red, Blue, and Green food coloring
  • 6 large containers to collect water, (Mark 2 with a “R”, 2 with a “G”, 2 with a “B”)
  • large wading pool
  • 2 water pitchers
  • 2 large shallow plastic storage containers with lids
  • 2 cones or markers

Set-Up:

  • Find a large playing area outdoors, and lay out a square.
  • On opposite corners place the 2 cones.
  • Lay out the 3 water containers in the other 2 corners.
  • Make sure each corner has an “R”, “G” and a “B” container.
  • On the middle of the playing field, set up the shallow plastic containers side by side.
  • Place equal amounts of cups in each one.
  • Add food coloring to each of the cups using this formula. FOR EVERY 10 CUPS:
    • Add 1-3 drops of Red food coloring to 7 of them.
    • Add 1-3 drops of Green food coloring to 2 of them.
    • Add 1-3 drops of Blue food coloring to 1 of them.
  • If windy, place the lid over the top of the container.
  • Place the wading pool along the same edge of the playing field as the 2 teams, in the middle, and fill it up 2/3 to 3/4 of the way with water.
  • Place the two pitchers in the pool.

Play:

  • Break the participants into 2 groups, and place each group behind their own cone.
  • On GO, players will run to the middle, grab a cup, run back to the pool and fill it up using the water pitcher.
  • Once filled, they may either dump out their cup, and tag the hand of the next person in line.
  • OR they can run to the opposite corner, dump their water (and cup) in the corresponding container matching the color water they have, AND THEN run back and tap the hand of the next person in line.
  • WHY WOULD THEY DUMP OUT WATER? Well…
  • For every red cup, they accumulate 1 point, every green cup gets 5 points, and every blue cup gets 10 points.
  • Each round has a time limit of 3 minutes.
  • After they have played the first round, allow the group some time to devise a strategy, and play a few more rounds, until each player on the team has gone a few times.

Extra Ideas:

  • For larger groups, add more cups, and possibly extra groups or colors.
  • Add 2 mystery color cups to the entire batch (like orange). If those are found, they add 30 points to the team.
  • Instead of counting how many portion cups are in the containers, consider weighing the containers for points.
  • Every ounce of red = 1 point, green = 5, blue = 10, etc.
  • Have players come in swimming gear, and have them play barefoot, and step into the pool to fill up their cup.
  • Enlist 1 player from each round to stand in the field with a water gun. They get to shoot 5 people during the round. If hit, the player must dump out their water and go.
  • Allow 2-3 people to go at the same time.

Teachable Moments: For devotion/Bible study topics, consider:

  • Choices
  • Sacrificing
  • Baptism/Cleansing