Sometimes you want young people to learn each others names…great if it’s a new group, if there’s a new leader or if there’s a new member!
Try one of these…
Young people go round the circle and say their name plus an adjective that fits with their name. E.G. Musical Mark.
Before a young person goes they repeat everyone who’s gone before them
This game, perhaps isn’t great for remembering names but it’s fun.
Young people sit in a horse-shoe and one person is designated and number 1 (someone else at the other end of the circle will be the last place). That first person starts a rhythm that keeps going throughout the game and is done by everyone else.
This rhythm is started by that first person saying ‘Woo’ (as enthusiastically as possible) and then starting the following (with everyone joining in)
1 – Slap both hands on knees
2 – Clap
3 – Click with left hand
4 – Click with right hand
On the first click person 1 says their name and on the 2nd click someone else’s name. E.g. Click 1 – Jeff, Click 2 – Sarah
The person whose name is said then says their name on the first click as the rhythm continues and someone else’s on the 2nd. E.g Click 1 – Sarah, Click 2 – Mia.
This process keeps going until one person either hesitates and misses their click or passes it back to the person who passed to them. That person then takes the last place in the circle and becomes whoever was sat in that space. Everyone else then moves up a seat and takes the name of the person who was on the chair they were sat on.
(Note: if the 4th person in the horse-shoe messes up then the 1st, 2nd and 3rd people keep their names!)
The aim of the game is to become the first person!
(There’s a less confusing version of this game in the crowd games which involves numbers!)