Games promote team building, cooperation, and friendly competition. Active games also promote the BSA aim of personal fitness.
Many Cub Scout requirements involve playing games. And for Scouts BSA, games can make learning skills more fun and interactive.
I’ve included some of the most popular games on the site at the bottom of this post. For more ideas, you can also see:
Do you have a game that you would like to share?
Top ideas for Games
Nitro Transport Game
This is an initiative game. Its purpose is to get a group to work together to solve a problem. This should build teamwork and cooperation in the group.
Orienteering Scavenger Hunt
This game requires some setup, but it is a fun way to introduce Webelos and Scouts BSA to orienteering. You can just set up one course and have them all…
Tug of War Rules
Tug of War is a fun game which can be enjoyed by kids of all ages. Have a little tug of war tournament with your Scouts to encourage fitness, teamwork,…
Kim’s Game with Items for a Home First Aid Kit
Kim’s game is a traditional Scouting game which was introduced by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. It is based on a game described by Rudyard Kipling. This version of the game helps…
First Aid Baseball Game for Scouts BSA and Webelos
First aid baseball is a fun way to review first aid skills with Scouts BSA and Webelos. There are instructions for the game and a set of question cards included…
Christmas Games: Stocking Surprise
Stocking Surprise is an easy game for your Christmas themed meeting or party. It works with almost any age group. When choosing items for the “stocking”, think of all of…
State Capitals Bingo Cards
One theme for teaching citizenship is the Fifty Great States theme. State capitals bingo would be a fun game or gathering activity to go with this theme. You can play…
Clothesline Relay Game
In this relay, the Scouts are doing the laundry. They hang out towels on a clothesline and then bring them back in.
Sharks and Minnows
Here is a game to go with an aquatic theme. It can be used at your pack pool party or at a meeting focused on swimming skills.
Even more resources for Games
Crossing the Alligator Pit Game
This is a very challenging game which combines lashing skills and teamwork. It would work well for an interpatrol activity at a meeting focused on pioneering skills.
Light the Candle Game for Cub Scouts
Light the candle game is a simple game which works in well with a holiday themed meeting. It only requires a few materials and not much preparation, which makes it…
Cub Scout Nutrition Game – Food Go Fish Game
This is basically a go fish game with different types of food. I liked how the kids talked about the different types of food they saw on the cards.
Picaria – A Native American Game
Picaria is a Native American board game which seems like a cross between tic-tac-toe and checkers. The board is pictured on the right. A printable version of the board is…
Halloween Craft, Snack, and Game Ideas
Craft, game, and snack ideas for your Halloween party or meeting. While some work best for younger kids, others are also appropriate for the older Scouts.
The Faith and Our Ancestors Game is an icebreaker activity with a genealogy twist. Players ask each other questions about how they think their ancestors lived.
The Forces of Flight game would make a fun addition to a pack meeting for the Soaring the Skies Cub Scout theme. Use this game when the Cub Scouts have…
Kick the can is a classic game which combines tag and hide and go seek. This is a great wide area game for a large group. Use it as an…
The idea of this game is for each player to “use the force” to keep a balloon on a pool noodle light saber.
Island tug-of-war is an adaptation of traditional tug of war which not only requires strength but also agility and balance. This game is appropriate for all ages from Cub Scouts…
Flip the Bird tag is an active game which is a combination of tag and keep away. In it, a players work together to keep their friends from being tagged.
This is an icebreaker in which a group must work together to “untie” themselves from a knot. This is a cooperative rather than competitive game.
What’s In the Bag is a simple guessing game which can be adjusted for any meeting theme. Use it at a den meeting or a pack meeting.
Hail Storm Game – An Easy Rainy Day Game
Hail Storm game doesn’t take much space, so it can be played indoors. If you think ahead and take the materials to camp with you, you can even play it…
Sleeping Guard game is a fun game for a den. The object of the game is for the Scouts to be quiet enough to sneak up on a blindfolded guard…
In this hospital tag game, players pretend they are wounded and go to the hospital to get fixed up.
Steal the Bacon is a good game for a large group of Scouts. This is fun for all age levels – from Cub Scouts to Scouts BSA to Venturers. Your…
In the Won’t You Smile game one person tries to make someone else in the group smile. Everyone else must keep a straight face. Won’t You Smile is a team-building…
This game would also work as a team building game or ice breaker, since the participants must know the names of the other players. It is active, so it is…
When my den meetings were immediately after school, I often did a physical activity during the gathering time. The Scouts needed to run around and burn off a little energy…
Snapper Fishing Game – A Lashings Game
This is a traditional Scout lashings game which might date back to Baden-Powell himself. It practices Scoutcraft (lashings) as well as cooperation and problem solving.
