Steal the Bacon – How to Play

Equipment

• The “bacon” – this can be almost anything – a hat, a frisbee, a neckerchief, etc.
• Some method of keeping score for each team – pencil and paper, rocks, sticks, memory, whatever works

Players

• One umpire
• The rest of the group divided into two teams

Instructions

1. Determine the field of play. It should be roughly rectangular.
2. Determine how many points you will play to – 10, 20, etc depending on how long you want the game to last.
3. The teams line up on the opposite boundaries of the field, facing each other.
4. Each team member is given a different number – 1, 2, 3, etc. So there will be a 1 on each team, a 2 on each team, and so on.
5. The “bacon” is placed in the middle of the field, an equal distance from each team.
6. The umpire calls a number.
7. The member of each team who was assigned that number runs out and tries to grab the bacon and return it to their side of the field without being tagged.
8. If a team member gets the bacon to their side without being tagged, that team scores 2 points.
9. If a team member tags a member of the opposite team while they are stealing the bacon, the tagging team scores 1 point.
10. The first team to reach the determined number of points wins.

Variations of Steal the Bacon

• The umpire can call multiple numbers to have more players on the field at one time.
• Instead of numbers, use animals or characters or something else to make it silly or to fit a theme.
• This can be used as a learning tool. Instead of numbers, use answers to questions. For example, assign each player a city instead of a number. Then if the umpire says “The capitol of Missouri” , the players assigned “Jefferson City” run out. So you can use this to reinforce whatever you covered at your meeting.

Additional Resources

• More games
• Backyard Fun Theme
• Classic Outdoor Games Theme
• Amazing Games Theme
• Scout Moms, Dads, and Leaders Facebook group