Name Bop - Team Building, Training

Game Summary: The person in the middle has to catch someone by trying to “bop” the person on the hand or foot before that person can say another name.

Intended Outcomes: This icebreaker is designed to not only get everyone to learn names but to wake up the brain as everyone is more worried about the competition of the game versus passing a name correctly to others. Guaranteed to bring laughter and energy to the group even if everyone knows each other.

Numbers: 6 to 12 people per group is best.

Supplies:

Version one requires one foam noodle.
Version two does NOT require any supplies

Time: This is best played in 5 to 10 minutes.

Setup: Before playing, be sure to visualize the crowd. For adults I have them sit in chairs and or just stand. For youth groups I have them sit on the floor in a seated pike position. (Pike, meaning legs straight and feet together.) Especially when using the noodle version of this game.

Rules of Play- with a Noodle: Have the group sit in a circle with feet towards the center – (pike). Spread out so the person in the middle has room to move around. (See figure A below.)

Assign a person to be it and stand in the middle of the circle with a foam noodle.
Before the game, have the group go around the circle saying their first name.
The person in the middle will pick someone in the circle to call out the first name to be bopped.
That first person will then call out a name in the circle.
It is then that the “it” person in the middle will attempt to strike the person that the name was called on the foot or (knee if seated in a chair) before that person can say another name.
You can only be saved from being “it” if you call out someone’s name before getting bopped.
This keeps going until someone gets “bopped” before they can say a name, at which point they are now in the middle.
When this happens, the two will switch places and the one sitting down will now start the second round and call out someone new for the “it” person to find in the circle and bop.

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