Overview: This is a Tug-of-War type game without the rope
Logistics:
Ideal for ages 12-22.
Best played with 10-100 students.
No equipment needed.
Time: 10-20 minutes.
How to Play “British Bulldog” (aka “Human Tug-of-War”)
Divide your group into two even teams — numerically and by strength, if possible. Have a line drawn down the middle of the room; usually duct tape works best. Draw boundary lines on the sides and ends if the room is too big and the walls cannot act as natural boundaries. Players must stay on their side of the middle line and try to pull opposing team members over to their side. The object is to try to gain team members. If a person gets pulled completely over to the other side, then that person has now joined and become members of the formerly opposing team. Whichever team pulls all of the members over the line wins. Teams can create a chain or link into enemy territory to pull opposing teammates across, however if the chain is broken, then all those disconnected on the opposite side of the line drawn down the middle of the room switch sides. You can play for a set time limit, or you can play until everyone is on one side.
Les Christie is youth ministry veteran; author of 15 books, including Best-Ever Games for Youth Ministry. He is Chair of the Youth Ministry Department at William Jessup University in Rocklin, California.
Chris Radford is one of his favorite former students.
