Smuggling
| Type: | wide game, running game |
| Number of players: | larger groups, 10 or more |
| Location: | forest |
| Equipment: | goods to smuggle |
| Duration: | depends, 20 minutes or more |
| Preparation: | none |
Smuggling is a wide game usually played in a forest. If is suited for any larger number of players, but can be played with about 10 players or more. You need some goods to be "smuggled".
Equipment
- goods to be smuggled (should be not too small and in larger number, at least 2 or 3 items per player); for instance, you can use:
- tennis balls
- cloth pins
Procedure
Two groups are formed, smugglers and policemen. The sizes of the groups depends on the location you play in; in a thick forest you need more policemen (compared to smuggles), in a wide open the number of smugglers should be larger than the number of policemen. The smugglers get their goods and hide them in the forest. They keep only one item; once the game starts, they are not allowed to carry more than one item. Also, be sure to prepare the target area. It should be large enough in size, so the smuggler have a realistic change of reaching it (the police should not be able to win the game just by standing around the target area).
After the game is started, the smugglers try to bring their gods to a predefined target area. Of course, the policemen have to prevent that. Whenever they are able to touch a smuggler, he has to give the item he carries to the police. On the other hand, if the smuggler reaches the target area without being "detained" by the police, he can give his item to the referee waiting there.
When the game is over, the items are compares: how may were successfully smuggled, and how many did the police intercept?
Variants
Numerous variants can be invented. Usually, the game is adapted to the location, to the players participating (age, number, abilities), and to whether the game is played at day or at night:
- perhaps the smugglers may carry more than one item
- no-go-areas (for instance, may the police search for the hideouts of the smugglers?)
- number of smugglers versus policemen
