Scout Test Games

A series of Scout Test Games from Gilcraft's Book of Games collected by Francis Gidney, Gilcraft.

Ambulance

Ill-Fated Camp, Injuries, Sudden Accidents.

Compass

Compass General Post, Compass Steps, North, South, East, or West?

Knotting

Shipwrecked, Adrift, Knotting Relay, Knotting Race, Bowline, Clove-hitch Race, Blind Knotting Race, Man Overboard, Sheep-shank Tug o’ War, Pair Knotting, Parcel Relay, Knot Run, One-Rope Relay, Knotting Roundera, Round the Circle

Signalling

Progression, Fetch, General Post

ILL-FATED CAMP

Teams are sent in turn to a camp which they find in a state of wild disorder after an attack. There is a corpse, a man labelled “Broken left thigh,” tracks leading to another labelled “ Severe bleeding from right wrist,” amid the tracks of possible assailants. Teams then act as they think best.

INJURIES

Players in pairs; one asks the other what he should do when . . . , and mentions some case for First Aid. If he gets the wrong answer he asks another, till it is correctly answered, and the other becomes the patient, and so on with each pair. At end of first round (time previously arranged) patients fall out, rest form new pairs and carry on, and so on till the final round gives the winner.

COMPASS GENERAL POST

(cf. General Circle Games No. 23) Players sit round the room and each takes the name of the correct compass point, according to his position from the centre of the room. Game is played as General Post but leader calls out Compass Points instead of towns, and the players take on the compass point of the seat they move to.

COMPASS STEPS

(cf. Miscellaneous Games No. 4) Played just as the above except that each player is given a compass direction as well as a number of steps. If he fails to go in the right direction he loses a life, and after three lives is executed by bending down back to the rest about 15 yards away while each player not to be executed has a shot with a soft ball (tennis ball).

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST OR WEST?

Players form up in open ranks, leader points out the N., S., E., and W. of the room and then calls out a compass direction. All at once jump to face that way, players in error fall out or are executed as in No. 4.

SHIPWRECKED

The ship will sink in (say) two minutes, teams in file. “Land” is marked out about 8 yards in front of each team. First player of each team “swims” to land and throws the end of a rope to the next, who ties a bowline round himself and is pulled ashore, and so on. Team saving most of the ship’s crew wins. Leader should announce the passing of time about every 10 seconds.

ADRIFT

Two players are adrift in a boat (chair), another throws them a rope and walks away to represent the boat floating down to the weir. The players in the boat must make the rope fast before the other reaches a line some distance away. Distances and pace of walker depend on length of rope and efficiency of knotters.

KNOTTING RELAY

Teams in file, one player in front of each team about 10 yards away with a heap of ropes. First player must run and tie a bowline round the former’s waist and come back to start the next, who ties another rope on to the first with a reef, and so on; 3rd ties sheetbend; 4th ties fisherman; 5th shortens the rope last tied on ; 6th ties the end in a clove-hitch round his leg. Team first finishing correct wins.

KNOTTING RACE

Teams of six in line. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, each have a bit of rope, 6th player stands opposite the centre of his team. No. 1 ties one end of his rope round himself (bowline). No. 2 ties his on to the other end (reef). No. 3 ties his on to the other end of No. 2‘s (sheetbend). No. 4 ties his on to the other end of No. 3’s (fisherman). No. 5 ties other end of No. 4’s to his own leg (clove-hitch). No. 6 ties a sheepshank in middle.

BOWLINE, CLOVE-HITCH RACE

Teams in line facing each other; one player of each team goes and gives any player of the other a rope, which must be tied in a bowline round that player’s waist, and a clove-hitch round a post before the giver can run round a set course and return to touch the knotter, and so on till all have run. Team winning the most heats wins. Distances can only be found by experiment.

BLIND KNOTTING RACE

Games such as Nos. 7, 8, and 9 can be played blindfold..

MAN OVERBOARD

Two coils of rope lie on one side of a line and one player takes one end of one of the ropes and walks away from the line. One of the others must join the two ropes together before the one the “man overboard” holds is pulled over the line. Pace of walking can only be found by trial.

SHEEPSHANK TUG-OF-WAR

Two players hold either end of a rope, each tries to tie a sheepshank in his end before the other. Any amount of pulling, etc., is allowed.

PAIRS KNOTTING

Players in pairs; each player, having a piece of rope, puts one hand behind his back. The pairs then try to tie their two ropes together with whatever knot is desired. First pair correct wins. Can be varied to suit other knots.

SUDDEN ACCIDENTS

One player for each team is labelled with his injury, teams then compete in making the best First-Aid job of their patient. Emergencies as “house on fire” come under this game. NOTE.—In ambulance games, as a general rule, speed should be of NO account at all. Exceptions such as bleeding, fetching doctor, and such-like.

PROGRESSION

Players in a straight line, leader mentions a letter and pauses a moment, then says “Go”, each player at once signals that letter. Any player hesitating or sending the wrong letter steps one foot forward, and so on. Player nearest the starting-line at end wins.

FETCH

Teams in line facing leader, who signals the name of some article. The first team to hand that article to the leader wins. Variation.—An order is signalled and the first to obey correctly wins.

SIGNAL GENERAL POST

Played exactly as No. 3 except that players have letters which the leader signals instead of compass points. A letter belongs to the chair and is taken over by each player that sits on it. Not as in General Circle Games, No. 23, where the player keeps the same name throughout.

PARCEL RELAY

Teams in file; opposite each team a piece of brown paper, some string, and an object to be put in the parcel. Each first player runs up and makes up the parcel to the satisfaction of the leader, and runs back to start the next, who undoes the parcel, rolls up the string, and folds the paper neatly for the next to remake the parcel, and so on. First team to finish wins.

KNOT RUN

Players in circle, one ties a knot in a bit of rope and drops it at the feet of one of the others, who must name the knot correctly and say if it is tied right before the tier has run round the circle. Whichever loses ties the next knot, and so on.

ONE-ROPE RELAY

Teams in file; each player in turn runs up and ties all the tenderfoot knots in one bit of rope. First team to finish with no knots tied wrong or omitted wins.

KNOTTING ROUNDERS

Rounders, but no bat or ball. Pitcher and batter have ropes. Pitcher calls name of a knot and throws rope to any fielder. If batter reaches 1st base with knot right, he stays there; if fielder’s rope, tied right, gets there first, batter out; if batter cannot tie knot, out; if fielder cannot tie it, one rounder to batting side, whatever else happens. A correctly knotted rope may run out a player on 2nd or 3rd base, as in rounders, if fielders wish. The fielders must get the rope in turn, not only the best knotter.

ROUND THE CIRCLE

(cf. General Circle Game No. 33) Players in circle, one runs round outside and hands a rope to another calling out the name of any knot. The knotter must then tie that knot right before the runner can get round the circle. N.B.—Vary the diameter of the circle to suit the experience of the knotters.