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The Burst Balloon Race
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Jeu par équipe qui en écrase !

The balloon popping race

A team race where each member rushes to the designated chair and pops their balloon as quickly as possible. One key skill will be essential: knowing how to stomp !  🙂

Game description

Form teams of 5 to 15 people. Each competitor inflates a balloon and embarks on a mad dash to help their team win.

Necessary accessories

- One chair per team
- As many balloons to inflate as there are players and rounds

End of the game

The game ends when all members of a team have completed the agreed-upon number of turns.

Procedure

  1. Form 2 or more teams. Each team should have 5 to 15 members.
  2. Each team lines up in a row.  
  3. Decide how many times each player will have to run.
  4. Place a chair for each team 20 or 30 meters from the starting point.
  5. Each player has as many balloons as the number of times they need to run. At the beginning of each round, they inflate a balloon and tie it.
  6. A referee is appointed to give the start signal, declare the end of each round, and declare the winner.
  7. At the whistle, the race begins, and each team sends off their first player.
  8. Each player runs to their team’s chair as quickly as possible and circles it.
  9. After circling the chair, they place their balloon on the chair and try to sit on it to make it pop.
  10. When the balloon pops, the player runs back to the starting point and tags the next player, who then starts their run.
  11. The round ends when all players have taken their turn.

 

There are two variations to this game :

  1. Option A: You decided at the beginning of the race that each team will continue the rounds without stopping until the end of the game. 
  2. Option B: Teams stop at the end of each round. The first team to finish the round scores a point. Everyone resets, and the next round begins. Just be careful to keep track of the score.

The referee keeps score aloud, sets the pace of the game, and maintains the pressure to ensure everyone stays competitive.

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Game Variations

First variation

You can vary the way people move between the team and the chair:

  • On the way to the chair, players must hop with the balloon between their knees. They hop back without the balloon.
  • Players hold the balloon in their hand and hop to the chair on one foot.
  • Participants go to the chair with their eyes closed, potentially guided by their team. Be careful, it is forbidden to steal the neighboring team’s chair, or conversely, it could be allowed, depends on your rules ! 😉

Second variation

Instead of carrying a balloon, players must carry a glass of water placed on their head. The chair is replaced by an empty bucket at the start. The team whose members finish first gets a bonus of 2, 3, or 4 glasses of water. When everyone has completed their turn, the water level in the buckets is measured. (Your feedback on this game variation is welcome.)

Game demonstration

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Click here to view the French version of this game.