Balance the Tower of Beanbags

Skill: Balance, Run, Strike
Time Required: 15
Activity Type: Physical
Group Size: Large Group, Medium Group, Small Group
Age Group: 6 - 9yrs, 9 - 12yrs, 13+ yrs
Play area: Gymnasium (large indoor space), Outdoor - Field
Safety Considerations: Remove any safety hazards.
Participants cannot hit each other, they only hit the tower of beanbags.
Equipment: 3 or 4 beanbags per team.
Pylons or rope to set up boundaries.
Objective:
For participants to knock off or make their opponent drop their tower of beanbags first.
Other Skills:
Coordination
Agility
Set up:
Divide the participants into groups of 4 or 5.
Put pylons or rope in a circle that is not too large, for the boundaries.
Step by Step:
1. Each team will play against another team, one participant at a time.
2. Teams will choose one participant to start.
3. These two participants will stand in the circle.
4. They each will hold onto one beanbag in their left hand, and then have a stack of 2 or 3 more beanbags on top to make the tower, but they cannot touch those beanbags.
5. The goal is to knock over their opponent's tower of beanbags before theirs gets knocked over.
6. They use their free hand to try to knock down the beanbags (they cannot hit their opponent).
7. Participants can walk up to each other, run, or use any strategy they wish.
8. Whichever participant's beanbag touches the ground first, loses (only one has to hit the ground).
9. Even if the participant drops their own beanbags, they still lose.
10. Also, if they step out of bounds, they lose.
11. Those participants leave the circle and two different participants enter the circle.
12. Play until a team gets 5 points.
13. The winning team stays there and another team plays them.
14. Try to have more than one circle, so multiple games can be happening at once.
Variations:
Have participants play against a partner, don't have them in teams.
All participants have their own beanbag tower, and they are all trying to knock over each other's towers. The last participant with their beanbag tower standing, wins.
Use more beanbags to create the tower.
Use a different object for the tower.

Adaptations (Blindness/Visual Impairment):
To make it more fair for participants who are blind or visually impaired, consider allowing opponents to begin in a locked-up position (by touching right hands or by having locked arms).
Sources: Developed for the Leisure Information Network.