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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

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The name game

Get wild with this fun guessing game. How much do you know about animals?
Plan a session with this activity

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Before you begin

  • This is a great activity to run during an online session. Check out the advice on using Zoom and other popular digital platforms and the guidance on being safe online. 
  • You could also play this game face-to-face outside while exploring nature. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the go (for example, during a hike) or just enjoying an outdoor space. If you can, encourage everyone to take inspiration from the insects and other animals they spot.

Play the game 

  1. Everyone should get into pairs. They should label themselves ‘player one’ and ‘player two’. The person leading the game may want to remind everyone that they’ll take it in turns to do both parts of the game, so it doesn’t matter who goes first. If there’s an odd number of people, it’s fine for some people to go in groups of three. In a group of three, two people should work together to be player two.
  2. Player one should think of an animal and tell player two one fact about it (for example, if they think of a cow, they might say ‘this animal is black and white’). If anyone’s struggling for ideas, they could use the ‘Name game suggestions' below to help.
  3. Player two should try to guess the animal that player one’s thinking of. If they get it right, they should swap roles so player two has a turn.
  4. If player two gets it wrong, player one should tell them another fact about the same animal and player two should guess again. If they get it right, they should swap roles so player two has a turn.
  5. If player two gets it wrong, player one should tell them a third (and final) fact about the animal. Player two should guess one last time. It doesn’t matter if they get it right or wrong – the players should swap roles.
  6. Everyone should keep playing until each player’s tried to guess five different animals.

Frog

  • It lives in water
  • It’s green
  • It hops and croaks
  • It eats flies
  • It has webbed feet

Butterfly

  • It has wings
  • It’s an insect
  • There are lovely colours on its wings
  • It eats nectar
  • It lives in gardens

Bat

  • It lives in caves
  • It has wings
  • It likes to hang upside down
  • It eats insects
  • It lives in trees and caves

Squirrel

  • It likes being in trees
  • It eats nuts
  • It has a bushy tail
  • It eats nuts and fruit
  • It lives in trees
  1. The person leading the game should welcome everyone to the meeting and mute them. 
  2. The person leading the game should choose someone to go first. 
  3. The first person should choose an animal, unmute themselves, and tell everyone a fact about it. For example, if they think of a cow, they might say ‘this animal is black and white’. If anyone’s struggling for ideas, they could use the ‘Name game suggestions' to help.
  1. Everyone should take it in turns to type their guesses into the chat box. 
  2. If no one guesses the animal, the first person should tell everyone a second fact about the animal and everyone should guess again. 
  3. Everyone should keep going until someone guesses the animal. 
  4. The first person to guess the animal should have a turn at being the player who chooses the animal, and everyone should play again. If they’ve already had a turn, they could nominate someone who hasn’t had a go.

Reflection

This activity helped everyone to value and learn about the outdoors and the beauty of nature. If people had the chance to explore outside, what did they see apart from animals? People may have noticed grass, mud, trees, flowers, ponds, or lakes. If people were playing online, was it easy to think of animals? Maybe some people started by thinking of a place animals live or their favourite sorts of animals. 

This game wouldn’t work if people played it on their own – it was important to have a friend to make it fun. Friends can also help us learn things, and it can be easier to understand new things with someone to help. What was everyone’s favourite thing about playing the game with a friend? People might think about how their friend told the helpful facts, made them smile or laugh, or encouraged them to try, try again.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Outdoor activities

You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.

Increase the challenge (and the competition) by introducing points. If someone guesses the animal after one fact, they get three points. If they guess the animal after two facts, they get two points. If they guess the animal after three facts, they get one point. If they don’t guess the animal after three facts, they don’t get any points this time.

Make it accessible

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers My Outdoors Challenge Award
Beavers My Adventure Challenge Award

Why not take the chance to find out more? Find some more facts about an insect or other animal people spotted while they were exploring, or widen your horizons by learning about species from different parts of the world. People could even explore how animals have adapted to different environments.