My friend Chris at youthministrygeek.com tells me that “Games” is the most popular search word used by youth workers. That makes sense, since I’m always looking for more ways to have fun and create healthy interactions with our teenagers. So in that spirit, here’s my top-five list of both paid-for and free tech-games.
Budget for These
• Crowd-Control Games (crowdcontrolgames.com,six different games, from $15 to $30)—The genius of these games is that your kids’ voices control them, promoting amazing group interactions.
• Spin That Wheel (digitalstache.com, $25)—The creative programmers at Digital Stache just released a really fun prize game called “Spin That Wheel.” Just add names of prizes to the wheel, pick players from your group, and spin that wheel!
• Power Play Games (simplyyouthministry.com/resources-games-power-play-vol–5.html, each disk contains 20 different Power Play games, $17 to $18.99)—Closer to home, Power Play Games (Vol. 1-5) have been integral to our program for a long time. These PowerPoint trivia games are easy to lead and play. Don’t have PowerPoint? No problem, it comes with a free version of the PowerPoint Viewer.
• The Applause Meter (theapplausemeter.com, $20)—This game is perfect for giving your teenagers ownership over choices—from prizes to competition winners—in your ministry. Drop this into your presentation software, connect a microphone, and you are ready to go.
• Race This! (simplyyouthministry.com/resources-media—programming-race-this-.html, each disk contains 10 different race games, $25.99)—Pump up the energy, and the volume, in your youth room with these random-ending race games. While these games are not voice controlled, we tell them they are, it gets them more involved…is that wrong?
Get or Create These for Free
• Musical Chairs DJ—There are some cool iPad, iPhone, and Android DJ apps that allow you to slow down, speed up, and reverse songs. Use these features to your advantage by putting a twist on musical chairs. If you don’t have a smartphone, borrow a record player and an album from your senior pastor’s Gaithers collection.
• Trivia Text Messages—Ask your group a question and have them text you their answers. Give a prize to the first message received, or choose a few random winners. This is also a good way to get your kids’ direct numbers.
• PowerPoint Trivia Games—Create your own PowerPoint trivia game, or check out a huge collection of free PowerPoint games at pastor2youth.com/ym-exchange/powerpoint_games.
• Spot the Difference—Set up a tripod and take a picture of your office. Move 20 things and take another picture. Place the two photos side-by-side in your presentation software and give your group time to find the 20 things.
• Sherlock Holmes—Play a video clip…any video clip. After you watch the clip as a group, ask 10 questions about specific details. For example: What was the name of…? What color was the…?
By the way, all of these games work on a Mac or PC. And for more free tech games, check out the Games section at simplyyouthministry.com. ◊