The Sneaking Circle - a game for all ages

The Sneaking Circle
Ages five and up
Group size: More than five, less than 30 for most fun
Time: at least 20 minutes

Ready
This game involves people sneaking into a circle to collect a treasure guarded by a blindfolded person armed with a water pistol. It is a very popular game, enjoyed by both children and adults. And it can go on and on and on...

Get set
You will need at least five players, a blindfold and a water pistol (a wash-up liquid bottle with a nozzle on will do but it is harder for younger hands to squeeze), extra water for refills and some treasure - something noisy to pick up like a bag of crisps, bell or a bunch of keys. A towel could be helpful too for drying off.

Go!
Everybody gets into a circle. The ring needs to be big enough so that the people on the perimeter stand just outside the range of the water pistol. Choose a 'guardian' to start in the middle and stand guard over the 'treasure' that is on the ground, in the middle of the circle. They are given a blindfold and a large super soaker water pistol. Stand clear (or not!) and ask them to have a quick test. The person in the middle then puts the blindfold on. 
When there is relative silence, someone from the ring of participants is chosen to start sneaking in...
The players in the ring are chosen one at a time to see if they can sneak into the centre of the circle, pick up the noisy treasure and sneak back to the edge of the circle without being heard and being squirted. People who dash in and out are usually disqualified. If there are a lot of people in the ring, more than one person can be chosen to sneak in at the same time. You can decide how often you change over the guardian.

This fun idea is taken from I Love My World by Chris Holland (Wholeland, £15.95). The book is packed full of hands-on nature activities. 

Try another idea from the book... Bird Nests And Foxes.