Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing Games?!

[LScottr2go (LScottr2go]

In a message dated 7/14/2000 5:31:22 AM Pacific Daylight Time, h-mead [at] 
nwu.edu 
writes:

<< What are games cohousing people have created and have had fun with? >>
There are so many, I couldn't begin to describe them all.  I get some of them 
from books; some I dream up. 
     For instance, for one closing we passed out bubble gum, numbered off in 
two's, and each pair attempted to unwrap their gum, soften it up enough to 
start blowing, and blow a simultaneous bubble.  It required great teamwork 
and non-verbal cues.  I was laughing so hard I spit my gum into my partner's 
lap.
    "Find the pruey" was fun.  One person is the pre-designated pruey.  The 
group members wander around with eyes shut.  If you bump into someone, you 
say "pruey".  It they're not "the pruey", they say "pruey" back.  You'll know 
you've bumped into the pruey, because they will be silent and not say "pruey" 
back.  When you find the pruey, you then become part of the pruey and stand 
there with them.  Eventually the whole group becomes one big pruey.
    There are internet sites for games, one book I ordered about 100 ways to 
have great meetings (or something like that) had a lot of nice ideas.  An 
old, old book from the library with "parlor games" had some fun stuff; 
"energizers" is one keyword you will often find.
    A couple of weeks ago, it didn't seem like we really felt like playing (I 
always ask - sometimes the atmosphere is too tense or volatile).  But we 
started a game where people put an object on the table in the middle, and 
then we passed it around the circle, and everyone got a chance to do some 
kind of improv with the object - miming use of it in some way.  Some folks 
were delightfully creative this way; some weren't and would pass, but 
everybody seemed to really enjoy it.  We loosened up and got better at it 
after a few rounds. 
    When we started including play in our meetings, a couple of people told 
me they didn't like to play - they felt more comfortable with ritual or 
structured activities like that.  But the feedback has been very positive, 
even from the ones who were worried about  not being "good" at playing. 
    If anybody wants some book titles, write back and I'll haul my stuff up 
from the car where it lives and try to pin a few sources down.
    Good luck!  Linda Scott (Cascadia Commons Cohousing, Portland, OR)