If there’s a way that allows you to have fun and leads to effective team building, it’s by playing games. In that direction, relay race games have been seen to do that task effectively well. We will give you a list of funny relay race ideas for adults.
Tip
Most things required in these games are easily available around the house. Thus, planning for these games becomes simpler.
Human beings are meant for social interactions. Our basic tendency is to get to know others, spend time with them, and build bonds. It is because of this need that social networking thrives. In that same direction, games of any sort act as the perfect means for leading to interactions, developing friendships, and in the process, creating bonds. Understanding this need, most corporate companies include in their orientation process, icebreaker games. It allows the employees an opportunity to interact and bond with others, thus enabling more efficient and productive teamwork.
Games of any sort will allow this communication and interaction, and keeping that in mind, relay race games are the perfect means of not only having fun, but also leading to great icebreakers. In this following Plentifun article, we will provide you with a list of relay race ideas and games that you can look into and use―for fun, for team building, or as icebreakers.
Team Building Relay Race Ideas
The Water Jug Relay
Things Required
☛ Bucket filled with water
☛ Empty jug
☛ Styrofoam cup
☛ Chair
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams of equal numbers, and get them to stand in a straight line behind a marked and chalked line―this will act as the starting position.
• About 10-15 feet away, place a chair, and place an empty jug at the base of it.
• Place a bucket filled with water at the starting line and a Styrofoam cup along with it.
• One person sits on the chair and holds the empty jug on his/her head.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person in line fills the empty cup with water from the bucket and runs to the person sitting on the chair.
• He/she pours the water into the jug, then takes the jug from the person, places it on his/her own head, and sits down on the chair.
• The person originally sitting on the chair takes the now-empty cup and runs to the starting position, where he/she gives it to the first person in the line and joins the back of the line.
• This continues till the jug becomes completely full.
• The first team that manages to do this, wins.
The Costume Change Relay
Things Required
☛ A suitcase full of oversized clothes
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams of equal numbers and ask them to stand in a straight line.
• Draw a chalked line in front of this line―this is the starting line.
• At a distance of 10-15 feet, place a suitcase full of oversized clothes.
• Make sure that all the suitcases have the same number and same size of clothes items.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person in line runs up to the suitcase and wears all the items of clothes in it.
• He/she then removes all the clothes, places them back into the suitcase, and runs to the starting line.
• Once at the starting line, he tags the first person in line and runs to the back of the line.
• The tagged person runs to the suitcase and completes the task all over again, then runs back and tags the next person, joining the first person at the back of the line.
• This continues till every team member has had his/her turn.
• The team that manages to do this task in the least amount of time, wins.
The Passing the Parcel Relay
Things Required
☛ A roll of newspaper
Instructions
• Divide all the people into teams of equal members and make them stand in a straight line.
• Hand over a rolled newspaper to the first person in the line.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person bends over and passes the paper through his/her knees to the person standing behind him/her.
• The newspaper is passed in this manner till it reaches the last person in line.
• Once he/she has the paper, he/she has to run to the front of the line, assume position, and pass the paper through his/her knees to the next person.
• This continues till every person has had their turn.
• The team that manages to finish this task first, wins.
The Tennis Ball Relay
Things Required
☛ A tennis or ping pong ball
☛ Chair or cardboard box
Instructions
• Divide all the people into teams with equal number of people, and ask them to stand in a straight line.
• Draw a line to mark the starting position.
• At a distance of 10-15 feet, place a chair or a cardboard box to mark the second position.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person in line places the tennis ball between his knees and hops over to the second position.
• If the tennis ball falls off during the hopping, he has to go back to the starting position and start all over again.
• Once there, he takes the ball out from between his knees and runs back to the line.
• He hands over the ball to the next person in line and runs to the back of the line.
• This continues till everyone has had their turn.
• The team that manages to finish the task first, wins.
The Burst the Balloon Relay
Things Required
☛ Lots of blown balloons
☛ Chair or cardboard box
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams with equal numbers.
• Then pair them with another member―preferably people who are similar in height.
• Draw a line at the starting position and place a cardboard box or chair about 10-15 feet away to mark the second position.
• Make the pairs stand back to back, and ask them to interlock their elbows.
• Place a blown balloon between their back.
• At the blow of the whistle, they have to walk to the second position without letting the balloon burst.
• If the balloon bursts, the pair has to come back to the starting position and put another balloon between their backs.
• Once they make their way to the second position, they have to burst the balloon by exerting pressure with their backs.
• Then, with their elbows still interlocked, they have to make their way to the starting line and tag the next pair.
• This continues till all the pairs have successfully completed the task.
• The team that manages to finish first, wins.
• Make sure you have extra balloons blown just in case the balloons burst midway.
The Gunny Sack Relay
Things Required
☛ Gunny sack
☛ Chair or cardboard box
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams with equal number of members, and make them stand in a straight line. This is the starting position.
• Place a chair or cardboard box about 10-15 feet away to mark the second position.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person in line, gets into the gunny sack and hops to the second position and back.
• Once back, he/she tags the next person in line, hands over the gunny sack to him/her, and runs to the back of the line.
• This continues, till everyone has had their turn and the team that manages to finish first, wins.
Popping the Balloon Relay
Things Required
☛ Balloons filled with air or water
☛ Bucket
☛ Chair
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams with equal number of members, and ask them to stand in a straight line. This is the starting position.
• Place a bucket filled with balloons that have been filled with water or air at the start of the line.
• Place a chair about 10-15 feet away from the starting position.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person picks up a balloon, and runs to the second position.
• Once there, he has to sit on the balloon to burst it.
• Once that is done, he runs back to the starting position, tags the next person, and runs to the back of the line.
• If anyone drops the balloon on the way to the second position, they have to go back to the starting position and start again.
• The task continues till every person on the team has had a chance. The team that manages to do this first, wins the task.
The Hula Hoop Relay
Things Required
☛ A hula hoop ring
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams of equal members, and ask them to stand in a circle.
• Ask them to hold hands, and place the hoop in a team member’s hand.
• At the blow of the whistle, they have to pass the hoop through their body and onto the next person’s hands.
• This needs to be done till the ring has been passed around the complete circle.
• At no point should they let go of each others’ hands.
• The team that manages to pass the ring around the circle in the shortest time, wins.
The Ping Pong Ball and Spoon Relay
Things Required
☛ Ping pong balls
☛ Spoons
Instructions
• Divide the group into teams of equal members, and ask them to stand in a straight line.
• Draw a line 10-15 feet away to mark the second position.
• Hand a spoon and a ping pong ball to the first person in line.
• At the blow of the whistle, the first person has to place the ball onto the spoon and briskly walk to the second position.
• It has to be kept in mind that the ball cannot be held in place with the fingers, and all fingers must be on the handle of spoon at all times.
• If the ball falls while walking, the person has to go back to the starting position and begin once again.
• Once he/she reaches the second position, he has to hold the ball in his hands and run to the starting line.
• He has to then hand over the spoon and the ball to the next person in line and make his way to the back of the line.
• This continues till all the people have had their turn.
• The team that manages to finish this task first, wins.
The Ping Pong Ball Waiter Relay
Things Required
☛ Styrofoam plates
☛ Ping pong balls
Instructions
• Divide the people into teams of equal members and ask them to stand in a straight line―this is the starting position.
• Mark a line around 10-15 feet away―this is the second position.
• The first person in the line is given a Styrofoam plate and a ping pong ball.
• At the blow of the whistle, they have to place the ball onto the plate and hold the plate in the line of their shoulder, with their elbow bent.
• The palm of the hand should be flat against the base of the plate and none of the fingers should grip the sides of the plate. This can lead to a disqualification of the team.
• They have to balance the ball on the plate and walk briskly to the second position.
• If the ball falls, or the plate flies off in the middle of the walk, they have to go back to the start of the line and start over.
• Once they reach the second position, they can take the plate and ball into their hands and run to the starting position.
• Once there, they have to pass the plate and ball to the next person and move to the back of the line.
• This continues till all the members have had a go.
• The team that manages to do this in the least amount of time, wins.
Relay race games, as you can see, not only help in team building, but they are a whole lot of fun as well. So the next time around when there is a need for activities, you know what you can play.
