CAN’T TOUCH THIS!

The 2023 Impro school was playing a game that focussed on creating games.  This  game came about from a desire to develop a quick and physical and interactive warm up exercise.

It’s simple. It made us laugh and woke us up on one of those days when we needed a boost of energy.

GAME: CAN’T TOUCH THIS!

ORIGIN: 2023 Improvisation School Class

BENEFITS: Group Awareness, Physical activity, Reaction

# PEOPLE: Groups – 3 or more

GOAL: Tag the hands of others without getting caught yourself

PROCEDURE: 

1. Place your hands behind your back
2. Try to touch another person’s hand (Yes, of course, that’s one of the times when you can bring your hand out from behind your back)
3. If your hand get’s touched, that hand is eliminated and you put that hand on your shoulder (out of play… Yep that’s the other time when your hand comes out from behind your back.)
4. Lose both hands and you are out of the game

TEACHING TIPS: The hands behind the back was a simple alteration of the game where the hands were free. When people’s hand’s were free, it gave a distinct advantage for those with long arms. If the long armed beasts were intent on beating everyone else, they would have little resistance unless they imposed restrictions on themselves.

The other benefit for having the hands behind the back is that this is the place we have little awareness. We look forward and sometimes to the side. This game pushes awareness to a larger perspective.

When you play a game, do you play to WIN at the expense of others or to push yourself? Good natured players with long arms would never need the additional rule to keep the arms “in play”. They would do it automatically even though they were putting themselves at greater risk of being caught.