The idea of two or more individuals or groups working together toward mutually beneficial ends is central to cooperative-game theory. Collective scoring is one means of allowing two or more teams to play toward a common end. One team does not achieve its success by competing against another or at the expense of another; rather, both "win" as a result of playing together.
As in the other cooperative games, flexibility is an important component. People with various skills
and abilities can play. The number of players per side is adaptable. Players are free to change sides, as teams are no longer fixed and rigid or pitted against each other. Players can choose to serve the
ball or play it from anywhere they wish. They can propel the ball with anything they want and in any manner they want. Balls of literally any size or shape can be used, including beach balls, pushballs (or
monsterballs), regular balloons, or weather balloons. Any number of balls can be used. Standards (uprights to which nets are attached) can be 20 feet high or 2 inches high. Nets can be
sloped, slooped, or even criss-crossed to form a large X, with one team in each of the four quadrants. The variations for collective play are limitless.
Togeth-air Ball (Collective-Score Volleyball).
An early version of this game was played by the Caribou Eskimo in the
1800s. The object was to keep a seal-skin ball in motion without letting it touch the ground. No score was kept. In the contemporary version, one team is on each side of a line, rope, or net, and a ball is batted back and
forth in a continuous fashion. It is a good idea to start this game with a balloon or beach ball before going on to something more difficult, like a volleyball. If a score is kept, it is a collective score. Children initially count
one point any time anyone hits the ball, and see how many times they can hit the ball before it hits the ground. Team members from both sides can also chant out loud the number of consecutive hits.
Different
rules may be applied for variations. The ball could be hit
by different
team members a certain number of times,
or by all members ("all touch") before it goes
over the net. "All touch" works
best with sides of three or four each. Other variations include:
unlimited hits per side, with points scored only when the
ball goes over the net; two balls put into play at one time;
players
seeing how long a time they can keep the ball up rather than
counting hits; players using the back of their hands, fists,
elbows, heads, racquets, branches, air pumps, water shooters,
plastic bats, Frisbees, fans, etc., to keep the ball up.
Another approach is to lower the net (or rope) so that a small rubber ball
or tennis ball can be bounced back and forth. The object here is to hit the ball back and forth as many times as possible either on the bounce or on the fly. The open hand or a paddle-ball racquet can be used to propel the
ball. Come up with your own variation.
Back to the Top
Collective-Score Monsterball Volleyball.
This
is a collective-score volleyball game using a gigantic
hollow, canvas-covered rubber ball called a pushball, or
monsterball.
You can also use a weather balloon (see your local weatherman)
or a bunch of beach balls in a large mesh sack or "potato
sack," or
you can order a pushball through your local sporting
goods store. In this game players on each side of the
net continuously
bat or push the ball back and forth. Each time the ball
goes over the net a collective point is scored. If the
ball touches
the floor, the counting begins over again. The large
ball increases the number of people directly involved
in getting it over the
net,
as one player usually cannot move the ball alone but
needs help from teammates.
Back
to the Top
Bump
and Scoot.
We rarely divide groups based on sex alone. However, in one school we found that the boys in grades 4 and 5 complained about playing with the girls, and when they did play together, the boys would hog the ball. In an attempt to solve this problem, we came up with the following game. Boys started on one side of a net and girls on the other. Whenever a person on one team hit the beach ball over the net, she (or he) scooted under the net to the other side. Rather than a collective score, the common objective was to make a complete change in teams with as few drops of the ball as possible.
When
we played this, an interesting thing occurred.
Boys started to "feed" girls, teams
became happily integrated, and everyone played
together in order to help all team members
exchange sides. To complete the exchange,
it is best to have several games going at
once in different parts of the gym, so that
there are not too many on each team. Bump
and Scoot can also be played for a collective
score only, where all players merely attempt
to keep the ball or balls going back and
forth as many times as possible.
Back to the Top
Bump and Team Scoot.
This outgrowth of Bump and Scoot provides for a little more action,
particularly with larger teams. The object is to score as many consecutive collective Bump and Team Scoots as possible. Four teams are formed. Teams 1 and 2 start on one side of the net, and Teams 3 and 4 start on
the other side. Each team chooses a code name. When a player hits the ball over the net, she yells her team's code name. When a player hits the ball over the net, keep them scooting, expecially if you use two balls. For
another variation, have only team members who have touched or helped set the ball up scoot under the net when the ball is bumped over.
Back to the Top
Collective Blanketball
Two teams of about eight or ten each spread out around two sturdy blankets or similar-sized pieces of durable material. They grasp the edges of the blanket, and a beach ball or monsterball is placed in the middle of one. To warm up, groups toss the ball into the air and catch it again in the blanket or roll the ball around the outside edges of the blanket. Teams then pass one ball back and forth by tossing it in unison toward the receiving team. One team can also toss their ball straight up and dash out of the way to let the other team dash under it to catch it with their blanket.
You can also give each team its own ball, so that they can exchange them by simultaneously tossing their ball toward the other team on a signal that is already agreed upon.
For groups seeking additional challenge, juggling can be attempted by trying to get two or more balls going in the air in a continuous manner.
This can be attempted initially by one team alone, making sure one of two balls is always in the air, and later by tossing balls from team to team. To involve more people use a sturdy bedspread, a large piece of
lightweight canvas, or a parachute. A variation of this game, known as Collective Netting, can be played in shallow water with a fishnet instead of a blanket.
Back to the Top
Collective-Score Blanketball.
Two teams use a blanket to toss a beach ball (or a large pushball) back and forth over a volleyball net. Every time the ball is tossed over the net by one team and caught successfully in the blanket held by the other team, one collective point is scored. This game is extremely cooperative in structure, as every team member is a part of every toss and every catch made by his or her team. In addition, both teams work together toward a common end. There remains the collective challenge of scoring as many points in a row as possible.
This game has been very well received by a variety of age groups. We once had three different Collective-Score Blanketball games going all at
once, taking up the whole length of a large gym. At one point I looked up from behind a monsterball and saw another monsterball being tossed sideways to an adjoining team on the same side of the gym. Another
group had two beach balls going through the air at the same time. Players were having fun experimenting with different-sized balls, blankets, and even towels.
Back to the Top
Balloon Bucket (Collective Hoops).
One balloon or beach ball is provided for every two children. For a group of twenty, about eight or ten hula hoops are spread out on the floor around the edges of the playing area. Partners bat the balloons back and forth in a nonstop fashion as they attempt to score. In order to score, one of the partners must manage to pick up a hoop, get the balloon to pass through it, replace the hoop on the floor, and continue on with her partner to the next hoop while still batting the balloon back and forth. The object of the game is for the entire group to score collectively as many hoops as possible in a certain time period (for example, five minutes for twenty people). No player can run while holding the balloon. No player can bat the balloon twice in succession. It must be hit by one partner and then the other.
This is a totally active game with total involvement and a great deal of cooperation. It can be played with groups of any size merely by adjusting
the number of hoops that are put out. It can also be played in teams of three rather in pairs.
Back to the Top
Collective
Orbit.
This is our cooperative adaptation of a more competitively structured game called Orbit. In Collective Orbit, one group of players forms one large circle and another group of players forms a smaller circle inside the
other. The inside players lie down on their backs (on mats, grass, or sand) with their heads pointing toward the center point of the circle and their feet propped up in a bicycling position. The outside players stand
with arms ready for action. The objective of the game is for all the players to work together to keep a monsterball in play while moving it around the circle. The ball alternates between the inside players, who kick it with
their feet to the outside players, and the outside players, who push it back in with their hands. An attempt is made by both teams to keep the ball from touching the ground. The number of times the ball in exchanged
between inside and outside circles can be counted aloud. For additional action a beach ball can be passed around the outside circle (using hands) while the monsterball is in play.
Back to the Top
Collective Volley Orbit.
This
is a combination of Collective Orbit and Colletive-Score
Monsterball. One orbit group (an inner semicircle of people
on their backs
with their feet facing the net, propped up for action,
and an outer circle of people on their feet with hands propped
for action) is stationed on each side of a net. The people
on the inside semicircle attempt to kick the ball over
the
net, and the people in the outer circle try to receive
the ball and bump it to the inside semicircle so they
can put it into orbit. (Everyone works together to prevent
the
ball from touching the floor.) Each time the ball goes
over the net and is caught (lands safely) on the other side,
one
collective orbit is achieved. If the ball hits the floor,
it is a crash landing, and it must be "relaunched." The
size of the ball and the height of the net can be adjusted
to suit the group, and players can rotate between inside
and outside circles.
One variation is to have the people in the outside circles pair off using
towels to receive the ball and to set up the inside semicircle for their blast into orbit.
Back to the Top
All on One Side.
Did you ever hear of a volleyball game that starts with a team of four or five players on one side of the net and no team on the other side? Well, now you have. The object is to get your team to the other side of the net
and back as many times as possible. Using a balloon for a ball, each player volleys the balloon to another player and then scoots under the net to the other side. The last player to touch the balloon taps it over the net
and scoots under. The receiving players try to keep the balloon in play and repeat the process. As the team gets better, try putting two balloons into play at one time.
Back to the Top
Collective Stone.
This no-loser game combines total involvement in batting, fielding, and scoring. Four or five bases are spread out on the field or floor. One person starts at home plate and propels an object int othe field of play by batting, kicking, shooting, or throwing it. She then proceeds to round the bases as quickly as possible. She must circle completely around each base (rather than touching it) before proceeding on to the next base. The fielders retrieve the object (ball, puck, bean bag, Frisbee, water balloon, pumpkin) and pass it around to all fielders. When the last person n the field receives the object, he yells, "Stone!" The person who propelled it must then stop stone-cold in her tracks, no matter where she is, even if she is between two bases. Another fielder then goes up to home plate, propels the object, and starts to round the bases. Any "stoned" runners in the field can continue on their circuit once the object is propelled into the field of play by the next batter. Each batter tries to get as far around the bases as possible before someone yells, "Stone!" A point is scored every time a person completes the full circuit around the bases. The game continues until the collective score equals the number of players, which should mean that every player has scored one point.
This game can be played as a modified version of hockey (shooting puck), kickball, inner-tube water polo (throwing ball from tube), softball, football (throwing ball into field), broomball, scooterball, or whatever the
players decide. The number of marker bases and the distance they are spread apart will depend upon the game being played, the players' skill level, and the number of participants. Adjustments can be made once the
game has started so that the time to complete the circuit with a well-placed ball and the time for fielders to pass the ball to everyone are very close. Fielders can also use different methods to pass the ball to
one another. They can all run toward the ball and quickly pass it to one another; they can stay in their position on the field, letting the closest person trap the ball and then pss it around; they can all run toward the
ball, form a line, and pass the ball from person to person under their legs, and so on.
Back to the Top
This is a beautiful example of how one person (Jim Deacove) turned a sport like baseball into a new children's game of helping. As in competitive baseball, thre are two teams. Here, however, each team stays up at bat until it scores the number of runs equal to the number of players on the team. If there are five players on a team, it must get five runs to fill the quota. If a grounder is hit, the batter advances one base; on an infield fly, two bases; on an outfield fly, three bases. When runners are on base, they are bumped up or move ahead as their teammates get hits.
Now here's the clincher! The team in the field must stop the ball before a hit counts. On a grounder, the ball must be fielded before it stops; for a fly, the ball must be cought to count. Remember, though, the fielders are trying to get the ball not to put the other team out but to ensure that the batter gets on bases. For one team to fill its quota, it needs the help of the other team. For the fielding team to get up to bat, they ahve to help the batting team fill its quota. batters generally get three pitches and rotate back into the order if they don't get a hit; but the pitcher has a reason to provide good ones. Fielders rotate through the different positions during the course of the game.
This game can also
be played as a modified version of teeball, where the ball
is placed on a chest-high, stationary, upright tee (semiflexible
plastic pipe works well as an upright). The batter swings until
he or she bats the ball (tees off) into play.
Back to the Top
Reverse Score.
If you want a game that really plays with the contemporary concept of winning and losing, try a reverse-score game. Every time you score on the other team, they get a point. It's a gift! If you want to add further to the
confusion, have no goalies and have the players who score switch to the "winning" team, which is the team with the most points, but actually the weakest team, because it got its points by being scored upon. When it's
all over, try asking who won!
Back to the Top
Incrediball.
A great cooperative game still waiting to be invented. See what you can come up with!
Back to the Top