Blow Against (indoor game)

Players: 2; referee
Materials: Ping-pong ball, tablespoon, 2 books, and small electric fan for each player

If you don’t have a store-bought fan to use for this game, make a fan by accordion-folding a piece of construction paper, or by gluing a large paper plate to a wooden paint stirrer.

Mark out imaginary boundary lines by placing books at opposite sides of the room. Behind each boundary line, place the fan so that it tilts toward the floor.

Each player crouches beside a book, facing the other player. Each takes a spoon and holds it like a shovel close to the floor. The referee puts a Ping-Pong ball directly in front of each player’s spoon, then turns on each of the fans.

Each player must push, with the spoon, his Ping-Pong ball across the floor toward the opposite player’s boundary line. Of course, this gets harder the closer you get the fan! Players may stand, crawl, or crouch as they push the balls across the room, but at no time may a player touch a ball. The referee watches closely for this and sends any player who breaks the rule back to the beginning. If a Ping-Pong ball blows out of the spoon and races backwards, a player can rescue it using his spoon only.

The first player to cross his opponent’s boundary line wins the race.

Collected from The Little Giant Book of Kids’ Games by Glen Vecchione