Stepping Stones (Lava River)

The team is stuck in the middle of a burning lava river, and the only way to safety is across a few solid stones. The game tests communication and planning - there are fewer stones than feels comfortable, and once a stone loses contact with a player, the lava sweeps it away for good.

Equipment

- Mats/"stones" (foam mats, pieces of carpet, cardboard) - number is flexible, ideally a bit fewer than the number of players - Rope or tape to mark the "island" (the target area) - Optional: an object to use as "treasure" (see Tips)

How to Play

Spread the mats out in the space and mark an "island" with rope about 10-20 meters away - this is the safe target zone. Have players stand on the mats first, then explain the rules and the story: they are stranded in a lava river, and their only safety is the stones under their feet and the target island.

Rules: - No one may touch the ground with any part of their body. - Mats can't be slid along the ground - they must always be picked up and placed down in a new spot. - A player must stay in constant contact with a mat (touching it with some part of their body) at all times - mats can't be thrown. If a mat ever loses contact with everyone, the lava sweeps it away (the instructor takes it away from the team). - Any number of players can stand on one mat, and players can move freely between mats.

Goal: the whole team must reach the island safely.

Tips & Variations

- Extra treasure - add one extra mat and place an object on it ("treasure") that the team must also carry to the island (at the start, anytime during the game, or right at the end). - Fewer mats from the start - give the team one mat less than usual, so two players have to share a spot right from the beginning. - Harder communication - one or more players aren't allowed to speak, or wear a blindfold. - Different mat shapes and sizes - use mats of different shapes and sizes instead of identical ones, which changes how the team plans its layout. - Strict stone limit - give the team only "half the players plus one" mats (e.g. 12-13 players get 7 stones). This is a much tighter limit than "a few fewer," and forces the team to plan every move far more carefully. - One-directional stones - some mats (marked by color) can only move forward, while the rest can move forward or backward, adding a layer of strategy about which stones to save and which to sacrifice. - Time pressure / patrol - from time to time, the facilitator announces that a "patrol" is coming or it's getting dark, forcing the team to rush back to the start and try again. This adds stress and forced restarts. - Buying back a lost stone - if the team loses too many stones, they can "buy" one back by having one member complete a silly challenge (sing a song, do a dance). - For a quicker, simpler warm-up, the game can also be played in a stripped-down version: only one person on a stone at a time, without the full contact rules.