Items:
none
Directions:
Two patrols play together against the other two. We will call them A, B, C, and D. A and B face each other, with a distance of fifty feet between them, the boys standing one behind the other. C and D do the same, taking their position at least fifteen feet to the side of their opponents. The Scoutmaster, or whoever directs the game, stands in the center of the parallelogram which is thus formed. This is shown quite clearly in the picture. He hands a staff to the first boy of each of the patrols standing side by side. Upon a given signal these two run as quickly as they can to the boys heading the other two patrols, hand them the staves, and retire from the game. The two who now have the staves return them to the first of the remaining Scouts of the other patrols, after which they retire from the game, and so on. The game is continued until all the boys have run with the staves. The object is to see which two of the patrols can finish first. The last boy on either side carries the staff to the Scoutmaster in the center. Of course, that side wins whose last boy gets to the Scoutmaster first. Naturally, you must remember to have the same number of boys on both sides, and each must stand perfectly still until he has received the staff. If you play this game outdoors, you can get more fun out of it by arranging so that a ditch, fence, or other obstacle has to be crossed by the boys who run with the staves.