Wounded Prisoners

Items:
none

Directions:
Placed at various points, each fifty yards from camp, are prisoners, one for each competitor in the game. These prisoners can be the smaller boys of the troop, and their arms and legs should be securely bound. They are supposed to be unconscious. At a signal each of the competitors has to make for a prisoner and bring him home, and the one who reaches camp first with an unbound prisoner receives twelve points. The competitors can either untie the knots directly they reach the prisoner which would aid in carrying or on arrival at Camp, but the ropes must be removed before the result can be arrived at. No knives must be used and the prisoners, being unconscious, cannot give any assistance. The Scoutmaster has his eye on the competitors all the time, and is particularly observant for cases of rough handling or bad carrying, both of which are naturally injurious to wounded people. The competitor who obtains most points wins. A boy, for instance, might win twelve points for getting home before the others, but he may lose three points through handling his captive roughly, therefore the second boy, who would receive ten points, should be acclaimed the winner. Generally speaking, however, the first arrival wins. This provides good practice in untying knots and carrying the wounded. It can be adopted as an inter-patrol game, the first boy home out of twelve receiving 24 points, the last, 2, and the patrol which obtains the most points winning.

Return to Games