Winkum

Can you sit? Can you wink? Let’s play winkum!

Items needed:

The most important item needed to play winkum is plenty of space. Simple, right?

To set up make a large circle of chairs. There should be one more chair than the number people sitting.

The last think needed to play is the ability to wink. Don’t worry though, if you can’t wink just blink. Everyone will get the idea.

Ages appropriate:

With very little modification winkum can be played by children ages 8 right on up! The only modification for smaller players is the use of smaller chairs.

Object of play (how to play)

Divide the group into two teams one team sits and one team stand behind the chairs. There should be one empty chair, with someone standing behind it. The person with the empty chair is ‘it’.

The object of the game for player standing behind the chairs is to have the chair in front of you occupied at all times.

If you are seated, you are always trying to switch seats.

‘It’ attempts to gain an occupant for the empty chair by winking at a person seated in another chair. If you are on the receiving end of the wink you try to escape from your chair to the empty one without the person standing guard behind you touching your shoulders and pushing you back into the chair.

Variations and reminders

Remember if the wink comes your way, you have to move!

Younger players may need to be reminded not to grab a fist full of clothing or the neck of the seated player. This game is very fun and can be rambunctious. Knowing the members of your group will help you decide if you want to play with this particular crowd.

For older kids, in their teenage years winkum is especially fun and requires little in the way of adaptation. To heighten the suspense divide teams along boy girls lines and have the girls stand behind the chairs. It is very entertaining to watch a tiny 90 pound girl endeavor to wrestle a football player back into his seat.

The multiple wink: This variation is fun, but is best for older kids. The final variation note is for the winker don’t be content to wink at just one person. Create a bit of mayhem and certainly distract your standing opponents by winking in rapid fire succession to many of the seated players. This should put several sitters in play at once and create foot race to the empty chairs.

A twist on multiple winks is to have more than one winker! This quickens the pace of the game and requires a bit more concentration.

Finally a party game that goes way beyond Duck, Duck, Goose!