GroupGames
Oval Games

Octopus

A classic oval game where tipped players sit and become tentacle-waving octopuses trying to tip runners going past.

Players
10–100
Ages
5–16
Time
15 min
Prep
None
Equipment
1 item

What to bring

  • Court markers (cones, shoes, jumpers, chairs etc.)

How to play

Choose one tipper for every 20 players. Choose someone else to be the caller. Everyone else lines up at one end of the oval.

The caller yells 'OCTOPUS' and everyone must run to the opposite end of the oval without getting tipped. Anyone who is tipped must sit down exactly where they were tipped and wave their arms around like they have octopus tentacles. The octopuses must try to tip other participants as they run past, but the octopuses must stay on their bottoms, and not move around the oval. Anyone tipped by an octopus sits down too, so the barriers keep growing.

Once the other participants who did not get tipped have reached the other end of the oval, the caller yells out 'OCTOPUS' again and the game continues.

The last remaining runner is the winner and may be either the caller or a tipper in the next round.

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