R&D: Games

The Game of All Games

As I mentioned before, Hammerpuzzle’s creative juices really start to flow when there is a playful energy in the room, which means that our rehearsals always start with a few games (to loosen us all up and get our minds active, focussed and ready to work, of course!) Our favourite is one that has evolved over the years has gained the indisputable title of ‘The Game of All Games’. And that it is, quite literally. For those of you aware of the game ‘Zip, Zap, Boing’, the foundations are very similar, although we replace the Zip, Zap and Boing with cast members’ names. For those of you not aware of this game, basically, the rules are thus:

A Zip travels around the circle, you may zap across the circle when it reaches you and the person who receives the ‘zap’ may then zap another person or continue the zip around the circle. A boing may be used to deflect a zip, changing the direction around the circle. Confusing? Yes!

But the Game of All Games does not stop there. Extra rules have been added, with such favourites as ‘Benji Bowl’ (everyone must swap places), ‘Street’ (aimed at someone across the circle, you must swap places with them in a gangster-like fashion.) and ‘Can I get a rewind?’ (taking the action back two spaces, with DJ actions, of course!) And when you lose a life? You are forced to continue the game only speaking in gobbledygook! There are dozens of other rules, and more than likely a new one will be added each rehearsal. This keeps us Hammerpuzzler’s on our toes at least!

Another favoured warm-up game, and one that has transcended into a rehearsal tool, (using our sticks- more on that later!) is the ball game. A ball is passed around in a specific order, with each ball representing a certain theme, and each person having a name that matches this theme. So, for example, if the ball is an ‘80s Superhero Ball’, I might decide that I am Chuck Norris. This means that when the ball is passed to me, ‘Chuck Norris’ must be shouted to me so I know it is my turn to receive the ball. We then add in further balls, such as ‘90s Popstar Ball’ (with people such as Craig David and Spice Girls), and ‘Shakespeare Plays Ball’. This really is a game of group focus, because you must listen for your various names, and know who each of your recipients are.We have played this game with our sticks too, so that we can get used to throwing them around the space.