10 Youth Group Games You Can Play with Just a Kickball

Everyone loves games. Games can start connections with your group. As youth pastors, we want to make the time to do games in our programming, but sometimes we don’t have the budget to keep buying new, shiny things for a game. I asked three students recently what their favorite part of our youth group was, and all three of them said, “GAMES!” That’s proof that games matter.

But what if my budget doesn’t allow me to buy more equipment? What are some games I can play using the same equipment?

We all want a bigger budget for our youth ministry programming, right? There are always these fun, exciting things you can add to your ministry, but that sometimes means spending $300–$500 on this thing that my students might not even like anyway. Figuring out how to create more fun and games for your students seems sometimes impossible with a small budget.

Here are 10 games that you can play with the same equipment: a kickball. Kickballs are cheap and versatile. You can play any number of games with them!

1) Classic Kickball

The OG. Use whatever you have in your area for the bases (chairs, shoes, or cones). Roll the ball, kick, and run!

2) Kickball Dodge

Split into two teams or go every man for themselves. Have the students pick their own space. Once they pick that place, they must stay there for the entire game. Try to throw the kickball at another person’s legs. If you are hit with the ball, you are out. You can also add the following element: throughout the game, call “dodge break” and they can move to a new spot in 5 seconds.

3) King of the Circle

Form a circle. You must kick the ball around the circle. Each person is given a number. The person has to say their number, then the number of the person they are kicking to. For example: “1 to 3, 3 to 5, 5 to 7.” If a person doesn’t say their number, doesn’t say the number of the person they kicked to, or kicks to the wrong person, they are out. You want to become the “King of the Circle,” so each time someone is out, the numbers rotate. You are trying to become number 1. Number 1 starts with the ball each round.

4) Wall Ball

Each player takes turns throwing or kicking the ball against the wall. After the ball hits the wall, the other players either have to catch the ball or kick the ball. If a player touches the ball but does not catch it, they have to run to the wall and touch it before the ball is hit against the wall again. If the ball hits the wall and someone catches it, the person who kicked or threw the ball is out. Play until one person is left.

5) Relay Roll

You can split the group into two teams, or you can have one big group. One at a time, each player has to roll the ball to a specific place in the room, go and get it, and bring the ball back to the line (use hula hoops as rolling placements). Then the next person can go. If you have two teams, the team that does it the fastest wins. If you have just one big team, give the students a time to beat, time them, and reveal whether they were successful or not when they’re done.

6) Target Practice

Take random items you have in your ministry and place them around the room; some close and some far. Players will try to kick the kickball and hit the “targets.” For each target, give out 1 point or assign different point values to each target.

7) Freeze Kick

Everyone spreads out in the space. One person will be picked by the leader to be the kicker; everyone else moves around the room. Whoever is near the ball has to freeze. If the person moves when they need to freeze, they are out.

8) Kickball Bowling

Line up items around the room that can stand up. Cones are recommended if you have them. Line the items or cones in a triangle (like bowling pins). One at a time, students will try to hit and knock down as many items as possible. You can play so that the person who knocks down the most in one roll wins or play collectively as a group to see how many rolls it takes to knock down all the items. Challenge the group to do it in a certain number of rolls. If they hit the target or do it in fewer rolls, they win!

9) Monkey in the Middle

Just like the classic game, two people are on the outside and one person is in the middle. The difference is that this version is played by kicking. You have to kick the ball to your partner without the person in the middle stealing it. If the person in the middle succeeds, the kicker goes in the middle.

10) Echo Bounce

Have your students stand in a circle. The leader will be in the middle with the kickball. The object of the game is to clap when the ball hits the floor. If a student claps too early, doesn’t clap, or claps when the ball doesn’t hit the floor, they are out. Play until you only have one student left. Fake out your students, act like you are going to drop the ball, and don’t.

Echo Bounce is currently my youth group’s favorite game, but I think the leaders like it more. We have a leader that loves to lead this game because his favorite part is faking out the students. He is an older guy, so this game gives the insight to our students that he is still young at heart, can have fun, and outsmart them! I really love this game too, because it’s fun to watch and I don’t have to be the person that leads it! So it’s a win-win for everyone!

All of these games listed show the variety of games you can play with just a kickball.

When coming up with games to play for your youth group, give the students ownership over the game. Give them the kickball and some cones and tell them to make rules and name a game. This could become your youth group’s game and students will particularly enjoy it because they made it!

Also, when picking games for your students, ask them what they like to play. Ask your students what they thought of the game when you’re done. When you find a game your students love, play it often!

No matter your budget, you can create connection, fun, and lasting memories with simple one-equipment games!

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