A fun and engaging game, using fairy tale characters to problem solve.
Age: 9 to adult
Players: Whole Group
Time: 20–30 minutes
Skills: Improvisation, Role-Play
Divide everyone into groups of four or five. Ask each group to choose a fairy tale that they all know (or select one for them). Each person in the group chooses a major or minor character from that story. Next, they should decide on a problem faced by their character, such as the Ugly Duckling who can't make friends or the Wolf from The Three Little Pigs, who can't get enough to eat. They can also think about this in terms of an objective – what does their character want to achieve? Is it making friends, perhaps, or finding sausages?
Explain that everyone has been invited to a party and should politely mix and mingle so that they meet characters from other stories. Characters shouldn't immediately reveal who they are but focus on the problem or objective they have identified. Ask players to move on once they've listened to their partner's problem and have an idea who the character is. This part can be quite funny, as you may get wolves meeting each other, or princesses talking to pigs.
Director's Tips
- Ask characters to find someone at the party who might be able to help them with their problem.
- Form a circle and ask characters to introduce themselves and to explain who has offered to help solve their problem.
- You could even supply snacks and nibbles to help people get into the swing at the party!