Pirate Gold
Crews fetch gold from the pile in the middle to their ship, with a new way of travelling every round.
At a glance
- Four crews of 2 or 3, each at a hoop (ship) in a corner of a 25 m square. Gold (balls, beanbags, discs) is piled in the middle.
- On Set sail!, each pirate travels to the pile, takes one piece of gold and brings it back to their own ship.
- Each round has a new way to travel: skip, gallop sideways, bunny hop, gold on your head, or dribble a ball with the practice foot.
- After 60 seconds, count the gold in all four ships together. Put it back in the middle and go again.
- Progress 1: Pirates can take gold from any ship as well as the pile, so they choose where the nearest gold is.
- Progress 2: Also carry two pieces of gold each trip, held by different body parts.
If it's not working: Make the square smaller.
- pirates
- run
- dribble
- 1in this order
A hoop in each corner is a ship, and the gold is piled in the middle as the island. On Set sail, a pirate from the top-left crew travels out to the island, takes one piece of gold and brings it back to the ship, here dribbling a ball as gold. Every crew goes at once: one pirate from each of the other crews and only a few pieces of gold are shown.
Full details: set up, how to play, tips and age tweaks
Set up
- Put one hoop in each corner of the square as a ship.
- Pile all the gold in the middle as the island.
- Put each crew at a ship. Change crews every round.
8 to 12 children in 4 crews of 2 or 3, an area about 25 m by 25 m (15 m by 15 m for 2021s).
How to play
- On Set sail, pirates travel to the island, take one piece of gold and bring it to their ship.
- Each round has a new travel rule: skip, gallop sideways, bunny hop, carry gold on your head, dribble a ball as gold with your practice foot, crab-walk the last 3 m.
- After 60 seconds, count the gold in all four ships together. That is the group's total.
- Put the gold back in the middle, pick a new way to travel and try to beat the total.
Keeping everyone moving
Everyone travels at once and there is no tagging or catching. Nobody is out.
Make it easier
- Make the square smaller.
- Allow walking for the carry-on-head round, or use big soft gold only.
Make it harder, step by step
- Pirates may take gold from any ship as well as the pile, so they choose where the nearest gold is.
- Also carry two pieces of gold each trip, held by different body parts, such as one in each hand or one on your head.
Three things to say
- Quick changes of direction when the island gets busy.
- Heads up to find open gold.
- Controlled carries that do not drop.
Words that work: "Brave, you went for the far ship!", "Great look up before you moved.", "Love the crew passing and helping."
Colts habit
Work hard, every round a full 60 seconds.
Both feet
The practice-foot dribble round.
Heads up
Scan for which ship has the most gold before you set off.
For your birth year
Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.
- 2020 to 2021
- 15 m square, pirate stories, no stealing round.
- 2018 to 2019
- Add the stealing round.
- 2016 to 2017
- Gold must be dribbled or passed along the ground to a crew-mate. Add a hands-only round with overarm throws into the ship.
A young leader can run this one, with an adult coach beside them.
Safety: Keep the island pile wide so children do not all dive at one spot. Heads-up rule: no running with eyes on the ground. Remove hard cones as gold for 2021s.
Keeping score: The group's total, compared with last round and last week only.