Squirrels Steal Nuts

This game is about "stealing" things from each other , something that also happens in many different ways in nature and the animal kingdom.

Divide the group into two teams, each with its own half of the field. Each half should be large enough for participants to run and warm up thoroughly, at least 10–12 meters long. Divide the field with a line in the middle and a line at each end, making a total of three lines. Outside each half of the field, each team places five stones ("nuts") in a circle. This is the team's nut depot.

The goal of the game is to cooperate and find good strategies for how the team will steal "nuts" from opponents, and ultimately have all 10 "nuts" in their own circle. To steal a "nut," a participant must run over to the opponent's half of the field, get past the defenders, and reach the nut depot without being caught. You can only take one "nut" at a time. The one who has a nut in hand can freely return to their own half of the field without being caught.

If a player is caught by an opponent before reaching their own goal line, the player must stay at the opponent team's nut depot. They must remain there until a teammate manages to free them. This happens when a teammate runs over to the opponent's half of the field, tags the captured player, and says "FREE" – without being caught themselves. If the teammate succeeds, both can freely return to their own team, but they are not allowed to take any nuts with them on the way back.

The field can be drawn with chalk, scraped into gravel, or perhaps most fun of all, marked with thin rope in the forest. Attach the rope to pegs driven into the ground.

Everyone can find a role on the team. It's about utilizing each other's strengths:

• fast and agile attackers
• strong and clear defenders
• cunning distractors who create confusion for the opponent

The game becomes more challenging the larger the field and the more uneven the terrain. The field can advantageously be set in forest terrain.