These physical challenges require an element of problem-solving as well as some dexterity. These are individual challenges which can be completed alone or used with friends by taking turns and seeing who can complete the challenge most successfully.

Stuff Needed for all Challenges:

  • Small towel that you don’t mind people standing on (a hand towel or tea towel would work. You could also use a pillow case or cushion cover). The smaller the towel, the harder the challenge.
  • Tall cardboard box such as a cereal box.
  • Length of string or rope about 1m in length.
  • Three objects for Cross the Swamp (see Challenge). Cushions are a good starting point.

1. Towel Turnover Challenge

Spread a small towel out flat on the floor. If it has a label or pattern on it, note which side is facing up. Stand on the towel. Try to turn the towel over without touching the floor. To make it harder, use a smaller towel. You could use a sheet of paper for this but it would rip easily. If you have scrap fabric, you could cut various different sized squares to use for this challenge.

Younger participants will find it easier if the towel looks different on each side (e.g. has a pattern or picture on one side). To make the challenge harder, apart from using a smaller towel, introduce additional rules. For example, participants have to keep one hand behind their back, or one foot raised off the floor. You could also try this challenge with two people on one towel.

Turn the towel over without any body parts touching the floor. You could pull a corner across or try the 'jump and flip' method!

2. Cardboard Box Pick-Up

Find an empty, clean cardboard box that’s fairly tall (for example a cereal box). Place the box upright on the floor. Try to pick up the box with your teeth and stand up (you may not touch the box with anything except your teeth and only your feet may touch the floor). If you succeed, rip or cut off the top of the box to make it a bit shorter. If you’re quite flexible and have good technique, it’s possible to keep going until the ‘box’ is just a small, flat piece of cardboard!

3. Cross the Swamp

Find three suitable objects for the challenge. At least one object must be easy to stand on. Designate an area of the floor as the ‘swamp’ which needs to be crossed without any part of the body touching the floor. Use the objects however you like to help you get across without touching the floor.

For less agile participants, or those less experienced in problem-solving, provide easy objects (e.g. three cushions that can be used as stepping stones. They can stand on one cushion whilst moving another one). For more-skilled participants, find objects that require an element of balance as well as problem-solving to get across (e.g. small objects such as drinks’ coasters, or long rounded objects such as a draught-excluder). Certain items can be quite fun to use, such as a rolling pin with free-moving handles – check that it’s strong enough to take most of the participant’s weight first!

4. Tie a knot

The challenge is to tie a knot in a piece of string. Sounds too easy? You must hold the string with one hand at each end, and from the moment you pick up the string until you’ve tied a knot, you may not let go! Think carefully about your strategy before you start tying yourself in knots…

Note: Holding the string in your hands whilst using your fingers to tie a knot does not count, as you still need to let go of a section of string to achieve this.

There is a set solution for this challenge (although if a participant can come up with another creative solution that should, of course, count). It’s far more fun to have a go before looking at the solution but if you give up, click here to see how it’s done.