Charades, Sardines & Tag

This game is called Sardines. A lot of you may have heard it, but it's one of my favorites. Here's how you play:  1. Pick someone to be "It". 2. "It" hides while the other players count to one    hundred with their eyes closed. 3. Everyone searches for "It". When a player finds "It", he doesn't say anything. He quietly hides with "It". 4. Each player who finds "It" squeezes into the hiding place until there is only one player left looking. 5. The last player to find "It" becomes "It" in the next game.   Now this is a pretty original game too. It's called Charades. Here's how you play:  1. Have a bunch of different things people can act out on pieces of paper and put them in a bowl or basket. 2. Pick someone to go first. 3. The person picks a piece of paper and tries to act out what it says on it. Don't forget, you can't talk or make any noises. 4. The other people playing try to guess what they're acting out. 5. The person who guesses correctly acts out next.   I have one last game. It's great for an outdoor night time game. It's called Ghost in the Graveyard. Here's how to play:  1. Choose someone to be the ghost. Then pick an object, such as a mailbox, a street lamp, or a tree, to be home base. When players are touching the base, the ghost can't tag them. 2. The ghost hides while the other players close their eyes and count out the hours until midnight: "One o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock, four o'clock...eleven o'clock, midnight!" 3. Now the players say, "Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie; if you're not ready, holler 'I'!" 4. If the ghost says she is not ready, then the players count to midnight again before starting to look for her. 5. The players search for the ghost. As they walk around, she tries to sneak up and tag one of them without any player spotting her. If she tags a player, he becomes the ghost for the next game. 6. But if any of the players spots her first, he can shout, "Ghost in the graveyard!" and all the players can try to get back to home base before the ghost tags them. If they do, then the ghost has to be the ghost again in the next game.