The Evolution of Man
The Evolution of Man
A Fun Youth Group Game
Watch the Tutorial Video
The Evolution of Man is a hilarious rock-paper-scissors youth group game where students physically act out different stages of “human evolution” as they compete to move from egg to chicken to dinosaur to human.
Overview
Ideal # of Participants: 8 to 40
Where to Play: Indoor / Outdoor
Age of Participants: Elementary School / Middle School / High School
Approximate Time to Play: 5 to 15 Minutes
Materials Needed: Nothing!
How to Play The Evolution of Man
Start as an Egg
In this game your goal is to advance from the earliest known stage of human evolution, the egg, to the next stage, chicken, to the penultimate stage of dinosaur, and finally to the stage of human that we all know and love.
Ok, maybe you’ll have trouble finding any research to back up this science, but for the purposes of this game that’s how humans have evolved.
Everyone starts out as an egg.
When you’re an egg, you have to waddle around down on the ground with your arms wrapped around your knees.
Evolve Into a Chicken
When you beat another egg in rock-paper-scissors, you evolve into a chicken.
When you’re a chicken, you still stay low to the ground, but now you have wings and optionally can make chicken sounds.
Find another chicken to play against and try to evolve again.
Evolve Into a Dinosaur
When you beat another chicken in rock-paper-scissors, you evolve into a dinosaur.
As a dinosaur, you can stand almost entirely upright, but you have little T-Rex arms.
Now you need to find another dinosaur to compete against.
Become a Human
When you beat another dinosaur in rock-paper-scissors, you evolve into a human.
And when you’re a human, you’ve won!
The goal is to be the first person in the group to make it all the way from egg to human.
How Players Move Up and Down
For example, imagine there are two chickens playing against each other.
The winner of that match evolves into a dinosaur, while the loser gets dropped back down to egg.
The only exception is if you lose a match as an egg. You don’t get demoted because you’re already in the lowest tier.
This means students can move both forward and backward throughout the game.
How the Game Progresses
In the very beginning, everyone is an egg, so it will be very easy to find someone to play against.
But shortly after, half of the group will be chickens, so you might not have someone immediately next to you who is at the same stage.
You can just keep playing until there’s no way for the remaining people to advance to the next tier.
But I love playing that the first person to reach the stage of human wins!
Tips for Playing The Evolution of Man
- Demonstrate every stage first. Show students exactly what an egg, chicken, dinosaur, and human should look like.
- Make the movements exaggerated. The sillier the students look, the more fun the game becomes.
- Use best-of-three matches. This gives students a little more competition in each matchup without slowing the game down too much.
- Remind students they can only play their own stage. This is the most important rule to keep the game moving correctly.
- Let chicken noises happen. They’re optional, but they can make the game even funnier.
- Give students plenty of room. Students will be constantly moving around trying to find someone at their level.
- End when someone becomes human. Having a clear winner gives students an incentive to keep playing and makes the game work well as a quick youth group activity.
Lesson Handout
Want to make this easy to share with your volunteers or students? Download the “The Evolution of Man” Lesson Handout (PDF) below!
Where Games Meet God's Word...
Most leaders just look for games to play, but miss their true value. When used well, games help teach your lesson, because experiential learning is by far the most effective way to teach a lesson that sticks.
If you want to see this principle in action, check out Uplift, our FREE youth group lesson that is built for engagement. It contains a fun game, but then your students’ experience from the game ties into the Christ-centered message you’ll teach.
