The Loyal Lifeguard
The Loyal Lifeguard
A Fun Youth Group Game
Watch the Tutorial Video
The Loyal Lifeguard is an active indoor game where students work together to rescue their teammates one at a time using a gym scooter and a long rope.
Overview
Ideal # of Participants: 10 or more
Where to Play: Indoor
Age of Participants: Middle School / High School
Approximate Time to Play: 10–20 minutes
Materials Needed: 50 feet of Rope, 1 Gym Scooter per team
How to Play The Loyal Lifeguard
To play The Loyal Lifeguard, each team will need approximately 50 feet of rope and a scooter.
You can use colorful gym scooters or really anything with a low platform and casters that can safely carry a student across the floor.
Split everyone into even teams of approximately 5–10 people each.
Each team should choose one player to be their Lifeguard.
The Lifeguards should all head to the center of your playing area. This could be the center circle of a basketball court, or you can simply define an area using cones or painter’s tape.
This region is the Lifeguard’s home base, and Lifeguards aren’t allowed to leave it.
Set Up the Players
Everyone else—the people being rescued—should be scattered throughout the playing area.
To make the game fair, try to place everyone close to another person from each of the other teams.
For example, if you have three teams, each group of three should include:
- One player from Team 1
- One player from Team 2
- One player from Team 3
This keeps the spacing fair so that one team doesn’t end up with all of their players clustered close to the middle.
Rescue Your Teammates
On the count of three, every Lifeguard rolls their scooter across the gym toward one of their teammates.
The goal is to roll the scooter close enough that the teammate—who should be sitting on the floor—can grab it without getting up.
Once the teammate grabs the scooter, they sit on it, hold on tight, and get pulled toward the center by their Lifeguard.
The Lifeguard pulls the scooter hand-over-hand using the rope.
Scooter Safety Rules
Once a player is sitting on the scooter, they aren’t allowed to touch the floor with their hands or feet.
If someone falls off the scooter, their team needs to reel the scooter back in and try the rescue again.
Once a teammate has successfully been rescued and reaches the center, they can immediately begin helping their team.
Now you’ve got two people pulling the rope to rescue the next teammate.
Keep Rescuing Your Team
From here, the Lifeguard throws the scooter out toward another teammate.
They hop onto the scooter, get pulled into the center, and then join the rescue effort.
Keep repeating this process:
Throw → Grab → Ride → Rescue → Repeat.
The team continues rescuing their teammates until everyone has safely made it into the center.
How to Win The Loyal Lifeguard
The first team to successfully rescue all of their members and bring them safely into the center wins!
Tips for Playing The Loyal Lifeguard
- Make sure you have enough open floor space for students to safely ride the scooters.
- Use sturdy gym scooters designed to support the weight of your students.
- Make sure the rope is long enough to reach the players around the room.
- Remind students not to touch the floor with their hands or feet once they’re on the scooter.
- Encourage rescued players to immediately help their team pull in the next person.
- Try to distribute players evenly throughout the room so that no team has an unfair advantage.
- Clearly mark the Lifeguard’s home base before beginning.
Lesson Handout
Want to make this easy to share with your volunteers or students? Download the “The Loyal Lifeguard” 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.
