Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: f21b33ce51557ff131278d8da508e3c2dcc7dabb10221a5c267ce3a95846586d

# Chicken Baseball

Two teams alternate roles: the batting team tosses a rubber chicken and circles their group to score runs, while the fielding team retrieves it and passes it through an over-under relay to call stop.

**Time:** 15 minutes. Playmeo suggests up to 15 minutes or 5 innings; UWT suggests 15 minutes total including setup and debrief.
**People:** 6 to 24. Two teams, ideally equal, facing off in an open room. An odd participant or non-runner serves as scorekeeper.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Energize participants through rapid physical coordination and whole-group relay movement.
**Use it when:** In-person retreats, workshops, or training sessions when participants need physical movement, quick laughter, and a break from sitting.
**Skip it when:** When playing space is confined, flooring is slick, participants have mobility limitations without suitable alternate roles, or quiet concentration is required.

## Materials and tools

- 1 rubber chicken (or safe soft toy)
- 1 flip chart or whiteboard with dry-erase marker for scorekeeping
- Floor tape or cones to mark playing boundaries

## Before participants arrive

1. Clear an open area free of tables, loose chairs, and tripping hazards.
2. Mark a perimeter boundary so throws remain in a safe zone.
3. Position the flip chart where both teams can clearly see the running score.

## Say this to open

We are playing Chicken Baseball. One team bats by launching our rubber chicken into open space. While their runner circles their own team to score runs, the fielders retrieve the chicken, form a line, and pass it over heads and between legs. When the last fielder gets it, they shout STOP and scoring ends. Let us set up our teams.

## How to run it

### 1. Form teams and explain rules (3 minutes)

Divide participants into two teams. If the count is odd or someone opts out of running, assign them as scorekeeper. Designate Team A to bat first and Team B to field. State safety rules: toss the chicken into open space away from faces, pass with care, and keep balance when bending.

### 2. Play first half-inning (3 minutes)

Team A huddles together. One batter throws the chicken into open space and runs laps around their cluster, scoring 1 point per full lap. The first fielder to touch the chicken stays in place. Other fielders line up behind them immediately. Fielders pass the chicken backward, alternating over heads and between legs. The last fielder grabs it and shouts STOP. The runner halts instantly, and the scorekeeper records completed laps.

### 3. Reverse roles and play additional half-innings (6 minutes)

Swap team roles so Team B bats and Team A fields. Team B chooses a thrower and runner, launches the chicken, and runs laps while Team A retrieves and runs the over-under relay. Repeat for a second full inning (two more turns) if time permits, rotating who throws and runs each time. Stop play when the timer reaches 6 minutes.

### 4. Tally scores and debrief (3 minutes)

Announce the final score. Gather the group and ask 2 debrief questions about speed, communication, and line organization. Take 3 or 4 brief observations from the room.


## Debrief questions

- What helped the fielding team organize into a single line without delay?
- How did your team communicate when passing the chicken under time pressure?

**Finished output:** A recorded score tally across completed half-innings and an energized, reconnected group.

## Remote

This activity requires physical sprinting and a tactile passing relay. It cannot be run remotely without abandoning the defining mechanic. For an online energizer, run a camera scavenger hunt or word-relay challenge instead.

## Hybrid

Chicken Baseball is strictly an in-person physical energizer. Remote participants cannot participate in the physical relay or running laps. Do not attempt a hybrid version; run a separate digital game for online groups.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants who choose not to run or bend can serve as scorekeeper, boundary referee, or stationary center anchor for the batting cluster.
- Any participant may pass on throwing or running laps without explanation and take a stationary relay role.

## If the session gets stuck

**Fielders scramble around the chicken and create confusion about who leads.**

Remind players that the first person to touch the chicken stays where they are as line leader; everyone else must file behind them.

**The batting cluster drifts outward, forcing the runner into an exhausting wide circle.**

Pause briefly and instruct the batting team to squeeze shoulder-to-shoulder to keep the running lap compact.


## Terms used here

- Over-under relay: A passing line where teammates pass an object backward, alternating over the head and between the legs.
- Batting cluster: The tight group of teammates standing together while a designated runner circles around them.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed on Playmeo, where the activity is attributed to Mark Collard.

Retained the chicken-throwing, over-under relay, and circling scoring mechanic from Playmeo. UWT structured step timings, capped step instructions under 90 words, added scorekeeper roles, and supplied debrief questions.

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/energizer-warm-up-games/chicken-baseball)

[Playmeo](https://www.playmeo.com/activities/energizer-warm-up-games/chicken-baseball/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/chicken-baseball-team-energiser-game-fun-bat-ball-sport/