Backcountry Play Book: A Quick Group Games Resource

Written by B. Mirkin, J. Struck, and J. Seymour

An excellent games and activities resource for adventurers of all kinds! This book is a great quick resource for field guides, classroom teachers, or anyone facilitating a group activity of any kind. The book promotes intentional play with inviting activities that set the tone, create cohesion, build skills, and develop relationships with self, others, and nature. The game grid is a unique and ingeniously simple framework for choosing the optimal game to match the objective. This book supplies a catalogue of games and activities and provides a framework for thinking about how games and activities can fulfill many of the essential functions needed for a fun, memorable, and developmental experience. The authors’ goal is to draw attention to aspects of group dynamics might be taken for granted but are in fact key opportunities for promoting group and participant development.

*One of the activities listed in this book is credited to Sheldon Franken, founder of Soshemo/Inquiry Adventures