Players: 12 or more; Level 1 and up
Where: Indoors in a gym or outdoors
Equipment: None
Object:
To guess the identity of a person who is sending signals to the rest of the players.
Play:
One rider is chosen to be the Spy. The Spy leaves the playing area until another player is chosen to be the Signaler. Everyone except the Spy knows who the Signaler is.
All riders begin to ride randomly around the playing area. The Signaler rides, quietly adjusting his or her riding style every few moments. (Examples: riding with one hand on a hip, hands on head, whistling, hands out to side, swinging arms, hand shading eyes, thumbs up, head tilted, or any other actions that the other riders can imitate.)
All other riders immediately follow the Signaler’s lead without giving away the identity of the Signaler.
The Spy tries to identify who the Signaler is and has two tries to guess who is giving the signals. If the first guess is incorrect, play continues. On the second guess, correct or not, the round ends and the Signaler then becomes the new Spy and leaves the playing area while the previous Spy chooses a new Signaler for the next round.
Level Adjustments:
None.
Variations: Audience members can play too, as long as all the signals are kept to actions that can be done along the sidelines. An audience member can also be a Signaler.
Riders should not practice other skills, such as one-footing or wheel walking during the game since the object is to follow the signals. But if there are many players, they could be divided into different skill levels. More experienced riders could include more difficult riding styles in the actions to be imitated by other riders.
Contact: Carol McLean, unicyclecentral@hotmail.com