JOTA-JOTI Programme Ideas

These programme ideas were collected by the Dutch Scout’s JOTA-JOTI team as a source of
inspiration for your events. There are contributions by a large number of scout groups and
other interested individuals in the Netherlands and Belgium. Under each activity the original
source is mentioned where known. The descriptions often include a photo, as these can say
more than a thousand words. The team welcome new contributions, and the ideas are added
to every year.

The original Dutch handbook was published under a creative commons licence (see
http://creativecommons.org/). Any part of it may be copied for your own use for any
Scouting, JOTA-JOTI or ham radio goal. They have kindly allowed me to begin a translation so
English speaking scouts can also benefit from the material which they have been collecting for
many years.

As I only have limited time I had to make a choice: so I have started by translating some of
the more unusual activities… most of which could be reasonably easily set up without much
specialist help. Many other simple communication games e.g. Chinese whispers are already
well known and could be easily added as extra bases to add more interest to your event.
There is a lot more material available in the Dutch handbook and I hope to find time to
translate it later.

JOTA-JOTI through the year

The number of participants every year proves that a huge number of scouts enjoy JOTA-JOTI.
What’s less well known is that some scouts enjoy this type of activity at other times too.

Communication and modern technology are central themes at JOTA-JOTI. These themes can
be continued at other times during the year, not just one weekend in October.

Communication has an important role in scouting. Scouts are encouraged to make contact
with other scouts, and share both skills and experiences.

For example it might be possible to organise a chat activity either locally or at regional level
any time in the year. Or to invite a Ham radio operator to make contact with an international
group or camp.

Larger events can make use of communication technology to enhance their activities.

Please make sure when adapting any of these activities that you comply with the law in your
country. Regulations and standards for the use of portable radios and other equipment may
well differ. A local ham radio operator or organization should be able to give you advice.

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Game key
There is a game key by each activity which details some of the most important aspects of each
game.

This key is just to give you an indication of certain points and can be adapted as necessary.

the age group

The letters show which age groups the game is designed for.

 B - Beavers, 6-7 years

 C - Cubs 7-11 years
 S - Scouts, 11-14 years
 Ex - Explorers, 14-17 years
 N - Network, 18-25 years

participants
The number of participants for the whole game or per subgroup

leaders
The number of leaders required.

length
The time the game requires

costs
€ Approximate costs of game material This costing is in Euros!

Examples
Here are 2 examples:

€
C 1-2 - 30 min 0,00

This game is suitable for cubs and can be played by 1 or 2 people. No supervision is required
and it will take about 30 minutes. There is no cost.

€
S-E-N 2P 5 2 hr 10,00

This game is suitable for Scouts, Explorers and Network It is played in 2 teams of around 5
people. The game needs 5 leaders and takes 2 hours. The materials should cost around €10.

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Alarm!
€
All 1P 1 15-60 min Depends on availability of sensors

Try to negotiate a circuit through a room or area which is set up with infra red motion sensors.
Every time one of the sensors goes off you get a penalty (points or time added).
This is an challenging game requiring good strategy and tactics.

The person who manages to do the circuit without tripping the sensors (or with the lowest number of
penalties) and in the fastest time is the winner.

variation:
Try to open a safe in a room without tripping the sensors

Material
 Motion sensors preferably battery operated
 A place to set up the sensors
 Various objects/obstacles to form a circuit

Tip: Try and find a firm to sponsor the sensors or give you secondhand ones which they have removed
when upgrading security.

Some examples of motiont sensors

From a RisX game

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Answerphone game
€
B-C 5P 1 per group 15-60 min 0,00

Game plan:
Teams have to search for a telephone number. The numbers are hanging up in pairs at various
points around the grounds. You can use a variety of techniques (descriptions, map
coordinates, etc) to give clues for the locations where numbers are hidden. The teams use
these clues to search for the hidden numbers.
At the destination they must complete a series of small challenges to find out the correct
number sequence. They are also allowed to guess the number by randomly placing the pairs
of numbers they collected. They then ring the number. If they get the wrong number they will
hear the wrong answer phone message . The game ends when a group gets the correct
number with the correct message.

material:
 several answerphones programmed with messages*
 a phone
 ... various points in the grounds with descriptions (..x tel.nr)
 min. 10 challenges at destination
 answer form

*If you haven’t got sufficient answerphones it might be possible to send a text to a mobile
phone instead but you would need to ensure the wrong numbers don’t work!

Variation beavers
€
B 1 per
5P 30 min 0,00
team

Game plan:
teams do a treasure hunt and find the numbers. At the end they are asked questions and gain
numbers for every correct answer. The correct number gives the correct message.

material:
 see above
 Treasurer hunt
 Quiz questions

Variation cubs
€
C 5P 1 per team 60 min 0,00

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Game plan:
A coordinates game: A map is printed with 100 squares: 10 horizontal and 10 vertical. The
cubs are given the first 2 numbers of the phone nr. Where the numbered lines meet (like map
coordinates) they find the next 2 numbers... They carry on until the have the whole number
and then they can ring the answerphone!

material:
 X times coordinates on the map (half the amount found in the phone nr).
 map.

source: Radio Interesse Stam (R.I.S.) en Scoutcentrum Buitenzorg, Baarn via Peter Hendriks
RRSA Rayon K

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Blind man
€
all 2 - 15 min 0,00

This game trains participants in giving good instructions, listening and trust.

Game plan:
A circuit is laid out on the ground with red and white tape. The walker is blindfolded and given a
walkie-talkie. Another person stays at the edge of the circuit and gives instructions to the walker.

Material
 Blindfolds
 Walkie-talkies
 Red & white tape or similar

Source: PE1MEW

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Infrared hunt
€
>S(C) 1 - 15 min 0,00

Remote controls for TV’s etc work with invisible lights. This invisible light is infra red light.
However if we look through special equipment we can see infra red.

Use the equipment to work out which of the remotes are working, because only those will give
out infra red light

When you’ve found all the working remotes write down the letters on the back and decode the
word..

Material

 Infrared camera or a video camera which can be used to look for infra red.

 Various remotes, some working and some not: all with letters on the back

 source: NJ-2008

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Data protection
€
all groups 1 30-60 min 0,00

We can’t imagine a world without computers, mobile phones and ipods. But how well do you
protect your data from the elements?

Game plan:
Split into 2’s or 3’s. Each small group is given an old but working data carrier with something
on it!

Every data carrier is packed up separately by a team and then subjected to 3 tests

1) being hit by a large hammer

2) put under a shower or other running water for 30 secs

3) 30 secs in the fire

Take out the data carrier after each test to check if it is still working

Which team can make the best ‘data protecter’ and which type of data carrier is
most robust?

material:

 stopwatch
 a wide variety of packing materials like wood, nails, tacks plastics, tinfoil.
 Per team an old CD, USB stick,MP3 stick Sim card or memory card. (You could ask
people to donate these as many people have obsolete items at home,)
 Apparatus to read the type of data carriers you are using
 A large hammer
 A shower, tap or watering can
 A fire

Source Scouts Info number 2 - April 2009.

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Talk by lightning telegraph
€
>B 1 1 15 min 10,00

A simple project to make with your cubs or scouts. You can find full English instructions on this
website http://www.yesmag.bc.ca/projects/telegraph.html

Once you’ve made the telegraph you can use it to send messages in morse code.

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Soldering fancy figures
€
>B 1 1 20 min 5,00

Make a stick man or insect from copper wire. This is a quick, inexpensive and creative way to
learn to use a soldering iron before going on to make electronic kits.

Material;

 Soldering tin
 Soldering irons
 Copper wire in various colours
 Pincers, wire cutters and wire strippers

Soldering Kits
It’s also possible to solder small projects from kits. You can either get these commercially or
buy them from a scouting organisation like www.kitbuilding.org or make them up yourself.

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Fix the keyboard
€
>B 1 0 20 min 0,00

Material:
 Old keyboard (without multimedia keys)
 Stop watch

Take an old standard keyboard and remove all the keys using a screw driver. Place all the
loose keys in a container. Let the particpant replace all the keys as quickly as possible in the
correct places.

The participant who repairs the key board correctly in the shortest time is the winner

Source Scouting Twickel Borne, Martijn van den Berg.

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Google Earth recognition game
€
> C 2 1 30 min 0,00

Using Google earth links 'fly' to famous buildings like the Eiffel tower or the Statue of Liberty.
The participants have to answer questions about the object, eg giving the name or location.

Materials
 Google Earth
 Make links in advance using (.kmz) files so you can easily fly from object to object

Tip: you can easily make this into a quiz for 2 teams by using a beamer

Source Scouting Twickel Borne, Martijn van den Berg.

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Headcam
€
all >2 1 20 min 0,00

In this game you carry out a series of tasks blindfolded and with a camera on your head. This
could be walking a set course or feeding someone a chocolate sandwich.

Your friends will help you. The will be watching on TV and giving you instructions on a walkie-
talkie.

Materials
You will need to prepare some technology in advance
 An old safety helmet with a wireless camera
 The receiver should be connected to a small TV
 Walkie talkies
 A blind fold
 Any items needed for the tasks

Depending on the task it may be necessary to have a ‘sighted’ person walking alongside the
participant to ensure they don’t injure themselves. This person shouldn’t give instructions
except to avoid accidents.

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Big Ear
€
all 1P 1 15 min 0,00

With the Big Ear you can almost hear each other thinking! Using a large parabola (dish). A
microphone and headphones you can hear whispers from the other side of a field

materiaal:

 A foot or stand for the dish

 Satellite type dish
 microphone, amplifier and headphones
 pen and paper

leaders:

 1

Theme:
‘Dr Zendium’s’ thoughts are still hanging around in the air. Try and catch them with the
thought microphone. Everyone can have a turn.

Game plan:
The group needs to be in a quiet place on a field. Several helpers stand around the edge of the
field. They have a list of words and have already decided who will say each one
The first child puts on the head phones and starts to listen.

The base leader calls out that the first word should be given. The designated person whispers
that word. The other helpers should mime along so it isn’t obvious who is speaking.
If the child hears the word they say so and it is written down and the next child has a turn. If
they don’t hear it at first the word is repeated getting louder each time until the word is heard.
Hearing the sound is more important then points.

points:
4 points for every correct word

length:
everyone should get a turn, but don’t take more then about 5 minutes.

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Hints (video charades)
€
>S(poss C) 2P - 20 min 0,00

Material:
2-way picture and sound connection (eg skype video speak)

Game plan
The first member of team A mimes a task in front of the camera, whilst the team B has to
guess the answer. If its guessed correctly points are given to both teams according to the list
below. Giving points to both teams means they don’t try to cheat by deliberately miming
badly.

Points:
<30 sec 20 points
30-60 sec 10 points
60-90 sec 05 points

People miming use the normal charades gestures and rules .

If necessary put up a poster showing the normal gestures and their meanings. On an
international event this can be done in more then 1 language.

Leaders should think up a number of words or sentences at the start. These can be adapted to
the theme of the event or the location. They can write these down on post-its or scrap paper

Possible Categories:
 Knots
 Scouting
 Future
 Books
 Films
 TV

Bron: NJ-2008

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Human-Robot
You could also call this a parking aid for the blind..
Using ultrasonic sound waves which are out of the range of human hearing we can measure
the distance between you and the wooden planking or obstacles in front of you. Note that the
distance is only measured at the height of the sensor. You will hear a beeping signal through
the head phones when you get close to an object which will warn you to go the other way.

Material
To build the human robot you need the type of circuit which is sometimes used as a parking
aid in caravans camper vans, or cars.
You build this into a box and attach the head phone socket. Attach a strap so the box you can
hang around the participants neck at about chest height
You also need a blindfold, headphones and an obstacle course made from wooden panels or
similar.

Take care that there are no obstacles lower then the height of the sensor which could cause
accidents.

Source: Scouting Gorssel 2010

16
Lego puzzle
€
CSE 1P - 30 min 0,00

Materials
 2 identical sets of lego bricks (of other construction sets) per pair or group
 Walkie-talkies* or other means of communication so teams can speak but not see
each other

The game is played with 2 teams or individuals

Each team is given an identical set of lego and a walkie-talkie.
One team builds (the buider) and another copies the model (the copier)
The builder makes a small object from the lego blocks and the copier tries to recreate it

This may sound very easy, but they can’t see each other!

Using the walkie talkie the builder gives instructions to the copier telling him where the next
lego brick should go.

Do they both look the same when finished?

When they have finished, swap roles so both experience the difficulties of the other role.

Tips and variations

For younger children: use a small number of identical lego or duplo bricks. Give the builders a
ready made model.

To keep it interesting for older children add extra bricks, or use different bricks in each set, so
they have to work out the size of the bricks not the colours…

No walkie talkies? They can sit back to back to play or you can divide the room with a sheet.

Source: Mirjam Klaver

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Live Action Scotland Yard
€
E,NW > 6 people yes 60 min 0,00

This game was designed by Joel Friesen and an english version can be found online
http://joelf.com/other-stuff/live-action-scotland-yard/

Please do a risk assessment and ensure you take adequate safety precautions..!

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Minefield game
€
S 2 - 20 min 0,00

Materials
 Old CD's or plates
 Blindfolds
 Info. about landmines (if wished)

Lay landmines (old CD's) around the playing area.

Scouts play in pairs. One is blindfolded and has to walk through the minefield, the other
stands to the side and calls out instructions.

If you let several pairs play at once it becomes more difficult!

On a larger playing field you can use walkie talkies.

After the game you may wish to explain that many countries still have large numbers of
invisible landmines spread around the countryside. This means that people still get injured or
killed by them every day, even though the war in those places ended many years ago.

Bron: RISX

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Minefield Game 2
€
All prep: 45 min.
teams - 0,00
game: 20 min

This can be a very exciting evening game which makes the preparation time well worthwhile.

To play this game you need to be able to build 4 or 5 mines. This can be done by using
infrared motion sensors often used by security firms.

It may be possible to get these secondhand from a security firm as they often need replacing
when standards change.

Screw the sensor to a piece of wood. Drill some holes in the wood so you can easily hang
them up in trees using string.

It is easier to screw a connection strip* onto the wood rather then opening up the sensors to
make the connections. * see photo

Sometimes you will need to add an extra relay if the relay inside only has a ‘circuit breaker‘.
Connect the sensor to a buzzer or siren so you can hear when someone comes too close to the
mine. Use a battery from a motor bike or alarm system to provide the necessary power. If
you are close to your scout hut you could use adaptors, but you would need very long cables
and these are difficult to conceal.

You can paint the mines black

You need to play this in the dark in the woods so you can’t see the mines hanging up..
Materials
Mines as described above
String or tape
Tarp or black plastic sheeting
Torch or lamp

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Set up a 15 x15 metre area in the woods with string or tape. On one side set up a tarp or
similar to prevent the teams seeing into the pay area from the outside. At the other side hang
up a torch or lamp to show where the exit is.

Preparation
The mines should be hung in the trees so it is impossible to cross the play area in a straight
line without being detected by a mine. Setting up takes a fair amount of time because you
have to check that there is actually a way to get through the minefield without being detected.
If the overlap is too big you can make the mine’s range smaller by hanging the detector so it
tilts down, or hanging it lower, or by sticking tape over part of the window.

Method
The team assembles behind the tarp and can’t see the playing area. The first scout enters with
the task of reaching the other side. Naturally he will trip a mine within the first few feet, and
the buzzer will sound. He then returns and tells the others that you cant go more then ‘8 steps
forward’. Now scout 2 can try. He will try to go left or right after step 7 until he also gets hit
by a mine. He returns and tells the others what he has found out and scout 3 can try. The
game is about giving correct information. The group which completes the task in the smallest
number of turns gains the most points.

Source: Frank Molenaar, PE1NZM.

21
Pacman
€
ALL >1 group multiples of 2 10 min. 5,00

This game is another where pairs give each other instructions using a walkie talkie. It
resembles the old computer game Pacman.

Game plan
Set up a maze like field using coloured tape which resembles a simple pacman maze. In
pacman there are also dots. in the game these are represented by water balloons

The idea is that 2 or 3 teams play against each other.

One member of each team is blindfolded and is given a bucket and a walkie talkie with
headphone or earpiece.

Each team should be guided through the maze and ‘eat’ as many dots as possible (put the
balloons in the bucket)

They may not cross the lines.

Just like a real Pacman but without the monster to eat you up.

Materiaal
 per team 2 walkie talkies with an earpiece or head phones
 per team 1 blind fold
 per team 1 bucket
 a lot of water balloons
 tape to set up the maze
 tent pegs to fasten the tape to the ground

A pacman maze
On the next page is an example of a real Pacman maze and a picture of how to set up one in a
field.

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Source: KDS, communicatie team HIT Dwingeloo. 2010.

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