All Hands on Deck

Name & Purpose All Hands on Deck is a high-energy listening and movement game. A Captain shouts nautical commands and the whole Crew scrambles to respond. It builds listening, quick decision-making, and group coordination — and it’s loud, joyful, and a little chaotic in the best way.

a.k.a. Captain’s Call | Ship to Shore | Crew Command

Age Band / Group Size / Time / Space Ages 8–16 | 15–60 players | 15–25 minutes | Large open outdoor field or gym. Players need room to run sideways and form groups of 2–4 quickly.

Materials

• Large open space with defined left/right boundaries
• Cones or rope to mark Portside and Starboard edges (optional but helpful for large groups)
• Whistle for the Captain (optional)

Quick-Run Card

1. One player becomes the Captain and stands at the front. Everyone else is Crew.
2. Captain calls commands one at a time. Crew responds immediately.
3. Core commands (see Full Rewrite for complete list):
   • “Portside!” — run to the left boundary
   • “Starboard!” — run to the right boundary
   • “Hit the Deck!” — drop to the ground (or crouch if ground is wet)
   • “Swab the Deck!” — pretend to mop the floor
   • “Captain’s Bridge!” — groups of 3 link arms and march in place
   • “Cannonball!” — groups of 4: two form an arm-circle, one curls through, one reacts dramatically
   • “Captain’s Ball!” — pairs form and dance for 5 seconds
4. The last person or group to complete a command heads to the Second Deck (a marked side zone).
5. Second Deck players complete the next command in their zone, then re-join the main Crew.
6. Rotate the Captain role every 3–4 commands. The game runs until time is up or until everyone has captained.

Setup & Boundaries

• Mark Portside (left) and Starboard (right) boundaries with cones before the game. Point them out: “This cone = Portside. That one = Starboard.”
• Mark the Second Deck zone clearly — it should be beside the main play area, visible but not isolating.
• Set the play boundary for running commands so players don’t run into walls or fences.
• Teach all commands before the first round using a walk-through demo — do not start timing until everyone has heard and tried each command once.
• “Hit the Deck” — brief players: crouch to knee height if the ground is wet, muddy, or hard surface.

How to Play The Captain stands at the front and scans the Crew. They call a command in a clear, loud voice. Every Crew member responds. For individual commands (Portside, Starboard, Hit the Deck, Swab the Deck), everyone acts alone. For group commands (Captain’s Bridge, Cannonball, Captain’s Ball), players scramble to find partners or groups of the right size fast — anyone who cannot find a group in time joins the nearest incomplete group, making it larger. No one is left out of a group command. The Captain watches and calls out the last individual or group to complete the command. Those players walk to the Second Deck, complete the next command from there, and then walk straight back in. The Captain then calls the next command. After 3–4 commands, the Captain points to a Crew member to take over. The new Captain has 5 seconds to think of their first command.

Command Reference:

• Portside — sprint to the left boundary
• Starboard — sprint to the right boundary
• Hit the Deck — drop to a crouch or lie flat (player’s choice of safe option)
• Swab the Deck — mop the floor in dramatic slow motion
• Captain’s Bridge — groups of exactly 3 link arms and march in place
• Cannonball — groups of 4: two players form a circle with their linked arms, one player ducks through it (the cannonball), the fourth player reacts dramatically as if hit
• Captain’s Ball — any two players find each other and ballroom-dance for 5 seconds
• Loose Cannon — Captain points at a spot on the floor; everyone must move away from that spot before the Captain counts down from 3

I-OPt Roles Three tracks run simultaneously throughout the game:

• Active Crew: Responding to commands in the main play area — the default role for all players.
• Second Deck players: Not eliminated — still playing the same command from their side zone. They re-join after one command, no delay, no barrier.
• Command Creators (optional, for groups of 20+): Two or three players sit with the leader and help the Captain by whispering new command ideas. They rotate into the Captain role next. This keeps creative thinkers engaged without a physical role.

Inclusion Supports

• “Hit the Deck” — players who cannot get to the floor use a pre-agreed alternative (e.g., both hands on knees). Set this norm publicly before the game: “Our version of Hit the Deck is whatever gets you low safely.”
• Players who cannot run use a fast walk — walking to the boundary counts.
• Players who cannot partner quickly for group commands are never left out — the rule is: any group command creates space for one more person, always.
• Replace “Captain’s Daughter” and “Captain’s Son” (original gendered commands) with “Captain’s Ball” (paired dancing, no gender assigned) and “Captain’s Bridge” (group marching).
• The Second Deck is not a punishment — remind the group of this explicitly every time a player heads there.

Stewardship After the final round, the last Captain asks the group to carry any equipment back together. 30-second debrief standing in a circle: “We just followed a lot of commands. When is it useful to follow instructions fast? When is it important to slow down and question them?”

Consent

• Pre-brief: “Some commands involve getting close to other people — linking arms or dancing. If any command feels uncomfortable, you can always swap to a nearby group doing a different command, or do a solo version. No explanation needed.”
• Mid-game check-in: After the first rotation of Captain, ask: “Everyone comfortable with the commands? Any we should swap out?”
• Opt-out / re-entry: Any player can step to the side and observe any command. They re-join at the next command without comment. They can also volunteer to be Command Creator instead.

Risks & Mitigation

Risk	Likelihood	Mitigation
Players collide running to Portside/Starboard	Medium	Spread starting positions wide; enforce “run in your own lane”
“Hit the Deck” causes injury on hard surface	Medium	Brief alternative crouching option before play; avoid on concrete without mats
Players excluded from group commands (groups form too fast)	Medium	Rule: every group can take one more person; enforce this actively
Second Deck stigma — players feel publicly embarrassed	Low–Medium	Model going to Second Deck yourself during the demo; keep your tone neutral
Gendered or stereotyping commands from original source	Present	Commands replaced entirely in this rewrite — see Command Reference above

Warm-Up Suggestions

• Simon Says Scramble: Classic Simon Says for 2 minutes to prime the listen-then-act reflex.
• Four Corners: Players move to one of four corners on a signal. Builds the “run to a boundary” habit that Portside/Starboard uses.

Debrief

• What? “Which command was hardest to do fast? Which one made you laugh most?”
• So what? “What made some Captains easier to follow than others? What did the clearest Captains do differently?”
• Now what? “Think about a time you had to give directions to a group. What would you do differently after being both a Captain and Crew today?”

Cleanup & Reset Retrieve cones and stow them. No other materials to collect. The space is ready in under 2 minutes.