Name and Purpose
- Bom Bom Bom combines performance, guessing, and chasing in a game that gets everyone moving and laughing.
- Players practise creativity, teamwork, and quick decision-making under pressure.
a.k.a.
- Occupation Parade, Guess That Job
Age / Group / Time / Space
- Ages 8-16 | 10-40 players in 2 teams | 15-25 minutes | Large open field or gym with clear home bases at each end
Materials
- 2 cones or markers for home bases
- Optional: a list of occupation ideas on a card for groups that get stuck
Quick-Run Card
- Set up a home base at each end of the playing area.
- One team huddles and chooses an occupation to act out.
- That team marches toward the other, calling the Bom Bom Bom chant.
- After the chant exchange, the team acts out their occupation.
- When guessed correctly, the acting team runs back to home base. Any player tagged before arriving earns the guessing team a point. Tagged players immediately rejoin their team.
Setup and Boundaries
- Place home base cones at opposite ends of the playing area, at least 20m apart
- Signal: 1 whistle = pause; 2 whistles = stop and gather
- No rough physical contact during the tagging chase. Hand touch only.
- Check for hazards on the running path before play
How to Play
- Divide players into two teams. Each team goes to their home base.
- One team (the acting team) huddles quietly and picks an occupation to perform. Examples: painters, mechanics, chefs, surgeons, astronauts.
- The acting team marches toward the other team calling loudly: “Bom, Bom, Bom…Here we come…All the way from [their choice of location].”
- The guessing team responds: “Where’d you come from?”
- Acting team: “[A made-up place].”
- Guessing team: “What’s your occupation?”
- Acting team: “Almost anything!”
- Guessing team: “Get to work!”
- The acting team begins miming the occupation together. No words or sounds that give it away.
- The guessing team calls out guesses. When they call the correct occupation, the acting team immediately turns and sprints back to their home base.
- The guessing team chases and tags with a gentle hand touch. Each tagged player earns the guessing team 1 point.
- Tagged players rejoin their team immediately. No one sits out.
- Teams swap roles. The guessing team now becomes the acting team.
- Play continues until time is called. The team with the most points wins, but celebrate the best performances too.
I-OPt Options
- Start
- A (Active): Lead the march and call the chant
- S (Support): Help your team brainstorm the occupation during the huddle
- Q (Quiet): Contribute ideas in the huddle, then follow the group in the march
- O (Observer): Watch the first round, then join a team for the second
- Mid
- A (Active): Be the most expressive actor in the mime
- S (Support): Watch for the correct guess and alert teammates to run
- Q (Quiet): Walk back to home base rather than sprint after the guess
- O (Observer): Track points and call them out between rounds
- Late
- A (Active): Take on the tagging chase role
- S (Support): Suggest a tricky occupation idea for the final round
- Q (Quiet): Focus on accurate miming over energy
- O (Observer): Share the funniest or most creative moment at the debrief
- End
- A (Active): Suggest a next-level variation for next time
- S (Support): Help collect cones and occupation idea cards
- Q (Quiet): Rest and reflect before the debrief
- O (Observer): Name one occupation performance that stood out
Inclusion Adaptations
- Players who cannot run during the chase may walk briskly back to home base. They are still worth a point if tagged before arriving.
- Players who find physical mime difficult may serve as the chant caller or the occupation suggester in the huddle. Both roles shape the team’s performance.
Stewardship Moment
- No materials to clean up beyond cones.
- Reflection: “What did this game ask of your team? What did everyone need to contribute?”
Consent
- Pre-brief: “This game involves a short chase back to home base after your team is guessed. For those not comfortable being chased or tagged, walking back is a valid choice and you’re still in the game.”
- Mid-game check: Between rounds, do a quick energy check. “How is everyone feeling? Ready for the next round?”
- Re-entry: Tagged players rejoin their team immediately. No one is out of the game at any point.
Risks and Mitigation
- Rough tagging during the chase: remind players that a gentle hand touch is all that is needed. No grabbing, pushing, or tackling.
- Players bumping into each other during the run back: remind teams to run in their own lane, not across others’ paths
- One team consistently losing: rotate team compositions between rounds to keep the energy balanced
Warm-Up Suggestions
- “Freeze Frame”: leader calls an occupation and everyone strikes a frozen pose immediately. 30 seconds, then relax.
- “Speed Mime”: partners mime an occupation to each other for 15 seconds each, then reveal
Debrief Questions
- What? “Which occupation was hardest to act out? Which was easiest to guess?”
- So What? “How did your team decide what to perform? What happened when someone had a strong idea?”
- Now What? “What does this game tell you about how teams make decisions quickly?”
Cleanup and Reset
- Collect cones
- Return occupation idea cards to the activity kit
