Grandma's Underpants - Ultimate Camp Resource

Name and Purpose

Grandma’s Underpants is a circle humour game where the challenge is keeping a straight face no matter what.
Builds group energy, laughter, and creative questioning. Works anywhere with no setup needed.

a.k.a.

Age / Group / Time / Space

Materials

Quick-Run Card

Players sit in a circle. One player volunteers to stand in the centre.
The centre player must answer every question with the phrase: “My grandma’s underpants.”
Circle players ask any question they like, trying to make the centre player laugh or smile.
If the centre player laughs or smiles, the player who made them laugh swaps in.
If they hold it through a full round, they choose the next player.

Setup and Boundaries

Form a comfortable circle where everyone can see the centre player clearly.
Signal: raised hand from staff pauses the game if needed.
Remind the group before starting that questions should be silly and fun, not mean-spirited or personal.

How to Play

Players sit in a circle.
One player volunteers to stand in the centre. That player must keep a straight face for the entire round.
Players in the circle take turns asking any question they like.
The centre player must answer every single question, no matter what it is, with the same phrase: “My grandma’s underpants.”
If the centre player laughs or smiles at any point, the player who made them laugh swaps into the centre.
If the centre player makes it through a full round without laughing, they earn bragging rights and get to choose who goes next.
Play continues for as many rounds as the group wants.

I-OPt Options

A (Active): Volunteer to stand in the centre and resist the laughter.
S (Support): Play as a circle player, asking questions and enjoying the group energy.
Q (Quiet): Stay as a circle player and ask quieter or more thoughtful questions. Your presence adds to the circle.
O (Observer): Watch from just outside the circle. Join as a circle player when you are ready.

Inclusion Adaptations

Players who prefer not to be in the centre can stay as circle players for the whole game without any pressure.
If a player laughs but does not want to swap into the centre, they can nominate someone else or pass. Keep it voluntary.
For younger groups, the leader can model the centre role first to show that laughing is celebrated, not shamed.

Stewardship Moment

No materials used, no cleanup needed.
Prompt: “We just laughed together using nothing but our imaginations. What else can we create with just our voices and creativity?”

Consent

Pre-brief: “This game has someone in the centre answering silly questions. For those not comfortable with that spotlight, staying as a circle player and asking questions is a fully equal way to play.”
Mid-game check: After the first round, quick thumbs check: up, sideways, or down.
Opt-out/re-entry: No pressure to take the centre role. Any player can wave off the swap and the previous centre player stays in or another volunteer steps up.

Risks and Mitigation

Circle players asking mean-spirited or personal questions: set the expectation before play that questions should be silly, not targeted. Staff model good examples.
Centre player feeling embarrassed about laughing: frame laughing as winning, not losing. The player who made them laugh is the hero of that moment.
Game dragging if the centre player never laughs: give a 2-minute time limit per round, then rotate.

Warm-Up Suggestions

“Silly Sentence”: each player says one ridiculous sentence about their morning to warm up the group’s humour.
“Straight Face Circle”: go around the circle once; each player tries to say their own name without smiling.

Debrief Questions

What? “What kinds of questions were hardest to keep a straight face for? What made them work?”
So What? “What does it feel like to hold it together when everything around you is funny?”
Now What? “When in life is it useful to stay calm and focused even when things feel a bit ridiculous?”

Cleanup and Reset

Grandma’s Underpants