Need a fun acro game that you can play ONLINE?! Do you remember the TV show, "Name That Tune" where players listened to music and raced to call out the name of the song? This is that. But with acro poses.
This is a fabulous way to get the whole group together at an acroyoga festival, intensive, or jam. We first played this game at the Danish New Year's Acroyoga Retreat with Emil Ingemann. We've stolen many of his ideas and added a few of our own. In this post we'll share the instructions for playing, some suggestions for poses and songs you might use, and a link to our Spotify playlist.
“Without music, life would be a mistake” ― Friedrich Nietzsche.
Set Up
This game works well for as few as 6 people or as many as 100! We say 6 is the minimum because we want to have at least two groups competing and each groups needs at least a flyer, a base, and a spotter. However, groups of 9-12 people could work well. Larger groups make it possible to require group poses rather than just flyer/base poses.
Space is the only limiting factor for how many groups you can have competing. The leader should be able to see all groups at the same time. Ideally, groups are situated far enough apart that they can have discussions without over-hearing each other.
*If you are organizing online games for your community while on COVID-19 lock-down, you can play with as many groups as you can fit on the Zoom screen at one time!
All groups should be able to hear the music at the same time, so if you are playing in a big field, loud speakers might be necessary.
Instructions for Play
All members of every group should start standing up with two feet on the ground, ie, not in any pose.
The leader should explain the rules and maybe play one "practice round" so that every one understands the concept.
The leader should play one song on the list.
Each song contains a lyric or reference to something - an object, animal, or character - for which we have an acroyoga pose. For example, the song may reference a Bird.
As soon as the groups recognize the reference, they should make the corresponding pose.
The first group to make the pose wins the point. The leader decides which group made the pose first.
Leader keeps track of the points, or maybe each group tracks their own points. Most points wins the game.
Variations
The leader should decide before playing which of the following variations to use:
Chose one version: All members of the group must be involved in flying, basing, or actively spotting a pose OR Only one demonstration of the pose is needed per group.
If multiple songs reference the same pose, a different version of the pose could be required for each song. For example, once a group uses L-basing Bird pose, they can't use it again, so they might have to use Back-bird, I-base Bird, Reverse Bird, or Bird in Hand pose for the next song that uses the lyric, "Bird."
Instead of time, creativity could be the deciding factor. So instead of playing first group to make the pose wins, the leader could judge groups based on most creative interpretation of the pose. This version might take more time to play, so maybe fewer poses are included in the game. You could also include a rule that all poses must be complete by the end of the song.
Sometimes different acro communities use different names for the same pose, for example, there are several different poses called, "Mermaid." If there is a dispute about which pose matches the song, the leader should make a clear decision about who wins the point OR award points to more than one group, ie. the fastest group in each pose version.
For an advanced group, you could decide to include songs that reference more than one pose and decide that they must use both references in one pose, like a three person pose.
Also for an advanced groups, you could include washing machines. Then the leader might chose to award the point to the group where one couple completes one cycle first, OR the group where ALL members of the group complete one cycle first!
Songs and Poses
Part of the fun of the game is to use a variety of songs. Use some pop songs that everyone will recognize immediately. For those, many groups will be able to start making the acro pose before the lyric is actually sung. And use some songs that are more obscure so that players will really have to listen to the lyrics to find the pose. We like to use some kids songs, some oldies...mixing together a bit of everything makes the whole game more inclusive and funnier.
Some examples of songs we have used with the corresponding acroyoga poses:
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah by James Baskett (Bird pose)
Somewhere over the rainbow by Izrael Kamakawiwo'ole (Bird pose)
Surfin' Bird by Ramones (Bird pose)
Beat me Daddy, Eight to the bar by The Andrews Sisters (Plank pose)
Game of Thrones intro music (Throne pose)
Bat outta Hell by Meat Loaf (Bat pose)
Baby Beluga by Raffi (Whale pose)
When you wish upon a star by Cliff Edwards (Star pose)
Flaming Star by Elvis (Star pose)
Twinkle twinkle little star (Star pose)
Lucky Star by Madonna (Star pose)
Mermaid by Train (Mermaid pose)
Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong (Leaf pose)
Crocadile Rock by Elton John (Croc pose)
White Flag by Dido (Flag pose)
Wavin' Flag by K'NAAN (Flag pose)
Love having you around by Stevie Wonder (Camel pose)
Waterfalls by TLC (Waterfall pose)
Boat Drinks by Jimmy Buffet (Boat pose)
Candle in the wind by Elton John (Candle pose)
If all the raindrops (Drop pose)
Handstand by Rosie McClelland (Handstand variation)
Firefly by Ed Sheeran (Titibasana)
Sweet Lord by George Harrison (Vishnu's Couch)
Close to you by Carpenters (*three person pose: Star and Bird)
Star Spangled Banner (*at least a three person pose: Star and Flag)
Ballerina by Nat King Cole (Ballerina washing machine)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme (Ninja star washing machine)
Ninja Rap by Vanilla Ice (Ninja star washing machine)
Corkscrew by Morning 40 Federation (Corkscrew washing machine)
Link to playlist
We love this game so much that we created a Spotify playlist so we are ready to play whenever and where ever we go! To find and use our playlist, search Spotify for "Show That Acro Pose game" or follow the link here. Most of the songs above can also be found on youtube, iTunes, etc.
What did we forget?
If your mind is already racing to the songs and poses we left out, we hope you'll share your ideas with us!
Which songs did we miss?
What poses do they correspond to?
Do you have another variation or version of Show That Pose?
