12. WHAT’S UNDER THE BOX?
Cost: $
Prep time: a couple hours
Messy?: Yes
Supplies: long table with a hole on one side, big tablecloth, stopwatch, watermelon, wig, baseball bat, a couple random items (such as a shoe, a football, or phone), a few large boxes
This is a game that tricks both the participants and the audience. To start you’ll need to cut a hole in a table that’s big enough to comfortably fit someone’s head through from underneath, and a tablecloth (with a matching hole) that’s long enough to conceal a person under the table.
Before you set up the game, call up three contestants. Two of them can be random, but one should be a kid you can trust to ham it up and be a little crazy. Ideally this person should be a baseball or softball player, but it’s fine if they aren’t. Take these kids aside to where they can’t see the setup or hear you explain the game to the audience.
Arrange the tablecloth on the table, place the random items on top along with the baseball bat, and cover them with the boxes. (The bat should be the last item before the hole.) Have a leader put the wig on and crawl under the table with the watermelon, put their head through the hole, and cover them with a box.
Here’s what you’ll tell the audience:
“Our contestants think they’re racing to identify the items we’re going to put under the boxes on this table. I’m going to time them, and they’re going to flip over the boxes one at a time to guess what’s underneath. [Flip the boxes to show them.] But when they get to the last box, this is what will happen. [Flip the last box and have the leader yell.]”
(Make sure the leader is facing the contestants, not the audience.)
Here’s what you’ll tell the contestants:
“You’re going to go out there and when you hear, ‘Go,’ flip over the first box, shout out what’s under it, and move to the next one. The person who names all four items the fastest wins.”
As each contestant comes out, repeat these instructions and remind them that you’re timing them.
When you get to the pre-picked contestant, you’ll give them their own separate instructions, and something different will happen. Have the leader put the wig on the watermelon, and put the watermelon through the hole instead of their head. When the pre-picked kid removes the box, the leader will still yell, the kid will pretend to freak out, grab the bat, and smash the watermelon.
Pro tip: Make sure the leader keeps their hands on the very bottom of the watermelon, and that they don’t raise the watermelon too high so that the audience doesn’t see their hand. Also, pick a big crazy wig that will cover plenty of the melon.
