{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Nicola Hilliard, Creative Content Producer","standfirst":"Ready to become a legend of Sherwood Forest? Today is Robin Hood Day, so we\u2019re sharing these exciting, fast-paced archery games for young people to have fun and learn new skills along the way.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EArchery isn\u2019t just about hitting the bullseye. It\u2019s also about building focus, bravery, patience and coordination \u2013 just like Robin Hood had. Whether young people are popping balloons or battling in tic-tac-toe, they\u2019re gaining confidence with every shot.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/0ckmigvj/young-person-doing-archery-3.jpg","width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":"The image shows a Beaver doing archery and holding a bow with a volunteer stood next to them helping them aim.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch4\u003E1. Balloon pop\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBlow up balloons and attach them to a target, then challenge young people to pop them with their arrows. You can make it harder by adding more balloons, change the size or shape of the balloons, or seeing if they can shoot from different distances.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E2. Archery tic-tac-toe\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECreate a giant tic-tac-toe grid on a target and get into two teams. Use different coloured arrows for each team. Players shoot arrows into the grid, aiming to get three in a row to win.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E3. Hit the number\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ECall out a number between 1 and 10 (based on the rings on a standard target). Young people take turns trying to hit that exact scoring ring. If they hit it, they get a point. Mix it up with simple maths, such as \u2018Hit a number that adds up to 7,\u2019 or \u2018Hit an even number.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E4. Countdown challenge\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EEach player starts with a score of 50. After each round, they subtract the number they hit from their total. First to hit exactly zero wins, but if they go below zero, they\u2019re out!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E5. Odd and even\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDivide the target rings into odd numbers and even numbers. Players are assigned a team (either \u2018odd\u2019 or \u2018even\u2019) and they must try to hit the rings in their category. After a set number of turns, the team with the most points wins.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E6. Score zones\u0026nbsp;\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDivide the target into colour zones (such as red = 5 points, blue = 10, yellow = 15, white = 0). Young people then shoot three arrows per round and tally their points.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFeeling extra competitive? Add in some bonus rounds.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"","gtmClass":"","image":"/media/b0xmrjjt/young-person-doing-archery-2.jpg","width":6000,"height":4000,"altText":"The image shows a young person doing archery and holding a bow. They\u0027re smiling out towards the grass.","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EFor even more of a challenge\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E7. Sniper showdown\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESet a narrow challenge, such as \u2018Only red rings count.\u2019 If a player hits anything else, they score zero for that round. Change the target zone every round, so next round you might say \u2018Only blue\u2019. Young people can see how precise they can be under pressure!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E8. The heist\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESplit into two teams. Each colour equals a \u2018loot value\u2019 (such as gold = \u00A310, red = \u00A35, and so on). Players try to \u2018steal\u2019 as much as they can by hitting high value zones. After each round, tally up the total team loot.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo make it even more interesting, throw in a \u2018security guard\u2019 twist. If someone hits the white ring, they lose all their loot that round!\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E9. Eliminator\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStart with everyone shooting at the full target. Next round, only red and gold zones count. Then, only gold. Then, only the bullseye. Miss? You\u2019re eliminated. Last one standing wins.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Ch4\u003E10. Archery limbo\u00A0\u003C/h4\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETie a string or rope horizontally across the board. Players shoot their arrows under the rope without touching it. As the game progresses, you can lower the rope for more of a challenge.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAll Scout activities must be safely managed. You need to complete a \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/risk-assessments/\u0022 title=\u0022Risk assessments\u0022\u003Erisk assessment\u003C/a\u003E. You can use the \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/safe-scouting-cards/safety-checklist-cards/\u0022 title=\u0022Staying Safe - Safety Checklist\u0022\u003Esafety checklist\u003C/a\u003E to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/general-activity-guidance-a-z/approving-activities-guidance-for-lead-volunteers/\u0022 title=\u0022Approving Activities - Guidance for Lead Volunteers\u0022\u003Eapproval for the activity\u003C/a\u003E, have suitable \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/safety/planning-and-assessing-risk/guidance-for-supervision-of-activities/\u0022 title=\u0022Guidance for supervision of activities\u0022\u003Esupervision\u003C/a\u003E and an \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/intouch/\u0022 title=\u0022InTouch\u0022\u003EInTouch\u003C/a\u003E process.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/archery/\u0022 title=\u0022Archery\u0022\u003EArchery\u003C/a\u003E is an adventurous activity. For this activity, the activity leader must have an \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/activity-permit-scheme/adventurous-activity-permit-scheme/\u0022 title=\u0022Adventurous Activity Permit Scheme\u0022\u003Eadventurous activities permit\u003C/a\u003E with the right level and permissions for your group. Find out more about doing \u003Ca href=\u0022/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/general-activity-guidance-a-z/archery/\u0022 title=\u0022Archery\u0022\u003Earchery in Scouts\u003C/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022##\u0022 title=\u00229.7 Adventurous activities permit scheme\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022#\u0022\u003EAdventurous Activity permit\u003C/a\u003E.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EYou may wish to try \u003Ca href=\u0022/activities/soft-archery/\u0022 title=\u0022Soft archery\u0022\u003Esoft archery\u003C/a\u003E instead.\u003C/p\u003E","link":null,"colour":"#ffe627","title":"Staying safe","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"29 October 2025","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[{"caption":"","title":"Archery","url":"/activities/archery/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Adventurous Activities Permit Scheme","url":"/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/information-for-volunteers/activity-permit-scheme/adventurous-activity-permit-scheme/","newWindow":false},{"caption":"","title":"Risk assessments","url":"/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/risk-assessments/","newWindow":false}],"relatedLinks":[],"id":87215,"nodeName":"10 exciting archery games for young people","title":"10 exciting archery games for young people","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/0ckmigvj/young-person-doing-archery-3.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1dc2e27023a9c30","caption":"Young Person Doing Archery 3","type":"jpg","size":9775232,"width":7000,"height":4667,"altText":""},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"10 exciting archery games for young people","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Here\u2019re 10 ways to put a fun (and even more competitive) twist on your next archery tournament. Which one will you try first?","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC84NzIxNSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2025/october/10-exciting-archery-games-for-young-people/"}