Dodge the Bullet: A MacGyver Balloon Game

Materials Needed to Play:

• 2 people
• 1 balloon
• heart and desire

Rules: 

1. Player 1 gives themselves the name of their favorite MacGyver villain, and then they grab a balloon and sit on a chair or sofa.
2. Player 2, aka MacGyver our hero, finds an empty space in front of Player 1.
3. Player 1 strikes the balloon in an attempt to hit Player 2.  Player 2 attempts to dodge the balloon.
4. If the balloon hits Player 2 before striking anything else, then Player 2 gets "shot."  If the balloon hits any other surface first such as the floor or another object, then the bullet is "dead" and the play is over without Player 2 getting shot.
5. After each attempt, Player 2 must return the balloon to Player 1 in a reasonably expedient fashion. Harry's Will showed us that MacGyver is a good sport.
6. The game continues for a predetermined amount of time.  When the time is up, if Player 1 has been shot less than 8 times (i.e. the number of times MacGyver was shot in the series), then Player 1 wins.  If Player 1 gets shot 8 times or more, then Player 2 is victorious.

History of the Game:

With all due respect to all the other MacGyver Balloon games out there, I'm going to go out on a limb and claim that Dodge the Bullet is the greatest MacGyver Balloon game that's ever been invented.  For more, let's see what Nick from 3 years ago had to say in the On a Wing and a Prayer post:

In this episode, Pete gets shot in the shoulder.  This is the first episode we've covered where either MacGyver or Pete gets shot.  I think we need to add a "shot chart" to keep track of all the times MacGyver and Pete get shot, so I'll add it to the rankings page.  At this point, you're thinking, "that's a little weird."  Let me explain.  When I was a kid, I played a game with my sisters that I called "Dodge the Bullet."  I liked to dodge things, and I was impressed with MacGyver's ability (or luck) to dodge bullets that were frequently whizzing by.  So when I was watching MacGyver with one of my sisters, we would play "Dodge the Bullet" during the commercials.  The rules of the game were that my sister had to sit on the sofa while holding a balloon.  Meanwhile, I would jump and dive around the room.  She would whack the balloon with her hand (like overhand hitting a volleyball) and try to hit me with the balloon, and I would try and dodge it.  As soon at the balloon hit something (like the floor, the window behind me, or the coffee table), the bullet was dead, so to speak, and I was free to pick it up and give it back to her.  Each time the balloon hit me first, however, I was "shot."  My goal was to get shot fewer times than MacGyver had gotten shot all-time in the series--if that happened, then I "won."  If I got hit greater than or equal to the number of times he got shot, then I "lost."  There were many times where it was very dramatic as I was on my last life and waiting for the commercial to end while having to dodge the balloon like my life depended on it.  Back then, there were still new episodes coming out and I was seeing older ones for the first time, so if there was a new one where he got shot, it was actually a good thing for me in the game, because it meant I got an extra life. Although of course I didn't like to see MacGyver get shot.  There you go. See, no weirdness at all.  

Demonstration:

This demo comes from 10 years ago when I was a bit more nimble.  And the gal doing the shooting? None other than Mrs. MacGyver Project.

Your Turn:

Go find a balloon and a friend and play some Dodge the Bullet!