Instructions 

1. Determine the boundaries of the play area. The boundaries of play are important in sharks and minnows. The field of play is usually a rectangle with players traveling the length of the field during play. You’ll want the width of the field to be narrow enough to keep the players within a reasonable distance to be tagged. That usually means half of the field of play of a soccer field, basketball court, hockey rink, etc and can be marked with cones or the natural lines of the field. For a pool, usually the edge of the pool defines the playing area.

2. Choose a few sharks (all other players are minnows)

3. Line up the minnows on one end of the playing field This is considered a “safe zone” until the shark calls them out.

4. Position the shark in the middle The shark starts roughly in the middle of the field before the chasing begins.

5. Start the round when the shark calls the minnows out to play The shark will call out the minnows to play, usually with the phrase “Hey minnows, swim this way.” At this point, the “safe zone” disappears and the minnows can be tagged at any point. Some minnows may strategize to make a run for it right away, while others may wait to find safety in numbers.

6. Cross the field and avoid being tagged The goal for the minnows is to get across to the other side of the playing field without getting tagged by the shark. Minnows that make it across to the other end of the playing field without being tagged are safe and advance to the next round.

7. Convert tagged minnows to sharks Any minnows that were tagged get added to the team of sharks for the next round.

8. Continue with the next rounds (and repeat) until there is only one minnow left As the rounds progress, there will be more sharks and fewer minnows. Continue playing rounds until there is only 1 minnow left. You can change this game to fit a bible story - for example call the game "fishers of men" instead of sharks and minnows. The sharks are now "fishers of men" (aka the Apostles) spreading the Gospel to the minnows.

Gospel Adaptation Example

Here's an example adaptation of this game to connect to a Gospel regarding sin:

• As Catholics, our ultimate Goal is to reach Heaven (the end of the play area).
• However, there are many temptations in the world that prevent us from reaching heaven (the "sharks"). 
• The more we get caught by these temptations, the harder it is to reach heaven.
• Therefore, we need to work as hard as we can to avoid these temptations in life in order to reach our end goal, which is Heaven.