Have you ever jumped into a pile of leaves? Ever notice how the members of the winning team in most sports celebrate by jumping onto a big pile of players? Do you wonder why in American football, the player who is tackled gets tackled by the entire opposing team? Obviously, jumping onto a pile is a lot of fun, and it's even more fun when the pile is made up of other people.

This was the basis for 'floor jumping', a game invented by several college roommates who lived in a house at the University of Illinois in the early 1990s. All you need to play are several players acting as jumpers, one player acting as the victim, one couch per jumper, and one floor for the victim.

How to Play

Although games are sometimes scheduled in advance, a game of floor jumping can begin at any time. The game starts when all the couches in the room have been filled by players. Having nowhere else to lie down, the final player will have no choice but to lay on the floor, and thus 'volunteer' for the role of the victim. This is the signal for every player on a couch to suddenly leap into the air, with the intent of landing on the victim. Style points are awarded for being the first jumper to land on the victim, while points are deducted for missing and landing on the floor.

Any jumper who lands on a piece of furniture, such as a table, lamp, or television, is automatically disqualified. A jumper who fails to jump becomes a victim, as does a jumper who merely moves to a different couch. Laziness is not tolerated in floor jumping.

Once all the jumpers have landed somewhere, everyone races to a couch, and play starts again. The victim can become a jumper by claiming one of the couches, but this can be difficult to accomplish from the bottom of the pile. If the victim gets upset and leaves, simply throw a couch out of the room and pick a new victim.

The game is over when all players are too sore to move, or when all the players have gotten upset and left.