Spoons

OBJECT - Make four of a kind, and don't be the last one to grab a spoon.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. This should ideally be played with a group of no more than seven or eight.

WHAT YOU NEED - A full deck of playing cards and one spoon for each player, minus one.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have all players sit in a circle with spoons in the middle. There should be enough spoons in the middle so every player except one can grab a spoon.
2. Have one player shuffle and deal the cards (help if you need to). Four cards get dealt to each player. All extra cards are placed in front of the dealer.
3. The object is to make four of a kind in your hand. This means you want to have all four 3s or all four Kings, etc.
4. On the word "GO", the dealer takes a card from the extra card deck. The dealer must then discard one card and pass it to the player on his/her left. While the next player decides if he/she wants to use that card, the dealer draws another one.
5. Play continues like this, with each player discarding and passing. You may only have four cards in your hand at a time, and you may only pick up one card at a time.
6. When the last player discards, instead of passing the card to the dealer, they make a discard pile. Should you run out of cards without someone getting four of a kind, the dealer may shuffle those cards and use them as a new deck.
7. When someone makes four of a kind in their hand, they must grab a spoon. However, they want to do this in such a way that no one else notices.
8. If anyone notices that a spoon has been taken, they can grab a spoon as well, even if they don't have four of a kind in their hand.
9. Whoever does not get a spoon in the round is out.
10. Remove a spoon and play again.
11. Keep playing until only one remains. They are the winner.

Sneakiness is encouraged when grabbing a spoon. When someone does notice, it usually turns chaotic quickly.

THIS WORKS ON - Observational skills (knowing when someone takes a spoon), matching (making four of a kind), competition (playing a game with peers)

Magazine Scavenger Hunt

OBJECT - Find the most items on your list.

GAME TYPE - Scavenger hunt.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. Have as many people as you want. If there are less than four, everyone will work individually. If there are four or more players, teams will be made of two or three, depending on whether there's an odd or even number.

WHAT YOU NEED - Lots of magazines, scissors, glue, and a list of the items you want the players to search for. You can either have a list with a box for each item, or just a list with a separate piece of paper for a collage.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into teams of two or three.
2. Give everyone a list that you've made previously. As mentioned before, the list can be simply a list of items, or it can have a box for each item.
3. Have each team search through the magazines, looking for each item mentioned and cutting them out.
4. At the end of a set time limit, the searching is done. The players can now glue the pictures either to their list or make a collage by gluing them onto a separate piece of paper.
5. The team that found the most items, or that were the most creative, wins.

If you want to try a variation, have the players come up with the list they need to search for.

Some suggestions for items to search for:

• A car
• A boat
• A hat
• A shoe
• Something red
• Something tiny
• Letters that spell the names of everyone in your team
• Something to eat
• Something shiny
• A celebrity

THIS WORKS ON - Creativity (coming up with items for what is listed), artistic ability (cutting and pasting), finding items (finding what's listed)

Octopus Tag

OBJECT - Don't get tagged by the octopus or any tentacles!

GAME TYPE - Tag game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You can have as many people as you want to play this game, but at least six.

WHAT YOU NEED - A rectangular space to run with clearly defined borders.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set the borders of your area, which should be rectangular. The ends of the area are the safe zones.
2. Designate one person to be the octopus.
3. The octopus stands in the middle of the area, while all other players go to one of the safe zones (everyone in the same place).
4. When the octopus says "GO!", all other players must run from their safe zone to the other, trying to avoid the tag of the octopus. Players may not cross over the edges of the area.
5. If someone gets tagged by the octopus, they become a tentacle. Rather than attaching to the octopus, however, they must stay in the same place they were when they were tagged.
6. Once all players who have not been tagged, the octopus returns to the center of the area and says "GO!" again. Players race back to the other safe zone, this time trying to avoid the tag of the octopus AND any tentacles.
7. Tentacles may not move from their spot, they are rooted to the ground. However, they may take one step as long as their other foot is firmly planted.
8. Anyone who gets tagged by a tentacle becomes another tentacle and must stay in place to try and tag people the next time.
9. The last person who can avoid all tentacles and the octopus is the winner, and becomes the new octopus.

If any tentacle needs help staying put, you can use a carpet square, or draw a big circle where they need to stand using chalk, or tape.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to avoid the tag), following directions (staying inside the borders, staying in place as a tentacle)