Calvinball

OBJECT - Make up your own game.

GAME TYPE - Creative game.

WHO'S IT FOR - All groups can play. You can have as many or as few as you want playing.

WHAT YOU NEED - It depends on the rules you decide. You may want to have some options ready when making the rules, then you can figure it out from there. You will need a chart for the rules and masks for everyone.

HOW TO PLAY:
Calvinball is a game played in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. As Calvin says in one strip, the only permanent rule in Calvinball is that you can't play the same way twice. Therefore, you'll have to make up this game as you go. You may want to take two sessions with this game, at least at first. In the first session, set the rules. In the second session, play the game.

• SESSION ONE: Set the rules. Each group will be different in the way the rules get set. For Group One, for example, you may want to have more limited choices (what type of ball should we use...a basketball, a soccer ball, or a football?), while Group Three can have a broader choice (what type of ball should we use?) In the comic, Calvinball seems to be a cross between croquet and Capture The Flag, but you can play it however you want. Encourage creativity in the choices (seventeen bases, shoot a football into a basketball hoop, can only carry the ball between your knees, etc). You'll need to establish how to score, roles of the players, number of players per team, number of teams, penalties for breaking rules, and any other things you can think of. This will take a while, which is why I recommend taking an entire session.
• SESSION TWO: Play the game. When playing the game, make sure everyone is following the rules they came up with. However, in the spirit of true Calvinball, players can make up more rules as they go, as long as they don't conflict with the original rules (if an original rule was to hop on one foot when scoring a point, a new rule cannot be to run in a circle when scoring a point). New rules must be stated alound and added to the rule chart. Also, the official uniform of Calvinball is a bandit mask over the eyes.

This game is more about inventing the rules than winning. Encourage lots of creativity.

THIS WORKS ON - Creativity (making up the rules), following directions (following the rules), competition (playing the game).

Athlon

OBJECT - Compete in an athlon to earn points. An athlon is an event with multiple stages where players earn points, add them up, and declare a winner. A triathlon would be a three stage event, a decathlon would be a ten stage event.

GAME TYPE - Individual games.

WHO'S IT FOR - This is our first all groups game! The number of events should propably vary from group to group based on tolerance and time to spend. There should be at least three people competing in each event, but no more than ten.

WHAT YOU NEED - It depends on what events you're going to use. This requires planning and preparation.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. First, choose how many stages you're going to have in your athlon. In sporting events, athlons can be held over several days, so feel free to have yours last over several sessions. A suggestion would be to have Group One hold a triathlon (three stage event), Group Two compete in a pentathlon (five stage event), and Group Three participate in a decathlon (ten stage event).
2. Once you've determined how many stages your athlon will have, decide on the events. Suggestions can be found below.
3. Now it's time to compete. Have the children participate in the events and keep score for each event. First place scores as many points as you have players, then each subsequent placement scores one less. With five players, first place gets five points, second gets four, third gets three, fourth gets two, and fifth gets one. With ten players, first gets ten points, second gets nine, and so on.
4. Keep track of the individual scores for each event. After all stages are completed, add up the scores from each round to find your athlon champion!

Following are ten suggestions for stages in your athlon. Feel free to come up with your own events based on the likes and dislikes of your particular groups.

• Animal Race - Have players imitate animals in a race. You can have them all race as one animal, or have several legs where they change animals. Possible ways to race are as horses (galloping), crabs (walking on backs), kangaroos (hopping), snakes (crawling on bellies), penguins (waddling with legs together), and cheetahs (running). The game is discussed in detail in an article published 2/21/08. Have them race, and the fastest student wins the stage. Last place gets one point.
• Ball Draw - Put several plastic balls in a sack. There sould be about five of one type for every one of a different type (i.e. five green to one red). On their turn, each player should reach into the bag and pull a ball out. If it is green, they're still in the game. If it's red, they're out. The first one to go out gets one point, and the last one standing wins the stage. If you don't have plastic balls to use, find some other object to use, but make sure the objects are similar enough that they can't be discriminated by touch.
• Discus Throw - Using a Frisbee, each student gets three tries to throw the discus as far as they can. Only one of their throws will count, so it should be the one that went the farthest out of their three. The one who gets the discus the farthest wins the stage, and the one who threw it the shortest distance gets one point.
• Ecar - Have the students race a predetermined distance, but have them run backwards. The first one to cross the finish line (or the fastest, if you want to run them individually) wins the stage, and the last one (or slowest) gets one point.
• Jump Rope - Using a long jump rope, have two adults (or one adult and a stationary object you can tie one end of the rope to) twirl a rope for each student in turn. Each student gets three tries to jump as many times as they can, and all three tries are added together. The winner of the stage is the one with the most combined jumps, and last place gets one point.
• Memory - Lay out a deck of playing cards face down. In turn, each player turns over two cards. If they match (same number and same color, such as the two of clubs and the two of spades), the player gets to keep the pair and go again. If they don't match, the player turns them back to facedown and the next player goes. At the end, the player with the most matches wins the stage. The player with the least gets one point.
• Musical Chairs - Have enough chairs for everyone to be sated, and cluster them together. Start the music, and everyone gets up to walk around the chairs. Take one chair away, then stop the music. Whoever does not get a chair gets one point. Keep going until there's only one chair left. The student who takes it is the winner of the stage.
• Rock Paper Scissors - Each player competes against an adult, one at a time. On the count of three, both competitors throw either a rock (closed fist), paper (flat hand), or scissors (two extended fingers). Rock breaks scissors, scissors cut paper, paper covers rock. Play a best of five series. If the player wins three, they are still in the game. If the adult wins three, the player is out. The first player out gets on point, and the last player to not get eliminated wins the stage.
• Target Throw - Use some sidewalk chalk to draw a target on concrete outside. Draw five rings, with the inner ring being worth 5 points, and the outer ring being worth one. Everyone gets to throw five beanbags at the target, trying to score as many points as possible. The one with the highest score wins the stage, and the on with the lowest gets one point.
• Tug Of War - Rather than have two teams trying to pull each other over a line, this version pits everyone against everyone. Players stand around a large mat or other clearly marked area and hold hands. On the word "GO", everyone tries to pull each other onto the mat without stepping on themselves. The first person to step on the mat gets one point. The last one standing wins the stage.

In case of a tie for placement in a stage, both players get the same number of points, but each player afterwards gets the same number of points they would have had the players not tied. For example, if two players tie for second in a five player game, they both get four points, and whoever comes next in points would get two, as if they had come in fourth place.

Also, if there's a tie for first place after the athlon is finished, choose a sudden death event and have the players who tied compete for the win.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (competing against peers in physical and non-physical activities), sequencing (doing a series of tasks to accumulate points). There are also individual goals for each activity.