One year during a summer camp, a particularly lazy camper expressed that all he really wanted to do was play on his phone. So I sat down next to him and asked him to show me what he was playing. It was awful. Apparently, you are trapped inside a haunted mansion and a zombie-looking old lady chases you around while you try to find the key to escape.
So, I asked… “What if we could play this game for real? Would you put your phone down?” He accepted the challenge and “Granny” was created. We have been playing this game for seven years now and each summer the kids beg to play it again. It goes like this.
- I make up an action that the group has to do to win the game. (For example, surround the “Granny” and chant the alphabet.) It’s a cooperation game, so everyone had to participate or it doesn’t count.
- Then I tear up the message (or cut it into puzzle pieces if you want to get fancy). And I hide them all over our school. Each message gives a hint on the back where the next one can be found.
- Then I just turn off the lights and chase them around while they look for the clues.
It’s super fun. You can do this with any game they like to play online. Since, we have tried it with other games as well. It makes for a great bridge between technology and pretend since we can rarely create truly accurate games and must be creative. Try it!
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