Report Copyright Infringement View in OSM UK

Description

See https://www.escouts.org.uk/forum/threads/31318-Easy-Simple-and-very-effective-Wide-Game-Code-Master
{edit} I liked this so wrote up a sheet that is laminated and given to each team, attachment has been added to the activity.

Resources

Pens, Paper. Prizes

Instructions

See https://www.escouts.org.uk/forum/threads/31318-Easy-Simple-and-very-effective-Wide-Game-Code-Master

Name: Code Master

Time: with 3 codes it took around 90 mins. This can be shortened/lengthened with the numbers of code needed to be cracked.

Objective: To be the first team to decipher the 3 codes to gain access to the treasure (Chocolate Biscuits).

Equipment Required:
Chocolate Biscuits or alternative as a prize.
4 Coloured Markers (TIP: don't use blue and black, these are really hard to differentiate in the dark)
1 Small piece of paper per patrol/group per attempt. (We used around 20 for 3 patrols)
Torches (if playing at night)
5 Leaders/Helpers.
1 Code Master
4 Marker holders


Method:
Prior to the game starting the code master is issued with the 3 codes. (Just set a random combination of the 4 colour's, for example the 3 codes we used were, Code 1: Red, Blue, Black and Green. Code 2: Green, Black, Blue and Red and Code 3: Green, Red, Blue, Black.) This is to be kept secret and only the code master is to be aware of these.


Now the 4 different colour markers are to be issued to the Marker holders secretly, so no of the YP know which leader has what colour marker.
The marker holders can now disperse around the playing field (the boundaries should be clearly established and briefed prior to starting the game).
The 4 leaders/helpers are to then continuously move around the playing area and keep a low profile (try not to hide too much as this just delays the game, but don't do what i did and take your dog with you as my trusty hound didn't leave me side, so as soon as the kids came over and shouted my dogs name he went running over wagging his tail and gave my position away every time.)
Once the leaders have had a few minutes to separate the YP can be set free.
The YP now in their patrols/groups need to locate the marker holders, and 1 by 1 get each of them to make a mark (a line worked well for us but feel free to get creative).
Once all 4 marks have been obtained they will have a code similar to the codes above.
Once they have 4 marks they take their guess to the code master for verification. (The code master tells them how many they have in the correct position)
when they get the code wrong they are issued with both the incorrect guess (with clarification of which colours are in the right place) and a new piece of paper.
They now need to work together to try and guess the correct order of the marks, but they also need to pay attention to which leader holds what coloured marker.
The above steps are now repeated until the code is guessed correctly. The code master then annotates which teams have guessed correctly and they then move onto the next code.
Repeat the steps for the last 2 codes.


Increase difficulty:
You can increase the difficulty by the leaders swapping makers at random intervals (this would work well if you are playing in a smaller area, when playing in an large space we found this was not required)
You can also add in extra markers that are not required for example have a code of 4 colours but have 5 markers in circulation etc.

Decrease difficulty:
Decrease the code length to only 3
Decrease the number of codes required to crack.

Tags

(none)

Badge Links

This activity doesn't complete any badge requirements