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Description

This is an active team game designed to test memory and possibly teach map symbols.

Resources

4 buckets, 2 sets of ~10 small objects or 2 sets of 'map symbol tiles'; pen and paper.

Map symbol tiles - in advance, cut thin plywood into 4" squares, sand the edges and round off the corners to make them pleasant to handle. Print or draw OS map symbols onto paper the same size, colour them in and stick them to the wooden squares. If you've done a good job cover them with clear varnish. You could put a symbol on both sides of the tiles if you like. Maybe put a different symbol on each side (not forgetting they need to pair up)? We did this as a craft activity on a troop night. You can do whatever symbols you like, I think it's important to have churches with and without towers/spires, the two sorts of woodland (coniferous / deciduous) and PCs. We've made about 16 symbols and will only use some of them each time.

Instructions

Prep:- Split participants into 2 teams. Sit them on opposite sides of the room lined up in age/size order with the biggest on one team opposite the smallest on the other. Number them off starting with the biggest so participants play someone their size/age.
Put a pair of buckets at each end of the room. Put the objects / map tiles randomly into the buckets with one of each pair in a pair of buckets, showing the participants and naming them. Example - say and show "a matchbox" and drop a matchbox into each of the buckets at one end. Write down the names of the objects on your paper.

Play - Call out an object / map symbol and a number. e.g. "Number three, a compass" / "number 8, a carpark". Number 3 / 8 on each team has to get up, go to the bucket nearest them with the compass / carpark symbol in, extract it, take it to their bucket at the other end of the room, drop it in and return to their place. First one to do it correctly gets the point. As the game progresses the items move from one end to the other and the participants need to keep track of what's where in order to go to the correct bucket first. You need to make sure the correct items are being moved especially with the map symbols otherwise it gets difficult to know who's moved the correct item. Play until they get bored, normally 2-3 goes each. We used to play this with small objects (coin, woggle, matchbox, compass, cork, pen, pencil, rubber, tabletennis ball etc.) but now use map tiles all the time as they learn the symbols and don't spike their hands on sharp objects when they delve into the bins.

Tags

• active games
• Map keys
• map symbols
• Memory Games

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