A super fun and active game that gets you strategizing about when to make your move.
Materials
- Large, bright flashlight
- Tables, chairs, and other large furniture to hide behind
- A few decks of cards
- Large, outdoor field
- Whistle
Framing
This activity is best played on a hill, or a slightly elevated field, and when it’s relatively dark out.
Instructions
- In the large field, set up a table at one end (or the top of the hill), and situate a few volunteers/staff at the table, each with a deck of cards.
- Also at that end of the field, assign one volunteer/staff to be the bearer of the flashlight. It works best if somehow the flashlight bearer can be even more elevated.
- Within the field, establish hiding spots with the furniture. Turntables upright and chairs sideways and space them out randomly in the field or hill.
- Divide your participant group into two groups. Their goal is to collect as many keys as possible for their team. Position the participants along the edge of the field opposite the table with the decks of cards.
- Upon yelling, “Nighttime,” all the participants can run through the field with the objective of reaching the table with the deck of cards.
- After a few seconds, yell, “Daytime,” signalling the flashlight bearer to turn on the flashlight and look for participants. Participants should hide behind the obstacles to avoid being seen by the flashlight bearer.
- If the the flashlight is shone upon a participant, either because they didn’t hide in time or because their body parts are partially visible from behind the obstacles, the flashlight bearer yells their name, and that participant must return to the starting point to try again in the next round.
- The next round begins after yelling, “Nighttime,” signalling the participants to run again.
- If a participant does make it to the other side with the table of the decks of cards, the must try their luck at finding the keys by randomly selecting one of the face down cards from the deck. Choosing an ACE card earns their team 2 points or keys, other face cards earns their team 1 key. All other cards warrant 0 keys.
- After selecting a card, keys earned or not, they must return to the starting point and join the next round.
- Continue playing for as long as you like.
Modify
- If a player gets a flashlight shone on them, instead of immediately returning to the starting point, establish a secondary activity that they must accomplish before returning to Keymaster. (ie. shoot a ball into the basket, do 10 jumping jacks, or run a short lap)
- If your field does not have clearly indicated boundaries, consider making your own with pylons or other highly visible objects.
Safety
- It’s possible that participants could injure themselves by running into the furniture obstacles. Reinforce safety when it comes being active outdoors, especially when in proximity of large furniture.
- Any risks of injury may also be minimized if participants are given a short grace period, a few extra seconds, to hide before being called out.
Wrap-up
- Which obstacles were better to hide behind? Why?
- Did you reach the top?
- Did you have a particular strategy to get to the top?
- How did it feel to collect points for your team only through chance? Did that make the game more or less fun?
Obtained from: