This game is extraordinarily popular with my children, who seem
to love the thrill and excitement more than the actual chocolate eating, which
they never get much of a go at! It takes a little preparation and you will need
to supervise carefully with younger kids.
Age: 6+
You will need:
A wrapped bar of chocolate
A plate
A knife and fork
Some dressing-up items (at least a hat, scarf and gloves)
Two dice
How to play:
Put the bar of chocolate on the plate with the knives and forks nearby and sit
the children around it in a circle. Throw the pile of dressing up clothes into
the circle. Give one child the dice.
Children take it in turns to roll the dice on the floor in front of them,
passing them around the circle to their left. If a child rolls a double, they
leap into the center of the circle, put on the dressing up clothes, and start to
unwrap, then eat, the bar of chocolate - but only using the knife and fork. That
child keeps going until another child rolls a double, at which point they much
co-operate in handing over the dressing up clothes so that the next child gets a
turn.
Hints:
This game can get very rowdy as doubles sometimes come thick and fast! Be
prepared the change the rules if nobody is getting a chance to eat any
chocolate, perhaps using only double 3, double 4, and double 5.
If you have a particularly large group of children, you might be better off
having two sets of dice going round the circle (starting opposite each other) at
the same time. If you do, you might want to limit "winning" doubles to double 5
and double 6.
Have a spare bar of chocolate or two on hand in case you have some proficient
party-goers! You might also want to swap forks every so often for hygiene
reasons.
When I was young we played a variation of this game. Instead of eating chocolate
with a knife and fork, we ate peanuts with chopsticks! Perhaps my mother
invented this variation when she felt we were too young to handle the knife and
fork safely. These days you might be better off using Smartees or M&Ms given
that some children suffer from severe nut allergies.
Call My Bluff
This is a fun word game (made famous by the TV show) which can
help children to learn new words, practise dictionary work and presentation
skills! It works best in a classroom or large group setting, and you will need
time to prepare.
Make A Ping Pong Bat And Net
The Chinese introduced table tennis to the world and have always been extremely
good at the sport. You can make your own ping pong bats and net and have a go!
Make A Name Book
More of a craft activity than a game, this is a great way for kids to get to
know each other at the beginning of the school year.
Fishing (Tiu-u or Chinese Dominoes) This game of Chinese dominoes sounds a little complicated to
begin with but is in fact very simple to play. The name ‘fishing’ comes from
the idea that players ‘fish’ for matching dominoes. You can either print out
our dominoes or make your own more authentic version with popsicle sticks
(instructions included!)
Matching Game cards can be used to play Memory
(Concentration), Go Fish and many other card games, as well as played with
our sorting mats by one child on their own. Printable Games
