Throwing The Square

Throwing The Square

Throwing The Square is a traditional Chinese game which can be played with two players or teams, indoors or out.

Age: 5 up

Preparation:

Draw a rectangle, about 24 inches by 12 inches, on the ground with chalk or scrape it in the dirt - or cut one out of paper or felt for an indoor game. Divide the rectangle in two so that you have two squares side by side. Draw or mark a further line about 8 feet away from the rectangle (you can adjust this according to the ages of your players).

The game is played with two players or teams. Each side will need a throwing object - perhaps a miniature Frisbee, a beanbag, a flat rock or a wooden disk.

How to play:

One player places his object in one square. The other player moves to stand behind the line and tries to throw his object to land in the same square as the other player's object. Score as follows:

The same square: 2 points
The other, empty square: 1 point
Outside the target: 0 points

The first side to an agreed score - perhaps 10 - wins.

Ideas:

Children could have fun designing a portable felt version of this game to be played indoors. First make the "board" out of felt, and add decoration with marker pen as desired. Then make two flat felt beanbags in different colors. You could make a simple drawstring bag to keep the game in, too.

For an outdoor game, kids could make up a set of two evenly-sized pebbles, painted or otherwise marked to distinguish them and a piece of chalk. Pack in a small bag or box and you have a game that is easy to pop into a backpack to take with you to the park or on a picnic.

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