Last night, as I was walking across the street, I ran into the Preston and Anderson children (they live across the street from us). They excitedly told me that they were going to play Hunger Games later that night. I instantly became interested and eagerly asked if I could join them. After running home to tell Taylor, he couldn't help but sign up to play as well.
The kids had the whole game planned. The cornucopia was the trampoline. When the whistle sounded, you ran for your life to grab weapons (plastic swords, bats, hatchets, etc), food, shelter, or backpacks (the backpacks were kindly pre-packed by the fathers of the crew. There were cards randomly set up throughout the boundaries. If you saw one, you could choose whether or not to pick it up and read it. Some cards would just apply to the reader, while other cards were "Gamemaker" cards and applied to the whole group. For example, a card that just applied to the reader might read, "You have been sent a parachute of medicine. Use it now, or save it for later." Whereas, a Gamemaker card might read, "Anyone without shelter is dead." If you picked up a Gamemaker card you had to yell it so everyone could hear.
Along with awesome scenario cards, there were fights all throughout the "arena." A hit to the arm or leg was an injury; while a hit to the stomach, back, or shoulders meant death. Uh-oh... ;)
Alliances were created and alliances were broken (ahem...my dear, sweet husband formed an alliance with me during the first game and then stabbed me in the back about 3 minutes later...).
The best part of the game? We had a horn tied to the top of a swingset. If you died, you had to go blow the horn. So if you were still in the game, you could keep track of how many times you heard the horn to try to figure out how many of you were left.
By the end of the night, a good amount of neighborhood adults had gathered to watch the festivities. Their comments were strangely similar to the announcers or those belonging to the Capitol.
"Look at her...she's surviving because she stays hidden! We only see her when there is something up for grabs!"
"Go kill him!"
"Did those two make an alliance? What will they do if they both make it to the end? Who do you think will betray the other first?"
"Wow, that's a strong alliance forming! They'll make it to the end."
We played over and over again, and just couldn't get enough of it! We didn't quit until about 10:30. Hey, neighborhood kids? Taylor and I are so grateful for your invention of this game.
We're even hoping to play again tonight!
The Tributes :)
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