Find your childlike happiness!
It’s the last day of your quarantine! You did it! We hope it wasn’t that bad… maybe even interesting? For the last day we prepared some fun games and activities to do with your roommate. All you need to do is to grab a pen or pencil and a piece of paper. Today we are taking you back to childhood, full of fun and creative, offline games.
Noughts and Crosses
That’s a classic! There are known 2 variations of this game: simple and advanced. One of the participants draws a board 20×20 squares. One person is the “O” and the other “X”. Everyone draws its sign in one square at a time. Person who draws 5 of their marks in the horizontal, vertical or diagonal line, wins. Every player tries to put their marks in a row but also to stand in the opponent’s way. In the simpler version, we need to draw 3×3 squares and the person who gets 3 in a row, wins.
Potato
2-person game. On the piece of paper you need to write numbers from 1 to 20 completely randomly. The first player draws a circle around number 1 – this is our potato – and draws a winding line to number 2. Then from 2 to 3 etc. The other player does the same. Lines drawn by both players can’t cross, so that’s why everyone tries to draw twisting lines so their opponent has a tougher job to find a way to another number. For crossing the line there are penalty points.
Snake – old school version
You need colourful pencils or pens. Draw a board of 20×20 squares. Both start in the middle of the “pit” by drawing one horizontal and one vertical line (so it gives the “+” symbol). Now, the players can start drawing their line from any end of the “+”, moving vertically or horizontally with the board lines, one square at a time. The snake lines can cover themselves but cannot cross. Person who will block the opponent and will be able to draw lines unconstrained for a longer time, wins.
Battleships
The game is played on four grids, two for each player. The grids are typically square – usually 10×10 – and the individual squares in the grid are identified by letter and number. On one grid the player arranges ships and records the shots by the opponent. On the other grid the player records their own shots.
Before play begins, each player secretly arranges their ships on their primary grid. Each ship occupies a number of consecutive squares on the grid, arranged either horizontally or vertically. The number of squares for each ship is determined by the type of the ship. The ships cannot overlap (i.e., only one ship can occupy any given square in the grid). The types and numbers of ships allowed are the same for each player. These may vary depending on the rules.
You need to draw:
– 2 Battleships – 4 squares
– 3 Destroyers – 3 squares
– 4 Submarine – 2 squares
– 5 Patrol Boat – 1 square
After the ships have been positioned, the game proceeds in a series of rounds. In each round, each player takes a turn to announce a target square in the opponent’s grid which is to be shot at. The opponent announces whether or not the square is occupied by a ship. If it is a „hit”, the player who is hit marks this on their own or „ocean” grid (with a red peg in the pegboard version). The attacking player marks the hit or miss on their own „tracking” or „target” grid with a pencil marking in the paper version of the game, or the appropriate color peg in the pegboard version (red for „hit”, white for „miss”), in order to build up a picture of the opponent’s fleet.
When all of the squares of a ship have been hit, the ship’s owner announces the sinking of the Carrier, Submarine, Cruiser/Destroyer/Patrol Boat, or the titular Battleship. If all of a player’s ships have been sunk, the game is over and their opponent wins. If all ships of both players are sunk by the end of the round, the game is a draw.
Start of something new!
Isn’t it refreshing to play a game that we remember from childhood? It brings back the memories and it’s refreshing after spending so much time in front of the screen. So, your quarantine ends! Are you ready for your first day at work? Good luck!
