Alligator Chase

During Camp Schaefer this year, Leah (age 7) and I made a game.

About a year ago I ordered a blank game board and cards from Bare Books. www.barebooks.com When I say that our game board was blank, I mean there were no lines, no pictures, nothing - just a white foldable board. So, when Leah and I first sat down I asked her about the setting for her game. "Will it be in a desert, a swamp, in a city?"

She quickly replied, "A swamp."

We found some wildlife magazines and studied the different creatures that could be found in a wetland. Then, we cut out pictures that we thought were small enough for the board and would lend themselves to interesting events during the game. We cut out about a dozen each. As we were working, Leah looked to me and said, "What is the . . . you know, mission of our game."

"To win?" I offered.

Frustrated, Leah persevered. "You know, what will the winner achieve if he makes it to the end of the game?" Well, I didn't have an answer for that, but she did. "I know," said Leah. "The players will be photographers trying to get some wonderful photos of wildlife in the swamp. Whoever wins will have the most and his pictures will be on display in a gallery or museum or some place like that."

With our new goal, it was easy to design the board. Leah decided to have a structured path that would end in the center. I took the ruler and drew the lines while she started to create "cards" for the game. Some of those read, "You were stung by a hornet. Go back two spaces." or "An alligator is chasing you. Run ahead three spaces." When I finished making the lines and spaces, we created cards together. My favorite was, "You forgot your GPS. Go back to Start."

Leah had been admiring my button collection earlier in the week while she was sewing in the basement. So, I suggested that she select different buttons to be the game pieces. She did.

We added some color to the board. Made up our hazards - you stepped into quicksand with a snake - and bonus spots. Leah decided that if a player landed on our great photos, we needed to put the word "Click" and then that player would draw a card.

Finally, we needed a name. Leah didn't think long - Alligator Chase. We typed up a brief introduction to the game and it was complete.

To test our game, we asked Spencer (age 5) and my husband to play it with us. It worked. Not only did it have a good pace, it was fun! Here's a photo of the kids playing Alligator Chase at their home.

I don't think I've ever helped create a game before, but I sure enjoyed it. So did Leah. Before winter arrives you might want to go to the Bare Books site and order in a gameboard or two. I also purchased two puzzles from them last year. Last November when the kids were staying with us, they each designed and colored a puzzle. Both of those turned out well, too.

Yes, kids do enjoy their electronics, but they also like to sit down with someone they love and create. I hope they decide to make another game next year. I'm ready!