Game #2 Gather the Markers

The Center for Unhindered Living

For a description of how to make the materials needed for this game, see Homemade Games for Kids .

For this game each player needs four color cards, one of each color. These cards should be turned face up so the colors can be seen, and placed on the table in front of each player.

This game also requires 25 markers of some kind: checkers, pennies, buttons, dried beans, or any other marker you have enough of. The markers should be placed in a pile in the middle of the table. The game also requires two dice: one with numbers, one with colors. Or, if one cannot find a color dice, make a spinner with four colors on it: yellow, blue, red, green.

Each player should throw the dice and the person with the highest number goes first.

The first player should throw both dice (or throw one dice and spin the spinner) so that each turn consists of a color and a number being chosen. The player should use the number on the dice to place that exact number of markers on the color card whose color was chosen by the throw of the dice or spinner. For example, if a player throws a three and a green, he puts three markers on the green card in front of him. Then play passes to the next person.

Play continues in this way until all markers have found a place on the color cards.

After all the markers have been apportioned, the player whose turn is next once again throws both dice (or one dice and the spinner). The player may remove from an opponent's card the number of markers shown on the dice. But they must be removed from the color card that has also been chosen. For example, if a player throws a 2 and a blue, he may remove 2 markers from an opponent's blue card, and place them on his own blue card. If no opponent has two on a blue, the player may remove one from one opponent's blue card, and one from another opponent's blue card. However, the first choice should be to remove all the markers from one card if possible. If no opponent has any markers on a blue card, they may be chosen from any color card.

When any player's markers have all been removed to other players' cards, the player without any markers is out of that round. The remaining players continue until only one player is left with all the markers. That person is the winner. You may simply end the game at this point, or you may set an arbitrary score, say ten points, and each time a player wins, they get one point toward that score.

You may make the game last longer, if desired, by increasing the number of markers available at the beginning of the game.

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