This is a good game for a small group of children. It was created to be played with a mixed group of fourth-and fifth-graders. But you should be able to tailor it for grade levels as well, depending on the children and their interest level in having fictional superpowers.
This game allows children practice counting and manipulating money. It was created to drill basic multiplication and division questions. However, it’s easy to substitute in grammar, trivia or other types of questions. It can be very time consuming and works best if played in short spurts over several weeks. But there are ways to shorten it into a few rounds in a day or over a few days.
Materials
Coins (real or fake)
Paper (to keep score and track of powers)
How it Works
Have the children come up with a list of desired super powers. Examples are super speed, fire, lightning or time control. Next, assign a defense and attack number to each ability. Also, assign a price value to each power. The more powerful an ability (or the more enthusiastic the children are about it), the more expensive it should be made. Example:
$.25 Super Speed Attack 1 Defense 2
$.25 Flying Attack 1 Defense 3
$2 Fire Attack 5 Defense 3
$2 Lightning Attack 5 Defense 2
$5 Time Control Attack 7 Defense 5
After the list is assembled and attack and defense explained (this goes easier with older children), assign a price to a type of question. For example, a basic multiplication question like 3×4 answered correctly gets the child a nickel. A harder question like 35×15 gets a dime and a mixed question like (35×5) + 20 would get a quarter. How much each question is worth depends on how slow or fast you want the game to go.
There are two ways to ask questions. One is to question each child individually and give money for a right answer. The other is speed related – ask the question and the first to respond with the right answer wins the money. There can be problems with the second way. Especially if one child is more gifted in math over the others, he’ll end up with all the money and the others will eventually become bored. However, if the group of children is more equal in skill, speed makes for fun competition. A way to offset the points going to all one child is by having teams, or by giving certain questions that can only be answered by a few named children.
Once a child has enough money to buy a power they can choose to purchase or wait for a more expensive power. An option that was used on occasion was to have the child say “Super” (like bingo) when they wanted to buy a power. After each child has at least one power, you may choose to let them do a duel.
The program ended before a duel was able to be help properly. Thus, this part of the game is all theory and you’ll have to use trial and error to see if it works without complete chaos. The idea is (like in a card game) the child would hold an avatar (explained in the optional section below). They would then cast their power on the person of their choice. That person would have to respond with whatever powers they possessed. If you are able to keep each child’s power secret from the others this part will be more fun. An example:
Child A casts a power with attack 4 at child B. If child B’s powers have a total of defense 4, they can deflect the blow. Otherwise they’ll either drop out of the round, or lose life points. How many life points there are, depends on how long you want the duel to last. If Child B is still in the game, he can choose to counter attack Child A or start a duel with another child. Each power’s attack can only be used once. So if Child A attacked with Fire, he can not defend with it. He’ll have to choose another power. Of course there’s leeway to move the rules around or simplify them to your uses.
Optional (Avatars)
Materials
Pencil
Colored Pencils or Markers
Popsicle Stick
Glue
Avatars Steps
Have each child create a character. Give it a name, element, list of pets or whatever else you feel the child might find interesting. They should then draw their character on a square of paper small enough to be glued to a Popsicle stick. Attach the paper to the Popsicle stick and you are good to go.
