©PonGoad 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, redistributed or photo-edited. ©PonGoad 2013. All Rights Reserved.
As an activity director in campgrounds, there have been times when I have had to invent themes, games, crafts, etc. One theme which is now prevalent in activities is a tropical theme. I decided to write a new game using the lost salt shaker concept and the more complicated mystery hunt idea (Clue). I call it "1LGs_Shaker Mystery Game". This is an original mystery game written by ©PonGoad 2012. All Rights Reserved aka ©LadyGs Creations 2012. All Rights Reserved and all graphics below were created by ©LadyGs Decoratives & Graphics 2012. All Rights Reserved. This game was written with healthy teens and adults in mind. The more participants the better.
This mystery game has a total of five locations with clues, so in essence you need to come up with ten clues (5 location clues, 5 crime clues) and would probably last, at least, 1 1/2 to 2 hours using the 15-minute intervals. In this game the location clues are given verbally and the crime clues are posted at the location.
___________________________
___________________________
Basically, the rules are this...
1.) Gather all participants together. This will be the starting point throughout the game.
2.) Tell them this:
___________________________
___________________________
PonGoad's Tips for "1LGs_Shaker Mystery Game"...
a.) Small Group of Players. If there is a small group of players, give the last clue to everyone & check answers as they come back after placing their salt shaker. The first one back after placing their salt shaker who also has the correct answers to the above questions, is the winner.
b.) Assistance. As has been my experience in doing this type of game, the ideal situation is to have people assist you in putting out the crime clues right before the players are given the location clue. If you have walkie-talkies or cell phones, use them when the time comes and contact those who are placing the clues. Otherwise, sometimes players will see the other clues, rip them down so others do not find the clue or have a 'helper' find the crime clues. This can get somewhat hectic as the people placing the crime clues have to be quick to get them out before players reach their location.
c.) All have wheels or none have wheels (bikes, golf carts, skates, skate sneakers, skateboards, scooters-whether manual or electric, cars, wheel chairs, etc.). If some players have wheels and some do not, those with wheels will more than likely have time to look for other clues. If everyone has wheels, then you might have to adjust your time intervals. You can always have specific areas in which the players can look for clues so they don’t have as far to walk.
d.) Teams. This game is not a team game as it is written since there is only one item-place each player has to find at a time. If you do choose to play with teams, try to make sure you have, at least, one player on each team who is familiar with the area. This will eliminate the advantage a familiar team will have verses a team who is not familiar with the area. Another suggestion when it comes to teams is not have more than four members to each team. This is a rule-of-thumb I use when running scavenger hunts when multiple items have to be found. To have a team with ten players verses four players definitely gives an edge to the larger team. The other thing is, if you are giving out prizes, you will need prizes for each individual winner in the winning team unless it is a group prize of some sort, i.e., a six-pack or case of soda or beer, a box or bottle of wine (adults), a pack of music CDs (teens, adults depending on the genre), lottery tickets (adults), etc.
e.) Time. You might have to adjust the amount of time to find clues depending on the location of the clues and the kind of shape your players are in. If you have a group that appears to not be too physically active, 15 minutes may not be enough time. The other option is to make a quick change in crime clue locations. If you have people placing clues, you can call them and tell them where to place the clues. If not, more than likely you will have to keep the original locations, but allow more time. You don't want to give too much time, though, as players then will have the opportunity to find other clue locations before getting back.
f.) Game Play Alternative. If you have the time, another way of playing the game is to make it an all-day affair giving location clues, say, every hour saving the last mad-dash race for the evening when there are more people to watch (depending on your schedules). There will be time before the next location clue reading to place the crime clue. You still can ask someone, though, to place the crime clues for you.
g.) Final Location. I recommend the final location scene to be fairly visible so that when it is time to place the shakers, you hope there is a mad dash to get there and back.
___________________________
___________________________
The setup for this games depends on how creative you want to get with it and how much time you have to place the clues.
1.) Deco. You can go all out with decorations and accessories for aesthetic purposes even going so far as costuming.
2.) Salt Shakers. I took a photograph with my camera of a salt shaker, photo-edited it in Photoshop and Microsoft Office to create "1LGs_Tropical Salt Shaker". How many you need depends on how many participants you think you might have. You need one shaker for each player. You can also use real salt shakers.
(1LGs_Basic Shaker)
3.) Crime Clues. You can either hand write these clues or get fancy with them. If you have to put the clues out early, you might want to cover them so the clue is not so visible to passer-byers. Print the clue number on one side of the paper and the clue with a theme picture upside-down on the other side, so when it is folded over all you would see is the picture and the clue number when hung up. You could also print on different colors of paper or just print black and white if you wish. (Legal-sized paper recommended for greater visibility to players.)
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
Again, this game was written with healthy adults and teens in mind. As always, if you choose to play or run this game, you do so at your own risk.
The writing of "1LGs_Shaker Mystery Game" was my own inspiration so feel free to use this game as long as you give credit to ©LadyGs Creations 2012. All Rights Reserved aka ©PonGoad 2012. All Rights Reserved on any printed instructional materials you may use and ©LadyGs Decoratives & Graphics 2012. All Rights Reserved on any printed pictures you may use along with the title of the game "1LGs_Shaker Mystery Game. This game idea has also been published in pamphlets that include compilations of games and other theme ideas.
©PonGoad 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, redistributed or photo-edited. ©PonGoad 2013. All Rights Reserved.
I hope you enjoy! <006>
_____________________________________
September Theme - Games
A Paper Airplane That Really Flies!
©PonGoad 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, redistributed or photo-edited. ©PonGoad 2013. All Rights Reserved.
