Making a board/card game to use in class

• English
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

What is there not to like when it comes to games? 

Almost everyone likes games. They are fun, energize the players and require their players to use imagination and brain power.  Games can provide an additional benefit to learning English – they can give students practice using their English skills. 

So we are going to create some board games to use in the English lessons. 

Task

What?

You are going to create a game (board game or a card game) for use in the brugklas next year. 

This can be about a simple book that they read in the first weeks.

Early English vocabulary (introducing themselves/ classroom language)etc.

Basic Grammar practice. 

How?

In groups, pairs or individually

When

In the next few lessons between now and the holiday.

Game Research

• Before you can create your original games, you will need to do some research on what kinds of board games people like and what is already available. 
• Take a look online. Write down the names of the games that are available for purchase. As you are writing down the names of the games  read the information that the game offers. Are you able to determine the overall concept of the game as well as the rules and objectives? 

The goal of the activity is to get an idea of what each game is and how to play it.

An Original Idea

• First, decide whether you want to design a game of chance or a game of skill. Looking back on the list that each person made in step one, the games there can be classified into either games of chance or skill.
• A game of chance depends on your ability to roll well or choose good cards during play. These types of games include Snakes and Ladders and Candyland.
• Other games require skill or strategy from the players. This type of game includes Monopoly and Jenga. With skill games, the decisions that players make determine the outcome of the game.

The goal of the activity is to get an idea of what each game is and how to play it.

Next step

Concept of your game

Once you have decided on a game of chance or a game of skill, start thinking of the overall concept of the game. Will players imagine themselves in a post apocalyptic world of zombies or will they role-play bunny rabbits making their den.

Goal of the game?

Once the overall concept of the game is determined, you should decide what the goal of the game will be. Will it be to kill all the zombies or create the most harmonic rabbit den? The final goal should fit with the overall story.

How to Play

• Now that you have the overall concept and final goal, it is time to decide how to get from point A to point B. Will players travel along a game board, rolling dice as they go? Will they have to answer questions and get clues to the mystery that they must solve? 
• Use the games that you listed in the first step as inspiration for their original game. 

After deciding how progress will be made, you should determine what rules the players must follow as they move throughout the game. Gain inspiration from games that are already in production. In general, the fewer rules a game has the easier it will be to play and, perhaps, the more fun for its players. 

• Try to compose three to four rules that players should follow while playing their games.

Making it Happen

Materials

 You may need printers to produce cards for their game play. Others may need dice or props. Many of you will need large pieces of cardboard that can be made into game boards. Work out what you need to make this game and then aks me for the resources to make it happen.

The final step

The final step is where creativity meets practicality.Your students must now produce the games they designed. First, each person should physically create his or her game.

The Rules

The second element for making the game happen is to write a set of instructions for players to follow when playing the game. If you have any games at home, read the instructions that came with the game. You can also find directions for playing games online,  read these instructions and use them as models for your own instructions. Type up the instructions once they are written and package them with the other elements that your group have created for your game. 

Now all that is left to do is play the game!

Play Time

•  Group yourselves into teams of four. 
• Each team will then play a game created and produced by another group of the class. 
• The creators should not be a participant in the game but should be  observers of the group as they play. The group will need to follow the instructions that the creators wrote. 
• The game creators should watch to see how well their classmates are able to play the game, how clear his instructions were and how much fun the group seems to be having. If the group gets stuck, they should step in and help. 
• Once all the games have been played, each person should write an evaluation of their game. Note how well your classmates were able to play and how much they seemed to enjoy the game as well as any modifications you think should be made.
  

The best three games will be used in the brugklas

next school year.