Healthy August - The Great Duel

This is the fifth and final game recommendation for this year's Health August activities, designed to encourage you to get outside and be active with your friends, family, and Study Buddies, instead of staying indoors without any physical exercise.

A young student teacher, who was training in my class, introduced this game to me. It requires a large group of people to play, and it may be necessary for an adult or older teenager to supervise to ensure fair play and prevent it from becoming too rough. Depending on the players' ages, you might need a rule where boys can only challenge boys, and girls can only challenge girls. If there is a wide range of age groups and sizes playing, it might be necessary to challenge someone of the same size.

You will need: three things for everyone, 1) a piece of chalk, 2) a peg and 3) a piece of cloth - could be scarf, tie or just a piece of kitchen roll. This is tucked in to the back or side pocket like a tail, some of it hanging out so it may be grabbed during the challenges.

You will need a large garden, park or a bit of the woods to play in, (if in the woods, the rule is you stay in twos at all time - let's keep everyone safe.)

At the start of the game everyone scatters, in pairs if needs be. Yuo them move aroudn the area as quitely as you can. If you come across soembody else you both need to cry "Challenge" who shouts first wins the right to say which weapon will be used.

Chalk - the winner must be the first to mark the others shoe with a line of chalk.

Peg - the winner is the first to peg the others clothes.

Scarf - The winner is the first to take the others scarf.

Anyone who loses must hand over their weapon to the other person. If you have already lost a weapon, you can't propose it when you win the shout of "Challenge." You can only fight with the weapons you currently possess. You are out of the game if you lose all your weapons, or if you are challenged to fight with a weapon you do not have.

The winner is the player who possesses all the weapons, has the majority of the weapons, or is the last person remaining in the game. You can decide at the start of the game on this or if time has run out.

Keep in mind that this is a FRIENDLY and good-natured game. Anyone who plays too roughly should be removed from the game by the supervising adult or older teenager.