Meeting-in-a-Box: The Game of Life

Transcription

1 Meeting-in-a-Box: The Game of Life This meeting is aimed at Guides and Pathfinders and covers various parts of each of the programs (isn t it fun to earn badges while playing a game?). It can be played in about 1 hour or extended for greater enjoyment. Discussion Game Skills Table of Contents Supplies Intro and Discussion The Game of Life... 2 Concept... 2 Set-up... 2 Rolling... 3 Start of Game... 3 Levels... 3 Loans... 4 Chance Cards... 4 End of Game Concluding Discussion... 4 Program work completed... 4 Appendix 1: Poster Board... 5 Appendix 2: Chance Cards... 6 Appendix 3: Challenges... 7 Appendix 4: Levels... 8 Appendix 5: Jobs... 9 Appendix 6: House

2 Supplies Fake paper money (from a board game or homemade) A Poster board Scissors Dice Post- its Piece of paper 1. Intro and Discussion Tell the girls you will be playing a game about life. They will get to go to school, get a job, buy a house, earn money and maybe even have a kid or two. Go around the circle and ask each of them to share one thing they are looking forward to later in their own life and one thing that makes them nervous about growing up. 2. The Game of Life Concept The idea behind this meeting is to play a game, similar to the board game The Game of Life, but without a board and so that every girl can play. You should start out by dividing the girls into pairs and setting up leaders at 4 different stations. Set- up Station 1 Levels: This station should have one leader, a pair of dice (to be used with Appendix 6), a poster board divided into sections as shown in Appendix 1, a supply of chance cards from Appendix 2, job cards from Appendix 5 and the house sheet from Appendix 6. Station 2 Challenge: At this station you need a creative leader with a print- out of Appendix 3. Station 3 Bank: This station should have a leader with the remaining money and a piece of paper to keep track of loans. Station 4 Rolling: At this station you need lots of dice, a print- out of Appendix 4 and a leader if you can spare one. 2

3 Cut up appendices 2 and 5 into cards. Rolling There are 5 levels in this version of the game of life. Instead of moving along a path on a board, girls move from level to level by rolling two dice. Each time the combination adds up to 2, they get to move to the next level. Levels 1. Education 2. Job 3. House 4. Retirement 5. End of Life As they role, they will frequently get a combination that adds up to a different number than 2. If it adds up to 10, they must visit the challenge station and complete a challenge to continue rolling. If it adds up to 4, they get a chance card and if it adds up to 9, they get paid (from the bank). You can print out a copy of this from Appendix 4. Start of Game Each pair of girls begins with $50,000. Explain to the girls that they can buy health insurance from the bank at any point during the game. Explain to them that there are different stations and that to play the game they will have to keep rolling the dice until they add up to one of the combinations that tells them what to do. They all start before level one and stop playing when they reach level 5. Every time they buy or acquire something new, they must go to station 1 so that it can be recorded on the poster board. Levels 1. Education: The team gets to graduate. They must choose whether they want to go to university or not. If so, they must pay $60,000 to the bank, but they will get better choices later on. 2. Job: Jobs and salary go together. The team draws 3 of the job cards and gets to choose one. If they did not go to university, they can t choose one of the ones marked with a U. If there are none without a U, they can keep drawing until one becomes available. After this point, they will collect their salary whenever they roll House: The team must buy a house by rolling a single die. Appendix 5 tells them which house they rolled. If they wish, they can also buy house insurance at this point. 4. Retirement: The team keeps playing but stops collecting their salary. 5. End of life: The team stops playing and can count their money. 3

4 Loans Teams can take out loans at any time. They are available in chunks of $20,000 at a time and must be paid back at $25,000 (i.e. $5,000 in interest on each chunk) by the end of the game. Chance Cards Some chance cards are lucky, but most are not. Each card indicates how much money must be paid to whom. If someone has the indicated job, the team pays them. If nobody does, the team pays the bank. If the card indicates a trade, the team the girls choose to trade with has no choice in the matter. End of Game The game ends when all teams have reached the End of Life level or when you call time. All loans must be repaid before totals can be calculated. 3. Concluding Discussion Have a discussion about the game. - What parts did the girls find frustrating? - What parts did they enjoy? - Do they wish they had had more choices? - What kinds of things impacted how much money they were left with? - If they played again, would they change any of the choices they made (University, insurance, etc.)? Program work completed Guide Program Work Completed Learn about Leadership in a group #2 Learn How to Plan #3, 6 Discover What s Important to You #6 Understand How to be Responsible #4 Try New Things #1 Career Awareness #8 Life Skills #8 Pathfinder Program Work Completed Dream Career #5 Relationships, Values and Choices #6 Organize this #2 Be Glad You re You #1 Moneywise #10 Meeting Submitted by Elizabeth Knowles October

5 Appendix 1: Poster Board Team University? Health Kids Job/ Insurance? Salary Home House insurance? End of Game Total Alex and Emily No Yes III Doctor Castle No The poster board should look like this. You can use post-it notes in the squares so that things can be changed around easily if teams trade jobs and so that the board can be reused. 5

6 Appendix 2: Chance Cards Have a kid. If you have a kid, you just became a grandparent. Go to the store and buy a birthday present. Pay the shopkeeper $5,000. You would like to take piano lessons. Pay the piano teacher $5,000. Your basement is leaking. Pay the engineer to write a report in order to get it fixed. Pay her $20,000 unless you have house insurance. Have a kid. You just got sick. Pay the doctor $25,000 unless you have health insurance. You just broke a leg. Lose your next two pay cheques unless you have health insurance. The truck you use for work broke down. Pay a welder $5,000 to fix it. Your house burns down. You must buy another one and pay the firefighter $5,000 unless you have house insurance. Your child(ren) want(s) to go to school. Pay the teacher $5,000/child. You just adopted a kid from China. Hire a translator to help you out with the paperwork. Pay her $15,000. Your company wants to market a new drug. Pay the researcher $15,000 to conduct a study. Trade jobs (and salary) with another team. Your family needs new haircuts. Pay the hairdresser $5,000/family member. A tree fell over in your backyard. Pay the gardener $5,000 unless you have house insurance. You find a winning lottery ticket on the ground. Win $30,000. 6

7 Appendix 3: Challenges - Spell name backwards - Sing a camp song - Recite alphabet backwards - Do 10 jumping jacks - Crab walk to the other end of the room - Find someone in the group whose favourite colour is purple - Find someone in the group who has a pet bird - 7

8 Appendix 4: Levels If your numbers add up to 10 get a challenge 4 get a life (chance) card 9 get paid 2 move to the next level If your numbers add up to 10 get a challenge 4 get a life (chance) card 9 get paid 2 move to the next level Tape these to opposite sides of the station with dice so that girls will know what to do. 8

9 Doctor (U) $100,000 Researcher (U) $35,000 Engineer (U) $60,000 Piano Teacher $15,000 Appendix 5: Jobs Welder $30,000 Firefighter $50,000 Receptionist $10,000 Gardener $10,000 Teacher (U) $30,000 Cashier $5,000 Insurance Broker $25,000 Translator (U) $40,000 9

10 Appendix 6: House Buy a Home Roll House Type House Cost Insurance Cost 1 Trailer $20,000 $10,000 2 Duplex $30,000 $10,000 3 Condo $40,000 $15,000 4 Family Home $45,000 $15,000 5 Mansion $50,000 $20,000 6 Castle $60,000 $20,000 10