What makes being stuck in traffic so unbearable? The stop and go of the vehicles, the annoying beeping from angry drivers, and the constant thought, “I wish I was home right now,” running through your head. Our game, Traffic Jam, is NOT any of those things! Take a break and get stuck in traffic where you are sure to be vrooming, oil slicking, and slamming on those squeaky fake brakes. Beep Beep!
Traffic Jam
Any Size
Grades 3-5
Cones
10 minutes or more
Development Goal
To develop strategic thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and verbal communication
Before You Start
- Line people up on every cone, except the one in the middle.
- All people on one side of the middle cone will turn right; the others will turn left (so that they are facing each other).
- After explaining the rules, allow the group time to strategize.
Set Up
Line up cones in a straight line with one more cone than people
How to Play
- The object of the game is to get all players to the opposite side of the middle cone than they started on.
- Players can only move to an unoccupied space.
- Players can’t move backwards or turn around.
- Players may move around one player to an open space.
- Players may not move around more than one person at a time.
- If a team reaches a point where they can no longer move, they must start over in their original positions.
Variations
- If there are more than 10 people or so in the group, you can break up into two teams to see which can do it faster.
- For older players, you could have them try to solve the algebraic equation of how many moves it would take.