On the playground, most conflicts can be solved with a good ol’ fashioned game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (also called Roshambo). Use this simple playground tool as a means to increase cooperation and communication as students are challenged to evolve from Eggs to Superheros! Can your students all become Superheroes and fly high around the playground?
Evolution
11+ Players
All Ages
None
5-10 Minutes
Goal
To increase social comfort and to improve non-verbal communication.
Before You Start
- Have the whole group gather in a contained area.
- Make sure that everyone knows how to play RoShamBo (Rock, Paper, Scissors).
- Explain that players will all start as an egg and move though 5 stages of evolution to become superheroes.
- Each stage of evolution has a corresponding action:
- Stage 1- Egg: Crouch down with your hands on top of your head to make an egg shape.
- Stage 2 – Chicken: Bend your arms into chicken wings and cluck like a chicken.
- Stage 3 – T-Rex: Make tiny T-Rex arms and stomp around.
- Stage 4 – Rock Star: Hold an air guitar and strum, playing a face-melting solo.
- Stage 5 – Superhero: Tie on an imaginary cape and hold out your arms like you’re flying.
- Demonstrate clearly how players move between stages by playing RoShamBo. If a player is successful they move up a stage, if they are not successful they move down a stage.
- Remind players that they can only do RoShamBo with someone who is at the same stage of evolution, this encourages players to interact with many different people, not just their friends.
Set Up
Identify an open space (indoor or outdoor) in which participants can safely move around.
How to Play
- Everyone begins as an egg.
- Players mix up, pair up and play RoShamBo.
- The person who wins evolves to the next stage, the person who did not win goes down a stage. If the player is already an egg s/he remains an egg.
- Players pair up again, only with someone who is in the same stage of evolution.
- When a player evolves all the way to a superhero, they are finished and can fly around the area.
- Game ends when all the players are also superheroes or when the time limit is up.
Variations
- Allow players who lose Rock Paper Scissors to remain at their current stage of evolution. This makes the game go a little faster.
- Allow players who have reached the superhero stage to play Ro Sham Bo with all stages, and remain a superhero even if they are not successful. Encourage superheroes to help everyone make it to the final stage.
- Also called Morph and Level Up.