HISTORY OF SCRABBLE

The game was developed in 1938 by an American architect called Alfred M. Butts. It was initially
referred to as Criss Crossword, and it is based on anagrams and a crossword puzzle. In 1948, a
lawyer called James Brunot redesigned the sport, named it Scrabble, and marketed it. The word
Scrabble means "to scratch around frantically". In the 1950s, the game attracted the attention of
numerous people across the world and became famous. Its breakthrough happened in 1952 when
the president of Macy, Jack Straus, played the game on vacation.

When he returned from vacation, it was surprising that his stores did not have the game. He bought
many, and within a year, everyone had to have one. That year, the demand for the sport rose
exponentially, to a point where James Brunot was unable to meet them himself. He, therefore, sold
the production rights to Selchow and Righter. In the second year as the company's product, millions
and millions of the game was sold.

PLAYING AREA

The Scrabble can be played in living room or in any part of the house that you find comfortable.
MATERIALS

Scrabble Board
 A Scrabble game board is made of up cells in a square grid. The Scrabble board is 15 cells
wide by 15 cells high. The Scrabble tiles fit within these cells one to a cell.
Racks
 This is where chosen letters are placed, and where words are formed before entering it to
the board.
Scrabble Tiles
 Scrabble is played with exactly 100 tiles. 98 of these tiles contain letters on them, while there
are 2 blank tiles.
Tile Values
0 Points: Blank Tiles 10 Points: Q, Z
1 Point: A, E, I, L, N, O, R, S, T, U
2 Points: D, G
3 Points: B, C, M, P
4 Points: F, H, V, W, Y
5 Points: K
8 Points: J, X
MECHANICS/SKILLS

1. You are to make a word using your tiles. The longer the word, the better—try to make words
longer than three letters unless you can get lots (10 or more) of points for a short word.
2. You must use tiles already on the board as part of the word you spell (you can’t just start a
new word anywhere you want).
3. Words may only go from top-to-bottom or from left-to-right.
4. Any tile touching another tile must spell a real word (except tiles that only touch corner tips—
they don’t count).
5. You may only spell English words.
6. You may not use abbreviations, acronyms, proper nouns or inappropriate words.
7. If you have all consonants or all vowels, you may trade your tiles from the bag and then take
your turn.
8. If you think you can’t make a word, trade however many tiles you want with the bag, then skip
your turn (try not to trade your tiles).
9. You may not trade tiles with other players.
10. You may not show other players your tiles, or ask them for help.
11. Count the points on the tiles of the word(s) you spell (*doubling or tripling letters or words as
needed). This is your score.
12. After you announce your score, as long as no one challenges, take enough tiles from the
bag so you have seven tiles on your rack.
Remember:
* You only get to count the double/triple letter/word scores if you put the tile over that space—if
someone else placed the tile there, and you use that tile as part of your word, you do not get to
double or triple anything.

HISTORY OF SNAKES AND LADDER

It was first found and played in ancient India. It was very popular by the name of
Moksha Patamu and was invented by Hindu Spiritual teachers. The game was called
"Leela" - and reflected the Hinduism consciousness around everyday life. Another name
for it was the ladder to salvation, the game then made its perilous journey to Victorian
England where a newer version was introduced by John Jacques in 1892. It also made
its way into the USA by game inventor Milton Bradley in 1943. It was then given the
name Snakes and ladders.
PLAYING AREA

Snakes and ladders can be played in living room or in any part of the house that you find
comfortable.
MATERIALS
You will need:
• the Snakes and Ladders Board Game;
• a dice;
• a counter per player.

MECHANICS/SKILLS
1. Players take it in turns to roll the dice. The player with the highest number goes first, the
player with the second highest goes second and so on.
2. When it’s their turn, players move the counter the number of spaces shown on the dice and
answer the calculation they land on.
3. If the answer given to the calculation is correct, play continues as usual:
• landing on a snake’s head - the player’s counter slides down;
• landing at the bottom of a ladder - the player’s counter climbs up.
4. If the answer given to the calculation is incorrect, the player misses a go.
5. The first player to reach the finish is the winner!
HISTORY OF TWISTER

Twister was based on a project that inventor Reyn Guyer was working on, which was a
promotion for Johnson’s shoe polish company. Guyer created a polka dot paper mat and then
thought it would be better as a game. He tested this with a group of office workers who were
divided into two teams and called the game “Pretzel”. The Milton Bradley Company (MB)
noticed this invention and within a year released it as a new game called Twister and claimed it
as their own idea. Twister was invented by Charles Foley and Neil Rabens in April 1966 and
was the first game invented that required people to use their bodies as playing pieces.

PLAYING AREA

Twister can be played in a wide space that has no obstruction or hindrance like living room.

MATERIALS

Plastic mat, plastic spinner.

MECHANICS/SKILLS
 Players should remove their shoes and select a referee. The referee is not a player but
will be in control of the spinner, call out the moves that are determined by the spinner,
and call out faults from the players.

 Players take a starting position on the map determined by the number of players in the
game:
2 players = players face each other from opposite ends of the mat. Each player places one foot
on yellow and one foot on blue.

3 players = two players face each other from opposite ends of the mat with one foot on yellow
and another on blue. The third player faces the center by placing two feet on the two center red
circles.

4 players = players are split into two teams of two players each. Players start side by side facing
the other team with all 4 circles occupied by feet on both sides of the mat. The rules are the
same except teammates can share a circle with one hand or foot each.

Playing the Game

 The referee spins the wheel and calls out hand or foot and the color that the spinner
points to. Each player then attempts to place that part onto an open space for that color.
If there are no open spaces then the referee must spin again.
 If your foot or hand is already on the color requested, then you must move it to a
different open spot of that same color.
 If two or more players go for the same spot, then the referee must declare who had
reached that spot first and the other player will have to find an open circle of that same
color.
 You may not remove your hand or foot from any circle without direction from the referee.
You may temporarily lift a hand or foot to allow another part to pass through, but you
must tell the referee before doing so.

Winning the Game

you win twister by being the last one standing.

Losing the Game

you lose twister by falling or letting a knee or elbow touch the mat. You may also remove
yourself if you think you cannot make the new call.
 INDOOR
RECREATIONAL
GAMES

OUTDOOR
RECREATIONAL
GAMES
SCRABBLE

SNAKES AND LADDER

TWISTER

RING TOSS/QUOITS

DODGEBALL

SACK RACE
HISTORY OF RING TOSS OR QUOITS

This game was originally played at the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece over 2000 years ago
(King 43). It probably began as a variation on discus throwing (Grunfeld 171). English colonists
brought the game to the Americas. It was a popular game in the American colonies during the
18th century (King 43). Quoits is basically a ring toss game. During the Colonial era, children
would make rings for Quoits out of all sorts of things, including pieces of rope, willow branches,
and leather strips. Wealthier colonists could buy specially-made iron rings to play the game,
each weighing about three pounds.

PLAYING AREA

The playing area for a single Quoit court with one set of pits should encompass a flat,
rectangular piece of ground with minimum dimensions of 30 feet in length and 10 feet in width.
Centered in this area shall be two defined areas of clay, dirt, or boxed-in pits. If using wooden
boxes set into the ground to define the pits, they shall each be constructed to form a square with
an inside dimension of 36 inches (1 yard) on a side. If pits are made directly in the ground, a
defined square area 3 x 3 feet, or a circular area 4 feet in diameter, shall be cleared for each pit,
exposing bare clay or soil surface. The pits shall be centered in the playing area and positioned
so that their exact centers are 21 feet (7 Yards) apart.

MATERIALS
 The board
 The rings
MECHANICS/SKILLS
▶ This game is played between two teams of either two or four players.

▶ This version of the game uses quoits that weigh about 4 pounds.

▶ When only two players are competing, both pitch quoits from the same side of the pitch using
the same foul line.

▶ Players take turns to pitch the quoit; a toss of the quoit is used to determine which team or
person plays first. The rules for this is pretty much the same like that of a coin toss, the concave
side of the quoit is called “she”, and the convex side is called “he”. The winner may choose to
pitch first or let the opponent choose first.

▶ The quoits are pitched alternately, every player of a team has 2 quoits each and is known as
a “round”.

▶ While pitching, the player is expected to stand anywhere behind the foul line, making sure
that the forward foot is also behind the foul line.
▶ The aim is to earn 21 points; the participant or team that earns 21 points first wins.

HISTORY OF SACK RACE

It all started in year 1967, where it was invented by the very poor parents of a young farm boy.
They couldn’t afford for lavish equipments on the young boy’s birthday, they emptied a potato
sack and made the guests stand inside the sacks to race.
PLAYING AREA
Sack Race is normally played in wide sandy soil or grass.

MATERIALS

For the materials to play sack race, you just need a Potato sack, or laundry bas or burlap sacks.

MECHANICS/SKILLS
These are the mechanics when playing Sack race:
1. Group the kids in to 2-3 groups. The number of kids in the group depends upon the number
of participants you have. If you have a big crowd of participants, group them into 3 groups.

2. Have the groups form their lines. There must be 3 meters distance from each group. Give
each group a sack. Big size of sack is preferable for comfortable movements.

3. Put a chair in front of the group at least 10 meters distance away from them. The chair will
serve as their point of reference.

4. The first person in each the line will be the first participant of the race. The participant will
step inside the sack, heads out holding the sides of the sack by his both hands.

5. Then the "GO" signal is given, they hop towards the reference point the chair) go around the
chair and hop back to their lines.

6. When they reach back to their line in the group, the next participants will follow doing the
same procedure until all of them in the group will be able to participate.

7. The first group who will be able to finish ahead of the others will be declared the winner
HISTORY OF DODGEBALL
Dodgeball was originally played in Africa over two hundred years ago, but instead of the fun,
jocular game that it is today, it was in fact a deadly game. Instead of using soft, rubber balls, the
game was actually played with large rocks or putrefied matter, and it was used as an intense
work out for the tribes, where each competitor would attempt to hit their opponent with the rock
to injury or incapacitate them. Once a player was hit, they would attempt to be pelted by further
rocks to finish them off. It would be the responsibility of the team mates of the fallen competitor
to try and defend him and force the attackers off with their own rocks. This would said to be a
great way to encourage the tribesman to work together during skirmishes against other tribes,
working to take out the weak and protect their own.

A missionary, by the name of Dr. James H. Carlisle saw what was happening and was intrigued
by the agility and ruthlessness of the tribal men , as well as by the solidarity and heart they were
showing. He spent many hours watching the men, and became besotted with the ritual that he
saw on a daily basis. When he made his way back to England, via Europe, he showed some of
his pupils what he had seen. The European men that tried what Carlisle was telling them found
they didn’t have the natural agility or accuracy to dodge or throw, and with Dr Carlisle
continuously moving on, he was not able to encourage the people he spoke to about the sport
to carry it on. It was only when he returned to his teachings at St. Mary’s College in Norfolk, that
he was able to transform the vicious training in to an all-inclusive game. He changed the rock
and petrified matter for a leather ball, which was still hard but not dangerously so. 
PLAYING AREA

The sport was played on an open field with no restrictions as to where players were able to go.
For the official dodgeball rules, the court has measurements of about 60 feet in length and 30 feet
in width. The center of the court contains a 4-foot neutral zone to divide the court in half, giving
each team an area from which to attack. Some courts require attack lines, which sit 10 feet back
from the center line on both sides.

MATERIALS

 Dodgeball balls
 Knee pad
 Dodgeball cones

MECHANICS/SKILLS

 The number of players, number of balls, size of court and length of game can be
determined by the organizers.
 Players must remain within the court at all times, unless collecting dead balls.
 Players are allowed to leave the court to collect balls but they are not allowed to throw
the ball until they are back within the court. If a player leaves the court for any other
purpose or they throw a ball from outside the court, they are eliminated.
 The rules regarding headshots can be decided upon personal preference or by order of
an official body. Some games will see the throwing player eliminated if an opponent is
stuck on the head, some games will see the player struck on the head eliminated.
 Players struck with a ball that is then caught before it becomes dead are eliminated.
 When a player catches a ball, the throwing player will be eliminated.
 The first team to legally eliminate all opposing players will be declared the winner.