Here’s a game to get people up and moving! Create your own Harry Potter-inspired floor game, where you and your friends/family are the playing pieces. This game is similar to the Chutes and Ladders or Candyland board games. You will need:
- Sheets of paper. Colored construction paper makes this game more colorful, but plain paper works just fine. You can even re-use paper by turning it over and writing on the blank back.
- Pen or marker
- Enough floor space to lay out the game board
- A single die. If you don’t have dice around the house, you can make your own from tape and cardboard, card stock or paper. Instructions can be found here: https://www.thecrafttrain.com/easy-diy-giant-dice/
1) Come up with a list of actions and their point values. Some actions will move you forward, some back. For example: “Caught the Golden Snitch — move ahead 3.” “Botched a potions assignment — go back 2.” “Answered a question correctly in Herbology — move ahead 1.” “Lost your Rememberall — go back 1.” You can also do Lose a Turn spaces, such as “Got detention — lose a turn.” [Note: our library’s version of this game sometimes has one square where you land on the Trick Stair that holds you in place — we have that one set to keep a player on it until another player lands on it. You can use squares like that as well if you choose.]
2) Write the actions and point values on some of the sheets of paper. You can also write “Start” and “Finish” on two sheets. Leave the rest of the papers blank.
3) Lay out the papers on the floor, spacing the activity sheets in among the blank sheets. The idea is to make a path around the room for players to walk on as they roll the die — some squares will cause you to go back, some to go forward, and most will just let you advance at a normal pace. If the layout doesn’t work, swap the activity sheets with blank sheets. [For example, we had a layout once where a “go forward 2” and a “go back 2” were two sheets apart, and one poor player just kept bouncing back and forth between them until we changed the layout.]
4) Decide in advance if players need to roll an exact amount to land on the “Finish” square at the end of the game, or if they are allowed to overshoot.
5) Choose what order people will play in, let the first player roll the die, and begin. More than one player can occupy the same sheet during the game. First one to land on, or cross, the “Finish” sheet wins.
This game can be adapted for almost all ages (we’ve had players range from early elementary all the way to senior citizens), depending on the activity squares and the size of the board. It can also be adapted to almost any other book, movie, television series, or interest — we’ve done variations with Wind in the Willows and Lord of the Rings. Adapt it for Minecraft, Survivor, Percy Jackson, or whatever you like.
Enjoy!