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Family Games Newsletter - October 2009
October 09, 2009

October 2009

Welcome to the October 2009 issue of our Family Games Treasurehouse newsletter. We hope that you and your family are blessed as they spend time enjoying family games together.

In this issue, we will review some traditional games from Africa, Australia and South America. We also review a tile (dominoes) game which is suitable for younger players and finish with an excerpt from an article on our website. Simply click on the links to go to our website for more information. Let's get into it!


Worldwide Games - from Morocco, Australia and Argentina

Kick and Catch is a favourite African game played in the streets of Morocco. The ball is made by tying old rags together. Players divide into two teams, facing each other. A referee begins the game by kicking the rag ball up into the air. All the players try to catch it. Whoever does catch it quickly kicks the ball back into the air. The game continues with both teams trying to catch and kick the ball. The winner is the first team that makes ten catches in a row without dropping the ball.

Keean was a traditional Australian game played by the Aboriginal people which required good throwing skill and accuracy. A large bone had to be thrown over a net into a hole in the ground. In this revised game a tennis ball is placed in a sock or stocking to represent the bone.

Mark a line for children to stand behind and place a hoop or bucket about 3 to 5 metres (3 to 5 yards) away on the ground. Children stand behind the marked line and take turns throwing the 'bone' (ball) into the hoop. They must hold the 'bone' by the tail part (the stocking). The further down they hold the tail the more challenging the game is. The children can play this game just for fun or they can keep score, where every time the 'bone' is thrown into the hoop gains one point.

Ball in the Air is a popular indoor or outdoor game played in Argentina. You will need a playing area about 24 metres (27 yards) square. Set up a boundary line along one side of the field. Traditionally there are 30 players in two teams of 15, but you could have any number of players.

Players divide into two teams of equal size and ability. The members in Team A form a line along the boundary. Team B members form into a circle at the other end of the field with approximately one metre (one yard) between each player. When the signal is given the members of Team A run as quickly as possible around Team B and back to the boundary line.

Ball in the Air

At the same time, Team B members start passing the volleyball backwards over their heads, from one player to the next. As each player catches the ball he must call out the number of the pass. For example, as the second player of Team B catches the ball she calls out 'one', the next player calls out 'two' as he catches the ball, and so on. After completing one loop (every player running completely around Team B), Team A members race back to the boundary line. When the last player crosses over the line they all yell out "Stop!' Team B completes the pass it is doing and then stops passing the ball. They record the number of passes they completed. The teams change places and continue playing. The winner is the team that makes the most passes.

We also have around sixty other traditional worldwide games from Africa, Australasia, South America, Asia, North America and Europe for you to play.



Blind Hughie – a simple tile (dominoes) game for all the family

Blind Hughie uses a standard set of double-six dominoes. That is, the highest value domino has six dots on each end. (You can buy larger sets of double-nine and even double-twelve dominoes, but the majority of tile games use a double-six set.) This game especially suits younger children since it helps them learn to count and recognise numbers up to six. However, it is suitable for the whole family. Each game takes about 5 to 10 minutes.

The dominoes (or tiles) are placed face down in the middle of the table and moved around to 'shuffle' them. If there are 2 or 3 players, they choose 7 dominoes each; 4 to 5 players choose 5 tiles each. Players place the tiles face down, WITHOUT LOOKING AT THEM, in a line in front of them. Unused dominoes are moved to the side of the table.

The first player takes the domino from the left-hand end of their line and puts it face up in the middle of the table. The player to their left chooses the tile on the left of their line and tries to match it to the one on the table. If they cannot match their tile to either end, it is put back (face down) on the right-hand end of their line. Play continues around the table until either one player has put all their dominoes on the table (the winner) or there are no more moves available for any player (a drawn game).



Excerpt from the article "7 Benefits of a Family Games Night"

There are many activities that can help a family grow closer together. A regular family games night, where all the family sits around the table to play games after the evening meal or for a lazy afternoon, is one way to provide this interaction. Here are 7 benefits of a family games night.

1 Inexpensive: There are hundreds of card games your family can play with only one standard pack of cards. You could play a different game every week for a year, all for only a few dollars. Dice games are also dirt cheap while word games are totally free. What a bargain!

2 Suitable for all ages: Some games are suitable for young children. Many are great for adults or older children. There are also thousands of games for everyone to play together, from grandparents to infants. No one need miss out simply because of their age.

3 Does not discriminate against physical disabilities: Your physical skill level does not matter. Anyone can join in, as long as your brain is still working. You can even move the game into a sickroom or other location so no one misses out ...
(The full article can be found at https://www.family-games-treasurehouse.com/7_benefits_of_a_family_games_night.html )


Finally, check out our About This Site page. It explains why we started this site and how you too can start an online business that can set you free from a '9 to 5' job and give you more time to enjoy with your family.

Until next time,
Andrew Low
Family Games Treasurehouse


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