by Sheila Westfall

Created on: July 11, 2008   Last Updated: July 15, 2008

Summer is the perfect time to get kids off the couch and playing outside. Your town can encourage physical activity by holding a Video Game Festival with a twist. Instead of using only their thumbs to navigate their way through the game, players will take on the roles of video game characters themselves. To win they will have to run, jump, and climb their way to the finish.

The Mario series is an excellent example of games that would easily adapt into a real life game. Players can jump over hurdles, crawl through tunnels, and collect special amulets as they race against each other. Balloons would make an excellent substitute for the turtle soldiers that are defeated by stomping them into their shells; players much burst the balloon to move on to the next obstacle. Foam balls or koosh balls thrown at targets can replace fireballs thrown when Mario turns into Fiery Mario. Mario Kart can be played on bicycles with a simple linear race for the first level and then increasingly harder obstacle courses for upper levels. Traffic cones are ideal for creating obstacles but if they are not available be sure that you choose items that will not pose a danger if hit.

Tetris can be played as a team game with differently shaped pieces of foam. A rectangular piece would act as the base and and the standard of how wide the puzzle can be. One team member at a time would run to a pile of pieces and grab the one on top. Team members must then fit the new pieces in with the existing pieces in the neatest way possible. The team that puts their pieces together with the smallest amount of area used and the least number of gaps wins.

To really kick it old school, scatter a field with pac-dots (a.k.a. ping pong balls) and play Pac-Man. To win players must cross the field while collecting the dots in a bucket and avoiding the ghosts that are wandering off and on the field. When a Pac-Man is tagged by a ghost he is then out. However, if he finds one of the power pellets (or tennis balls) he can be tagged once and remain in the game. Each fruit (Koosh ball) that is picked up gives the player 100 extra points at the end of the game. The game ends when all items have been collected or only one Pac-Man remains. If more than one player is still in, the number of pac-dots and fruit collected are counted to determine the winner.

Other games that would work well are The Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Sonic the Hedgehog. Foam noodles can be used for sword fights and foam balls or Koosh balls for fireballs that players must dodge. Monkey bars, if available will be perfect for the climbing in Donkey Kong. Including a small wading pool as an obstacle will a big hit on hot days.

When choosing games to adapt, remember that it is important to not use excessively violent video games and keep safety in mind. You may also want to develop easy and hard difficulty levels to accommodate children of different ages and abilities. If done with creativity and enthusiasm your Live Video Game Festival will be fun for everyone and provide the kids with fresh air and exercise.

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