Training E-books Wide Games Made Easy

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Looking for an exciting event for your troop? Let this FREE resource be your guide to well organized large scale unit level or district level events!

“I have written and produced wide games for over 15 years including many troop and even a district wide event.” – Robert Hilferding, author of Wide Games Made Easy

For easy use on the computer and “in the field,” this e-book is formatted to be easily viewable and printable. We’ve also included an larger left margin for readers who want to store this reference in a 3-ring binder along with their wide game maps, schedules, and other notes!

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About the Author

Robert Hilferding, our Sales Manager, wrote Wide Games Made Easy as a resource for adult volunteers to contribute a unique training event to their scouts. This is a persistent request from scouters seeking new and exciting events for their units.

Robert is a veteran Scoutmaster who has served in almost every adult role for a Boy Scout Troop. He draws on over 23 years of personal scouting experience in the authoring of scouting resources for Classb.com.

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Excerpts

“It was down to just the two of them—John from the Cobra Patrol and Billy from the Screaming Eagles. They knew that the fate of the universe was in their hands and that if they did not defuse the devise it would be all over. John reviewed the clues that the Cobras had gathered. He remembered the phrase “Let the law be your guide” that all the people they had met that day had kept repeating. He looked down at the device, with its glowing lights and countdown clock running and pushed the button – just at that moment….” – Page 1-1

“In order to return home, the scouts must repair the time machine by doing a variety of tasks, finding different items, and so on. At a fire building station, they would build a fire to burn through the Time lock string that binds the Machine “up-time.” This is the basic camporee game with the string the Scouts are to burn attached to the side of a tree or building as if it is going “somewhen” else. The string is of course charged with tachyon particles so it can not be touched or cut.” – Page 4-2

“This is the fun part. Are they going to get clues? compass directions? bizarre bits of poetry describing landmarks? cryptograms? A visit to the lead writer would be good here to fit the clues to the theme. You should balance the method to the age and experience level of the troop. Too easy and it becomes a foot race, too hard and someone will have to go looking for the “Lost Patrol” It’s a good idea to run the method(s) you pick out by a few different crew members.” – Page 6-2

““They were tired….. The Eagle Patrol was laying in the ditch by the side of the road barely moving. Then Greg yelled out “I know what it is! I know what it IS!” The Eagles rose as one and started jogging to the end of the course. Greg had the key to unlock the treasure chest.” – Page 7-1

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“It was down to just the two of them—John from the Cobra Patrol and Billy from the Screaming Eagles. They knew that the fate of the universe was in their hands and that if they did not defuse the devise it would be all over. John reviewed the clues that the Cobras had gathered. He remembered the phrase “Let the law be your guide” that all the people they had met that day had kept repeating. He looked down at the device, with its glowing lights and countdown clock running and pushed the button – just at that moment….”

• • Are you looking to infuse excitement into your troop activities?
• • Are your scouts bored with the same old skills instruction?
• • Do you have parents and adults looking for a way to contribute?
• • Want to create an experience the scouts will talk about for years to come?

A wide game will answer all these questions with a resounding YES!

A wide game, for our purpose, is a series of competitions that are widely distributed in a geographical area that all related to a unified theme. Wide games share these characteristics:

• • A central theme based on a movie, TV show, book, or video game
• • A story, based on the theme, that the scouts act out
• • A series of events that teach and test scout skills that revolve around the story
• • A method to move the patrols from event to event
• • A end game that rewards patrols that visit all the events
• • A reward for completing the entire series of events
• • A promotion method that encourages the patrols to compete
• • A large staff of adults who enable the event through active participation

This book is designed to lead you through the process of designing and running a day long wide game. From the beginning theme to the details of moving the patrols from station to station, it is my goal to make this a simple and painless process. I have written and produced wide games for over 15 years including many troop and even a district wide event.

Many of my fondest memories of wide games are of my crew of parents and adult leaders who threw themselves into the spirit of the game. I’ve watched many Oscar worthy performances. My crew members have played roles ranging from the demented half person-half daffodil lady to the space alien who only spoke by playing back phases from a tape recorder.

We originally started these wide games as a way to teach the basic scout skills in an interesting and entertaining method. Over the years they have become valuable in a number of ways.

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“On the day of the event the crew gathered about 1/2 hour before the scouts were to arrive. I looked over the most bizarrely dressed, strangely made up group of adults I had ever seen and gave out the last minute instructions. As I watched them get in their cars to drive away, I put on my cape and Viking helmet and got the first set of clues ready….”

Why use a theme?

For a wide game to an effective teaching tool, it must immerse the scouts in what they are learning. Children naturally learn what the are surrounded with–language, gestures, and skills. Even though these are scout – age boys, we can immerse them in a day long environment that will give them reasons to learn particular skills. For example, before anyone in the patrol could begin to participate at a station, everyone in the patrol had to give the “password.” At each station, the password was a different knot each scout had to tie. Since the game was a race, all the scouts were really motivated to know all the knots by the end of the event. Two weeks later, we held a knot relay and were delighted with the retention the scouts demonstrated.

The best way to keep the scouts’ interest (or disguise the fact that some actual learning might be going on) is to find a way to tie all the different skills together in a “real world” scenario. Of course, I am suggesting that the real world contain aliens, spies, dragons, crackpots and ne’er-do-wells! This is where a theme comes in. A simple one or two line statement of what its all about will bring the crew, the scouts, and the adventure all together.

Where do you get theme ideas?

Wide game ideas come from the interests of your scouts. Television, movies, video games, and historical events are all great sources. If you listen to the scouts talk you will often hear some good references to what they are reading, watching, playing, etc.

If you’re stuck for ideas, go visit a nearby mall, movie theatre, toy or comic book store or hobby shop. Each of these locations are prime theme mining territory as they are the locations that your scouts spend much of their discretionary time.

Do’s and Don’ts of Themes

Some basic concepts when you get ready to decide on your theme:

• • Do use a theme that the scouts are familiar with (Mission Impossible).
• • Don’t use an obscure theme (The reign of Manillas the Elder).
• • Do use a theme that is acceptable to all ages in your troop.
• • Do not select a theme which is inappropriate for the scouts (R-Rated movies for example)
• • Do use a theme that your parents and volunteers can get excited about.
• • Do not stick with a theme if it becomes too difficult to work with.

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“I looked from face to face at that first meeting. Moms and dads, all the assistant Scoutmasters, three members of the committee, and a couple of older brothers and sisters of our scouts were sitting there without any real idea of what they were about to undertake. I knew that the next few months would give all of us memories we wouldn’t soon forget.”

Assembling the Crew

A successful wide game needs PEOPLE! Lots of hands will make this an exciting activity for people who are otherwise too old to be scouts(like me!) The event and the preparations will help bring the group together, create lots of good times, and give everyone a tangible and exciting role in the development of troop skills. The greater the number of people involved the more stations of activities you may have, and the more fun it will be for the scouts!

The First Meeting

I suggest you follow the following steps to organize your wide game crew:

• 1. Make several announcements about “an important meeting” for all adults, leaders, and interested persons. This meeting is crucial to the success of the plans of the troop. DO NOT say what it is about because at this point you need the suspense.


• 2. At the beginning of the meeting, after you introduce yourself–tell everyone that the material covered is COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL. Ask that if anyone may have a problem keeping a secret from the scouts, INCLUDING their own son, that they excuse themselves now.


• 3. Conduct the skill and interest survey from the appendix. Quickly tabulate the answers. You are looking here for a basic idea of the resources the adult volunteers can bring to the Wide Game.


• 4. Explain the purpose of the wide game. The audience will soon see how the skills and interests of the group fit with the needs of the wide game.


• 5. Share the Theme


• 6. Discuss the jobs the group will need to accomplish in order the give the Scouts the best experience.


• 7. Hand out assignments and set the date and time of the next meeting.

The Next Meetings

After you have gotten volunteers for all the key positions, the next step is get the crew working! Most of the initial work is collaboration between the Lead Writer, the Team Leader, and different individuals. Only when you schedule a complete meeting will everyone get to see what is going on. Take some time at each meeting and let each person talk about their part of the project. If there is a ceremony for the beginning of the game or something that the station performers are going to do, have them practice on your crew. Its fun, helps to identify flaws, and can be downright hilarious when you least expect it.

Any opportunity to get the crew together and build teamwork & spirit is a good one. Don’t be afraid to schedule a meeting every other week. We always met in another location while our scouts had their weekly meeting to make scheduling easy for the parents & older siblings. Generally, they were dropping off & picking up their scout anyways.

The Dress Rehearsal

If the wide game is complicated, you may wish to have a dress rehearsal. Pick a time and place where you will not be interrupted by the scouts and give it a run through. This will make sure that the skills work, everyone knows their part, and everything fits. As much of this is improvisation, you can’t always control every detail so just be sure it all fits the theme.

Wide Game Day

From the crew’s perspective, game day can almost be an anticlimax. The main support personnel who have worked so hard to get the game ready are suddenly “out of a job.” If they are available, they make good Route Patrol people and can also visit the stations and observe how it works. This will get them excited for the next time and make them think about how to do the game even better.

Plan enough time to hold a meeting just before the game begins to cover any last minute details and to give everyone a pep talk.

Afterwards

Have one final meeting to discuss how the game went. Gather and write down any ideas that can be used for the next wide game. You should find this will be a great meeting as every parent will have a story to share about how their son saw the game.

The Next Court Of Honor

Be sure to acknowledge the efforts of everyone and give them a certificate or plaque.

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“We started the camporee with a Friday night campfire — perhaps with the most uninspired opening ever. About half way through, strange sounds, lights from the sky (Ok, scouts up in the trees with Q-Beams!), and smoke enveloped the entire arena … something completely different was going on here!”

Making your Theme cover the entire wide game

There is no real trick or hidden technique to this chapter. The key here is to take every event and activity, the navigation of the groups from activity to activity, and all communication about the activity and conform it to the theme. There are no exceptions to this. If you are short on help and one person has two roles — its “Evil Twin” time. I think the best approach to this is going over every step with your lead writer and being sure that the crew understands the nuance of the theme.

Perhaps the best method of explaining theme expansion is to take a developed list of skills for a wide game and show how they would fit into a particular theme. Here is a typical set of skills that will be used for a wide game:

• Basic Knot tying
• Plant Identification
• Flag raising and folding
• Fire building
• Compass directions and pace Lashings
• Scout Oath and Law
• First Aid
• Swimming

Let’s assign a skill from above to some different themes from the appendix and try to entwine the theme around the skill. Once you get started with this, it’s lots of fun. The lead writer and I would call back and forth with different ideas on how to include a particularly mundane skill into something the boys will remember. We would get an idea, change it, change it again, and have a great time!

THEME: Paramedics SKILL: Lashings & First Aid

Lashings and First Aid? You could go for a stretcher kind of thing but how about rigging up a devise to lift a heavy log that had fallen on a hiker. The hiker could be trapped under the log (Not really, dig out a hole for him) and the Paramedics must build an A Frame and rig up a lifting rope system to rescue him. (On second thought, maybe use a dummy under that log…)

THEME: Spy vs. Spy SKILL: First Aid

Spy stories are always cool to use as a theme. For a first aid station, the spies might come across an injured person who has scribbled a partial clue before he fainted from his injuries. The spies must treat his wounds in order to gain the rest of the information.

THEME: Olympics SKILL: Scout Oath and Law

To use the Oath and Law in a mostly sports environment, I would use them as passwords. As the Contestants approach each event, they are required to prove they are official olympic contenders by giving the correct password and response.

THEME: Quest for El Dorado SKILL: Plant Identification

The buried gold must be found. One of the clues is found by correctly identifying 10 different types of plants and then arranging the first letter of each one into a phrase that will guide the scouts to the buried gold. Another way to do this is to label a bunch of plants with letters and provide a sheet of descriptions. The Scouts match the letter on the plant to the description and that gives them the names of the plants. When they complete this task the old prospector gives them a piece of the map.

THEME: Mission Improbable SKILL: Compass Directions and Pace

As the Scouts attempt the mission, the have different Rendezvous points where they meet with informants, operatives, and the like. Each Rendezvous point has a compass bearing and distance.

THEME: Pirates SKILL: Swimming

The Pirates have jettisoned an important clue (or perhaps one hundred false keys and one real key to a treasure chest) on the bottom of the pond (or Swimming Pool). The Scouts organize a Lost Bathers Drill to recover the missing item.

THEME: The Time Machine SKILL: Fire Building

In order to return home, the scouts must repair the time machine by doing a variety of tasks, finding different items, and so on. At a fire building station, they would build a fire to burn through the Time lock string that binds the Machine “up-time.” This is the basic camporee game with the string the Scouts are to burn attached to the side of a tree or building as if it is going “somewhen” else. The string is of course charged with tachyon particles so it can not be touched or cut.

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“Tommy eyed the pool very carefully. He was sure that there was nothing in the water that would help him rescue the princess. Finally, he jumped in and began a Lost Bathers Drill like he learned at summer camp. A few minutes later he surfaced holding the clear Plexiglas sheet with a map etched in it! His smile stretched from ear to ear!”

What is a station?

The individual activity station is the key to a successful wide game. This is where the scouts learn the skills and test their knowledge. It is best described as a location where a particular skill is taught and tested. The minimum requirements for a station are simple… something to teach and some way to do it! The best way to design a station, in my opinion, is to build the event up from the skill. These are the steps I use.

1. Determine the need.

The first step in designing the station is to determine what skills are needed in the troop. Do you have lots of Scout and Tenderfoot ranked boys? Are they all Star and Life? Each troop will have a general status that you can address. The main thing here is to pick skills that are NOT beyond the level of all the scouts. For learning to occur, someone will have to teach it. The best way is for a scout that knows to show a scout that doesn’t. You can, as a group or by each individual station leader, come to a conclusion about what skill each station will cover.

For our example, let us pick the requirement about plant identification.

2. Decide on the method.

As you have determined the skill for the station, the next step is to determine how best to teach/test it. Each skill will suggest many different ways that it could be learned. I find it easiest to work backwards for this part. I determine that the scouts must correctly identify 10 plants for the requirement. I realize that I have time constraints and I want to be sure they are challenged to learn the plants in my local. I decide to prepare a test containing detailed descriptions of plants and label samples with a letter code. The idea is that the scouts will each take a test, go out into the woods and find the plants with a letter attached to them. They then have to decide which description fits with each plant. I can control the samples that I label and the level of detail of the description to make it fairly easy or very difficult.

3. Visit the Lead Writer.

We have our skill and how we are going to make it happen. Now the lead writer steps in and builds a story around this particular station. Each part of what we are going to do gets an explanation that exists within the theme. For example, in the plant identification station(which I use a lot) the scouts had to pass the test so the old botany teacher would give them the keys to her sample case.(it contained a clue) Another time it was part of the training course for new MIK agents and it included alien plants( this was a lot of fun, we made plants from old carpet, aluminum foil, and all kinds of weird stuff so they had to identify 10 “Earth” plants and 5 “Off-Earth” plants.

4. Visit the Logistics Supervisor

At this point it is important to tie down where the station is going to be. Visit the site and confirm that your skill will work at that location.

5. Create a list of props and supplies.

At this point you can begin to visualize what the station should look like and what you will need to perform the event. Make as detailed a list as possible. Don’t overlook anything, even resources that will be sure to be there (in my initial list, I had the plants written down, as well as the signs, tests, stakes, staple gun, hammer, etc.) or tools necessary to construct your station If you are doing a flag raising and forget to list a flagpole, someone will be scrambling on game day! When you have your list, visit the prop master and work out all the details.

6. Try it.

When you have your props and supplies, try the event! Be sure to not allow any scouts to see what you are doing but be sure it works! Try it yourself, have your friend or spouse try it, and if possible, get an expert to assist you. In the plant example, I spent 3 full days identifying plants in a local park to a degree of certainty I was comfortable. I wrote all my descriptions, prepared the test and had a local botanist take the test. She found three mistaken identifications in my work. I fixed them and knew I was ready.

7. Back to the Lead Writer.

The lead writer now has to coordinate the skill to the game day. The writer will create a persona for the station performer, tie in the skill to the game, create the clues and wording necessary to advance the end game, and generally tie it all together.

8. Meet with the station performer and the costumer.

This is a lot of fun. The station is just about complete. The costumer and the station performer coordinate on how the performer will dress, last minute adjustments to the script and the character, and 1 or 2 runs to be sure everything works. When this is all done — its show time!

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“The Cobras were getting it… they discovered that a light year was the equivalent of 10 city blocks. The Patrol Leader started yelling “ hurry up Vulcan is just 3 blocks away!”

Connecting the Dots… Getting the groups from here to there

On of the major factors in the excitement of the game is moving the patrols from station to station. The successful wide game will not offer a linear approach to the stations, but rather a complex and challenging course. Compass, clues, landmarks, and any other method are all acceptable ways to move each patrol from station to station.

Ensure that your clues are permanent! If you use a landmark or clue that could be moved, knocked over, or otherwise changed before or during the event, notify the route patrol. The route patrol can check those clues periodically and fix them or report their absence.

Analyze your resources

The first step to success in planning the path each patrol will follow is to map out your resources. Locate public parks, libraries, residences of scout leaders, and landmarks for a city wide game. If you are planning a wide game at a scout camp or other non developed site, you should analyze different areas within the radius you are working with. A typical countryside playing area might be the lake, the barn, a group of trees, and so forth. Make a detailed and accurate map of each possible location.

It’s important to note here the need during a day long event for water, food, and restroom opportunities. Try to strategically arrange routes to go near convenience stores, fast food restaurants, libraries, or other public facilities that offer these amenities.

Assign the stations

Take the list of stations and match the activity to the particular location. If you have an aquatic event, it would only make sense to have it held at the lake or the pool. Likewise a plant identification station would do best in a wooded area or a park. The station leaders will come to you or you can have a meeting to assign out all the areas.

Do the math

Each location is a fixed location (usually) and is a fixed distance from every other station. It is necessary to plot a path from one station to the next FOR EACH PATROL. You should not have each patrol following the same station rotation. The game will not work if a patrol can simply follow the patrol in front of it and win. If you have only 2 patrols, a simple solution is for 1 patrol to go from station 1 to station 2 and so on while the other patrol goes from station 8 to station 7 etc. Sounds easy, but try it with 3 or 4 patrols! You want the total distance to be as equal as possible so you will need to graph out and measure (or drive or ride a bike or use a GPS) each route.

There are some routes that will come out longer or more difficult than the others. This can be utilized effectively if you assign the longer routes to the older scout patrols. At one game, we had a route that was almost 2 miles longer than the rest. We gave this route to the Venture Crew and they still finished first! You can use the route design as a method to control the rate that the patrols finish while you match the degree of difficulty of the route to the age and experience of the Patrol.

Watch out for conditional stations

There are some stations that will require special planning. The patrols may have to arrive at a station at a particular time of the day. For example, if you have a cooking station which is also the lunch stop, you need to get the scouts there around lunchtime. Also, some stations may work best if the skill also contains the clue to the next station. For example, you may have an orienteering station where the scouts do an orienteering course that leads them to the next station. You either have to have the course and the station at both ends or you have to bring each patrol into the start of the course and end at the same next station. This can be difficult but is well worth the extra time it takes to get it working just right.

Decide how to direct the patrols to each station

This is the fun part. Are they going to get clues? compass directions? bizarre bits of poetry describing landmarks? cryptograms? A visit to the lead writer would be good here to fit the clues to the theme. You should balance the method to the age and experience level of the troop. Too easy and it becomes a foot race, too hard and someone will have to go looking for the “Lost Patrol” It’s a good idea to run the method(s) you pick out by a few different crew members.

Plot the actual course

Start with the first patrol and walk, drive, or bike out the course you want them to follow. At each step of the way, write down exactly what they need to do to get to the next station. If you are using a compass method, you would keep track of the bearings and distances you traveled to get from the beginning point to the first station. You would repeat this until you had a complete set of compass bearings and directions from the beginning to the end. Be sure to identify each set of instructions for which station to are going from and going to. Repeat this with the path for each additional patrol.

You will now have one set of instructions for each patrol. In the simplest form, this instruction set would guide the patrol throughout the entire wide game. It is very important to have someone else test each course. What is often logical or obvious to the writer may escape the patrol following the path due to different experiences or knowledge. Have a different member of the group test each course and then amend it for clarity. At this time you should have an average time it will take to run through each course.

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“They were tired….. The Eagle Patrol was laying in the ditch by the side of the road barely moving. Then Greg yelled out “I know what it is! I know what it IS!” The Eagles rose as one and started jogging to the end of the course. Greg had the key to unlock the treasure chest”

Making the Trip worthwhile…

The wide games I work with are typically five or six miles long. As we are in Florida, it’s always hot and humid. The Scouts can soon get tired of walking. (Remember that the 5 or 6 miles is the direct distance between the stations and do not include mis-turns, wrong-ways, totally losts, and convenience store detours!) The end game, a final big challenge at the end of the day, motivates the patrol to keep going.

As each station teaches skills, they also give out clues to the overall puzzle. These clues can range from a phrase repeated at every station to a hand out containing a riddle, clue, or definition. We have used props, posters, flyers, various artifacts (like keys, maps, etc.) and so on to build up the mystery surrounding the end game.

The best example of a successful endgame to me is when every patrol wants to complete it, even if they came in last place. At the District camporee that we held using this plan, the end game was scheduled for about 4:30. The first patrol arrived at the endgame station about 4:45 and was successful. (Which is why I am able to write this, the Earth was not destroyed!) Several patrols followed immediately thereafter until it was 5:00 pm. The usual camporee events would have seen many scouts bailing as it got later in the day and by 5 PM everyone would be in their campsites cooking dinner. I looked out of my station just before I was going to break it down and saw a line of scouts, easily 150 scouts! Every single patrol was determined to save the Earth! I finished up about 6:45 that night.

Design the game

The theme will direct the goal of the end game. There are many forms that the end game can take.

• • A puzzle or riddle set
• • A mechanical devise like a timer or safe
• • A knowledge test based on a popular TV game show • A final physical challenge

The first step is to decide the form of the end game. If the theme is a variant of the save the world you might build a devise that must be turned off (or on) in the right sequence to win. If the game has more of an exploratory or training theme, then a “ Who wants to be a ….” or a “weakest link” approach might be the best bet.

Importantly, the form of the game should allow for a clear winner, not be time dependent ( if they need to build a sundial and no one finishes until after dark, you may have a problem) and be repeatable. In almost every wide game I have participated in, even after the game was “over” and the winner determined—everyone else wanted to take part in the end game. Make sure you can reset the alarms on the Doomsday Machine!

Build the End Game

Take the form of the End Game to the prop master and begin to develop the design. The actual props for the game can be as simple as lettered dowels that have to be inserted in the correct order into a block of wood or a complex machines that blinks and buzzes and whistles. The building of the end game should fit the theme as well as the budget. Remember that all we really need is the appearance that the devise or prop does what you say it will do. Obviously the doomsday device shouldn’t explode, but a fancy locking device can be observed and when the scouts have done the correct sequence of actions, you open the door for them instead of trying to figure out the mechanism to have it actually work — this trick alone will save tons of time and accomplish the same end.

We have also used thrown together devises with lots of switches and lights (our MB Counselor for Electronics was a big help) and computer software for a quiz show type end game. The most important consideration here is that the game works well and looks cool. This will capture the Scouts attention and make next years wide game an even bigger success!

Design the clues

This is where the creative juices really get flowing. The job is to weave all the clues that will be needed throughout the entire set of stations. It is necessary to make sure that a patrol cannot skip a station, or stumble across the end game by mistake, and win. The type of clues are somewhat determined by the form of the game — giving out keys to locks, code breaking charts, important bits of information that will be asked about later on, or map pieces to the final destination are all useful clues. The number of clues should be equal to the number of stations and should be mixed up by type. That is, station 4 should always give out the same clue (lets say a key) but station 3 and 5 should give out different types of clues. (Lets say 3 gives out a verbal clue and 5 gives out a decoder ring.) By keeping the clue uncertain, the scouts will then pay very close attention because everything “could be a clue.”

Testing

I just can’t say enough times to test everything along the way. On an especially complex end game, one misstep and none of the patrols will be able to finish the game. Test the clues as well as the mechanisms. It doesn’t have to be an easy end game, the scouts can accomplish nearly any goal. The game does have to fit and follow the rules of the overall theme, however, or the scouts will not understand the solution. The best test is to have a “non-involved” parent or friend try it out.

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“He was clad in a old brown monks robe with blue green hair flowing over his shoulders. On closer inspection, the hair was more like rope fibers and the robe was oddly decorated with Atlantian symbols. He commanded the scouts to plunge into the pool to recover the Stones of Alabar and stack them at the opposite end of the pool.”

The Icing on the Cake…

Costumes and role playing elevate the wide game to an unexpected level. When the patrol reaches the first station and are met by someone in costume, pretending to be an old prospector or a spy, they are brought completely into the world of the game! It’s easy and fun for the adult crew as well to perform the roles at each station.

One very important consideration when discussing costuming and role playing is notifying the local police. There is the slight possibility that one of your parents wearing a black cloak and wandering through the town cemetery attracting groups of young boys is going to draw unwanted attention. A quick phone call about a week before the event to the local police will ensure station performers are not arrested or required to explain themselves. Wait until about a week before the event because the police may need to have an annotated map on hand that includes costume descriptions and a contact phone number for the day of the event.

Costumes

There are two types of costumes required for the successful wide game; performer costumes and participant costumes. Participant costumes are used to identify each patrol and consist of a simple item or two that can be easily spotted by the route patrol and station crew. Some items are bandanas, hats, arm bands, pouches to carry items handed out in the game, and so on. If you color code the patrol costumes you can use the same color code for instructions and clues, props, and so on through out the game. These costumes are simple and easy but make life much easier during the game.

Costumes for the performers, route patrol, and other members of the crew should be more elaborate. Each costume should be appropriate to the role that the performer is going to play. Within each theme, there are many different costumes and varieties of costumes. For example, In the Time Machine theme, some of the crew would be modern dress, some dressed like in the past, and even some “Time Police” in a futuristic costume.

The important thing about costumes is that they can be as elaborate or as simple as necessary as long as they fit within the framework of the game. Many people can add a toolbelt and a red bandana to a pair of jeans and a work shirt and become “Robert – The Time Beacon Repairman” I have also had a wide game where the costumes were wonderfully made and looked like a Hollywood production. The game was based around the Atlantis Myth and we had togas and Goddess costumes and just neat stuff!

Role Playing

If at this point you are expecting a short class on Method acting, I am very sorry to disappoint you. In the many years I have done wide games I have seen a wide variety of artistic interpretations of the roles being played. Many times I was stunned by how completely a person threw themselves into the role — and how well they carried it off. In other situations, the only way I could tell what was going on was when the person read the lines from the script! The important thing here is that in every case, at the end of the game, ALL the Scouts would clamor to have another wide game! In the end, keep in mind these concepts:

• • Always explain the role playing idea before asking for volunteers. Wearing a toga in the local park spouting Plato may not be for everyone.


• • Never think someone will not do a good job. The shyest people can become the most fearsome Pirates you can imagine!


• • Always have the lead writer work closely with each performer so that they both take part in the process. This allows the performer to improvise as necessary.


• • Always have someone who can jump in in case of a last minute change in performers. All great actors have an understudy.


• • Never take this too seriously. No matter how little experience role playing you have, you’re going to have a great time!


• • Always impress on all the station performers that the role they play will enhance the game tremendously. They will come through for you!


• • Your actors may have some anxiety about performing in front of the scouts (or in front of anybody!). Make sure you share with them how good they are doing! Do this before, during, and after the wide game.

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“Each week the Scoutmaster received a packet of recovered documents from the search site. These old documents were a journal of sorts, telling the story of Atlantis. He gave each patrol leader the documents and the scouts started to really wonder what was going on….”

Getting a Really Big Turnout…

One of the most important things to a successful wide game is participants. Without the scouts it’s not a whole lot of fun! The more scouts that attend a wide game, the more fun it is for all the adults as well, since every actor loves to perform to a crowd!

Start Early

The first key to the successful promotion is to start early. The last thing you want to do is hand out a note the meeting just before the event. I recommend you begin the scout side promotion at least 4 weeks in advance of the event, or as soon as the theme has been decided upon. I would also send home a note to the parents explaining the importance of their son attending this educational and fun opportunity. Do not give too much away, but be sure to explain that each Scout plays a major role in the success of his patrol.

Make the Promotion Part of the Game

The second key to success is to promote the game from within the theme itself. Use news style announcements, tape recordings of “radio broadcasts,” a guest speaker with the hidden agenda of preparing the Scouts for the game, etc. Your clues will include the date and time, plus necessary equipment. Do not give information like, “and be sure to study your lashings!”

The Details are the Key

The third key to success is the details. Cover these as soon and often as possible. Your promotion to the scouts should cover date and time, location, and what to bring. If you are charging a fee, you should deal with that as well. Repeat this information often. Have announcements made every meeting to remind the Scouts of the details. Send a letter home.

The Big Show

At the last meeting before the event, it is important to do something quite extraordinary. This meeting will need to convince the scouts who are “on the fence” to participate. This is a great meeting to give a “pre-show” promotion. Tease the Scouts with some important information that will explain the theme and get them ready. Some ideas are a skit with a few characters from the event, a “discovered” video tape showing a station, or a recently unearthed map.

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“All the scouts showed up early. We had to sneak out the back door so they would not see us in costume and rush to our stations. It was so cool to see this kind of turnout and excitement in the Scouts”

Its Show Time…

The day of the event can be very hectic. There is lots going on and its all happening over a very large arena. The best thing to do is have a checklist prepared in advance to remind you of all the details, then relax! The time you and your crew have spent preparing will pay off, probably in some unexpected ways.

The Meeting

Before the Scouts arrive, you should all get together and go over any final details. I suggest gathering all the clues, supplies, kits, and directions for each station beforehand and holding them until this meeting and distributing them as you take role call of all the station performers. In the event someone is missing, you can reassign to cover the vacancy and you won’t have to try to make a new set of clues to get three different patrols from the “T-Rex Egg Nest” to three different stations.

This meeting should only take 10-15 minutes and is a great way to get everyone going. Many of your volunteers will be be anxious and this meeting is the perfect time to remind them that the scouts don’t know what’s planned for them, so any issues that comes up will appear planned.

Starting the Game

After the meeting, you should check that the pre-game is ready and bring the scouts into a neutral area. Take attendance, and set up for the beginning of the game. In some scenarios, you may need to get the word to a station to make changes due to different attendance numbers. Once the game has begun, a route patrol person can take the message to all the stations. Sending a route patrol to each station is also a good way to warn the station performers their audience is about to arrive.

Opportunities Throughout the Day

Be prepared! Almost anything can happen in a wide game. The team leader should be ready to make adjustments to the route, stations, end game, or any other detail if something requires the change. Things can happen that you could not possibly anticipate so you need to be prepared to make creative-theme related decisions to fix problems.

To give you an example, at a recent game we had a station manager give out the wrong directions to two patrols. This caused a problem two stations down and resulted in every patrol hitting the lunch station at the same time and leaving the 2 patrols totally out of sync and out of order. When I arrived at the lunch station and realized what had happened, I became the Time Machine Repairman, went over to the first misguided patrol and gave an impassioned speech about how the tachyon transmitter was broken and they needed to leave the area so I could fix it. I gave them the clue that would take them back on course and off they went. The second misguided patrol got a completely different version of the explanation and was also sent along the way back to the proper station. Both Patrols thought my role was part of the plan!

The Team Leader may want to have a couple costume changes on hand for these types of situations. Having a theme-related map to use as a prop or other multi-purpose clues can also be valuable.

End Game Issues

The end game, if it is a challenge for First place, is probably planned to be done once by the patrol that reaches it first. Be sure to discuss with everyone the option of running the End Game over again for each patrol. After all, all the scouts have spent the day working to solve the puzzle and will really want to see if they have succeeded. I would sometimes not even tell them if they were the first or last patrol to come to the end game until after they had completed it.

Unlike some competitive events, the patrols tend to view their success completing the theme objective independent of their “placing” in the troop. Of course, once a patrol realizes they have won they are very excited. However, I have never seen a patrol that considered themselves “losers” after the wide game is over.

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“When I retired from active duty with the troop I thought I had done my last Wide Game… That was four wide games ago, including a massive wide game at a district camporee. It’s just too much fun!”

What it’s all about

After you have finished your first wide game, take a few minutes to review the goals you and the crew began the event with. You will be amazed at how many scout skills were taught during the day. I have done many of these games and still get surprised at how well they work.

Another effect of the wide game that should be discussed is the benefit of a shared project among the adult volunteers. As overcoming adversity as a group builds better patrols, the experience of cooperatively organizing a wide game seems to build a stronger group of adults. When all the adults aim toward a common goal and achieve it, they can then take the methods they used and apply them to other problems and challenges. This was an unexpected benefit that I noticed right after the first game.

In conclusion

I hope that you have found this information helpful and would love to hear from you about your wide game experiences. If you have any questions that aren’t answered by this e-book, I’d love to hear them and they may be addressed in the next edition! Just e-mail me at robert@classb.com.

I would like to thank Joe Maniscalco, my lead writer on more games than we can remember, and Gregg Hilferding for editing and organizing my rambling thoughts into this e-book.

Of course, I also need to recognize the role classb.com played in bringing this e-book to you! Without classb.com, this e-book might never have happened and it definitely could not have been provided free of charge. If this e-book was valuable to you, I hope that you would visit classb.com and consider purchasing your next order of unit t-shirts or patches from classb.com!

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“Thanks for downloading this e-book! All the benefit described within are attainable for your unit. Hopefully, the methods described will assist you in providing a quality event!”

-Robert Hilferding, Author of Wide Games Made Easy

Robert Hilferding, our Sales Manager, wrote Wide Games Made Easy as a resource for adult volunteers to contribute a unique training event to their scouts. This is a persisent request from scouters seeking new and exciting events for their units.

Robert is a veteran Scoutmaster who has served in almost every adult role for a Boy Scout Troop. He draws on over 23 years of personal scouting experience in the authoring of scouting resources for Classb.com.

Inquiries and comments may be directed to robert@classb.com.

From The Editor

“I hope Robert’s methods and tips have come across in a clear & useful way. Like all the resources we offer at classb.com, Wide Games Made Easy will continue to evolve with your input and requests!”

– Gregg Hilferding, Editor of Wide Games Made Easy

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