Family Face-off
Pick sides. Pick colors. Put your gameface on. To the victor go the spoils.
🎉 Opening Ceremony 🎉
To the victor belong the spoils
- William L Marcy
Read up on the spoils system. Do you think the idea of spoils going to the victor is inevitable or is there another way?
︖ Probing Question ⸮
Imagine you were the President. What would be the hardest part of your job?
🧠 Trivia Question 🧠
What is the oldest known flag in human history? Answer
📙 Word of the Week 📙
Tradition - an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (Source: Merriam-Webster)
🎙️ Main Event 🎙️
Preparation
Find another family that your family enjoys spending time with! Don’t worry about differences in kids’ ages, family makeup, etc - any family you enjoy will do!
Have each family pick a color. Go all out. If you’re the blues, go hardcore blue. Facepaint recommended!
Choose a neutral site like a community pool, park or open space in your neighborhood. There’s no home field advantage!
Supplies
Cornhole boards / bags
2 potatoes
Eggs
Towel
Blindfolds
Yummy dessert (for afterwards)
Camera - yeah, you’re going to want some pics!
For each game choose the appropriate number of participants. Balance kids by age/skill level, adjust games as required for competitive balance.
Duels - Singles
Pick a single participant from each family and have them face-off head to head.
Footrace to tree and back.
Arm wrestle.
Sing the National Anthem as fast as you can. 5 second penalty for any skipped or added words. Fastest time after penalties wins!
Duels - Doubles
Pick two participants from each family for these games.
Cornhole game to 21.
Nosey potato race. Mark a halfway line about 10 yards from start. Place potato on the start line. Player 1 pushes potato using only their nose to the halfway line. Player 2 pushes it back. First family back across start line wins!
Egg toss. Toss eggs about 5 yards apart. Take 3 steps back after a successful toss. Team that keeps their egg uncracked the longest wins!
Player 1 from each team is blindfolded. Player 2 is the only one who can give them directions (no touching)! Spin Player 1 around 5 times. Toss a ball about 25 yards away. Whichever team gets their player 1 to pick up the ball first wins!
Melee round
Everybody is in but there’s only one winner!
Plank hold.
Obstacle course for time. This varies tremendously based on your available apparatus, but consider touching specific trees, going down slides, going up slides, low crawling under ropes, etc.
Stand on one leg, no hopping. Laster person standing wins.
Family countdown. Each family forms their own circle arranged oldest to youngest. Start with oldest family member at the number 100. Each family member subtracts 1. First family to zero wins!
Spoils
There’s 11 games and no ties, so somebody was a winner! Break out the dessert, crank up ‘We are the Champions’ and make sure the winners eat first!
🪞 Reflections 🪞
The Cooks haven’t tested this one out yet. Hit me up if you’re up for a face-off!
🧐 Variations / FAQ 🧐
What if I can’t find another family to do this with?
Oh c’mon! There’s an estimated 123 million families in the United States. You can find one.
Do we have to pick family colors?
Of course not. It’s just more fun. If you’d prefer the less fun edition, don’t pick family colors and show up uncoordinated.
Could we add more families?
The more the merrier - probably helps to have an even number though.
How’d your family fare? Did you play all the games or make any useful modifications? Let us know in the comments!