Summer Boost
Activity:
Pop Culture Game
This low-prep party game is a perfect for entertaining all-too-easily-bored teens, and an easy way to lighten the mood during a group study session. By keeping teenagers on their toes and testing their pop-culture savvy, this game will help them develop creativity and social skills, and help them build their reflexes.
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What You Need:
- 30 index cards
- Pen
- Players
- Timer/stopwatch
- Paper to keep score on
What You Do:
- Before beginning the game, prepare a stack of 30 cards total, each with the name of an entertainer, political figure, cartoon character, literary character or other famous name. Aim for a good mix of well-known people and more obscure figures.
- Divide players into two teams. Choose a team to go first.
- The team must pick a team leader.
- For Round One, hand the team leader a stack of five cards, face down.
- Set the time for one minute.
- Ask her to turn over the first card, and have her describe the person on the card in five words; no more, no less.
- To answer, the group may either decide upon an answer collectively and have a spokesperson deliver it, or individual team members may provide answers by raising their hand. There is no passing or skipping to the next card!
- See how many celebrities her team can correctly name, and give the team one point for every correct answer.
- Repeat this for the second team and compare scores.
- After both teams have completed the first round, move on to Round Two: same premise, but this time, the team leaders can only describe the person on their card with three words. The final round is Round Three, where leaders may only use two words.
- The team with the most correct answers wins!
If your kids are really up for a challenge, you can make 40 cards and add a 4th and final round, with team leaders only using one word to describe the name on the card. This game can also be adapted to quiz kids on other subjects, such as historical figures and events, works of literature, or mathematical concepts.
