Inkless Tales

Flazeebo Animal Twenty Questions Bean Toss Ring Toss Alphabet Word Chain

Ring Toss

What you need:

• Two full-size sheets of foamcore board (available at any craft store)
• Markers or acrylic paint
• a utility knife (that's why this game is in the grownup section)
• duct tape (they sell this in any hardware store -- in fact, in almost any store -- in many bright colors)
• old mismatched socks - the more colors, the better, but it's not necessary. In fact, knee socks are a good bet here.)
• bag of dry beans

To prep:

Whether or not you have any artistic talent, your kids do, I guarantee you that. Go ahead -- let them design their targets. Don't worry in the slightest bit whether or not the lines are perfect, or whether or not they even make sense. The idea here is creativity and fun. If you DO want some ideas for fun targets, I've included a pattern for you to download in PDF form. You can take it to any local copy shop, or office supply store. Follow the instructions on the sheets provided.

Take two pieces of foamcore board. Decorate one side, and cut holes of varying sizes. Give them point values -- the larger the holes, the smaller the point values. Decorate it any way you want -- even better, let the kids help with the paint and the markers.

The other piece of foamcore board is simply to prop up the first. Stand them up together so the top edges meet -- basically, they'll form an upside-down V-shape. Tape them all the way together, from one edge to the other.

Flip them over and tape the inside, too, for the sake of sturdiness.

Now you have something that ought to stand up to some whacking. (If you have a fence or a garage to brace it against, though, that's better still.)

If you haven't already made the bean bags from an earlier game:
The kids can help with this part: Fill the ends of the socks with enough beans to make the socks good bean bags. Knot the end of each sock, good and tight -- or, if you're feeling ambitious, sew it up. (Otherwise, consider a double knot.)

You can absolutely get away with a single bean bag, and each player takes turns -- but for scoring purposes, it's a bit easier if each player has his or her own bag.

To play:

The kids take turns, one at a time, throwing bean bags against the scoreboard. Highest score wins.