ETJ-Aichi March 2007
Joshua Myerson
This is a version
of a real card game that has been adapted to the EFL classroom where Ss must
put down sets of cards in increasing amounts, whether they have the cards or
not. This means that sometimes they
must lie, which means that sometimes they will get
caught. In this game, as in life,
there is a penalty for lying.
Number of
Students:
This game can be
played with a minimum of three Ss and is best played with a maximum of five Ss
because they will have to wait for their turns and keep track of the cards in
hand and in play. I make three
cards of about seven vocabulary words and play with three or four students in a
group. If you have more students
than that in your class, you can make one deck of three cards for each group of
three or more Ss.
Instructions:
1.
Pick a
language target and make 3 of each type of card.
2.
Mix up
and then pass out all the cards.
3.
Ss
should not show each other their cards.
4.
Ss can
work alone or in teams.
5.
During
round 1, S1 puts down, into a center pile, a single type of any card being
held. S2 will do the same with any
card being held. This is repeated
until all the students have played.
6.
During
round 2, S1 puts down, into the center pile, 2 of any type of card being
held. S2 will do the same. This is repeated until all of the
students have played.
7.
During
round 3, S1 puts down, into the center pile, 3 of any type of card being
held. S2 will do the same. This is repeated until all of the
students have played.
8.
It is
important that the number of cards played cannot be lied about, but the type of
card played can be lied about.
9.
During
any play, any student can “Doubt” another student by saying, “I don’t think
you have # (cards just played).”
If the player has just lied about the type of cards the response should
be, “You’re right. I don’t have
# (cards just played).” The
liar must then take all of the cards in the center pile. If they were telling the truth they
should say, “I do have # (cards just played).” In that case, the “Doubter” must take
all of the cards in the center pile.
Writing the phrases to be used on the board at the beginning of the game
and erasing them later helps make the game flow smoothly.
10. After any “Doubting,” start with round 1
again and with the S following the last player. As it is round 1, it begins with the S
putting down, into the center pile, a single type of card being held.
11. The first S to get rid of all of his/her
cards is the winner.
*This game is not
fun if S don’t doubt each other.
*This game is best
for Ss eight and up or Ss who understand strategy.
*This game is good
for practicing nouns and numbers as well as other classroom English like: Whose
turn is it? Is it your turn? It’s your/his/her turn. Please hurry up. Just a moment.
There’s also a “battleship” game here.