A BAGFUL OF GAMES. The haunted mansion. For this activity you will need to print out the game board provided (see last page).

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Daniel Harrington
5 years ago
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1 The haunted mansion For this activity you will need to print out the game board provided (see last page). Before you begin: Decide how many characters will explore the Haunted Mansion. Three or four work best. Each character must be represented by a player. Have an idea of how your characters might behave; their strengths and weaknesses. Have a pen(cil) and paper ready to make notes for the short writing tasks you will be asked to do. Only do the bits of writing you want to or that you think will be useful. (Don t tell your teacher I said this!) Each character begins with 5 survival points. Characters can lend each other points if necessary. If any character runs out of points they have fallen victim to the horrors of the Haunted Mansion and will be out of the game. But you can start again! 1 Enter the Haunted Mansion. Roll dice. All characters move forward by that number. 2 Bat attack! Each character must write a short action scene about their experience. Gain 10 survival points per character. 3/4 If you land on either square you fall into the pumpkin trap. Each character loses 5 survival points. Each character rolls dice to see how many squares you tumble forward. 5 You find a candle and gain 5 survival points. By the candle s flickering light you notice a spooky tunnel, which you think might be a shortcut. You can take it if you want to. Each character makes their own decision. If you take the shortcut follow the instruction for square 18. If you choose not to take the shortcut roll the dice and move on. 6 Oh no! You ve stumbled across a nest of Big Toothed Meenies. They eat paranormal investigators for breakfast. There are 4 Meenies in the nest. Roll the dice for each Meenie. If you roll an even number (2, 4,or 6) you ve succeeded in squishing it and you gain 2 survival points. If you roll an odd number (1, 3, or 5) the Big Toothed Meenie bites you and you lose 2 survival points. When you ve done 4 dice rolls get out of there! Roll the dice once more and move on. 1

2 7 You find a Book of Smells (yes that s what I said smells not spells ). As you turn the pages a different aroma fills the air. Here are the smells you notice: a firework smoke b Christmas pudding c freshly mown grass d a brand new book. Pick one of these and pretend that I had never smelt it before. Write a few sentences describing that smell to me. Remember you must make me smell that smell in my imagination. When you ve written your sentences add 5 survival points to your total. 8 The Guardian Mummy blocks your way. To get past you must answer this riddle Police Inspector Broom of the Yard has a tip-off that an international criminal is gambling at a local casino. The informant tells Inspector Broom that the criminal, who is in disguise and going by the name of John Smith, is playing poker in a private room. Broom and his men raid the casino and enter the private room. There they find someone dressed as a plumber, someone dressed as a doctor, someone dressed as a lawyer and someone dressed as an electrician. Inspector Broom immediately arrests the lawyer. But how did he know that was John Smith 9 You stumble into a spider s web. You can escape and earn yourself 10 survival points by creating a word web on a topic of your choice. A word web is a kind of map of linked ideas. The figure on the right shows you a word web that I ve started you can finish it off if you want to. Put your starter word in the middle and work outwards from there. Ask your friends and your teacher to help you if needed (not that your teacher isn t also your friend of course ). 2

3 10 The face in the wallpaper challenges you to think of 20 words linked to any genre of your choice in 1 minute. Gain 1 survival point for each word you think of (share them if more than 1 character takes part). But if you fail to think of 20 words you must give up all survival points earned on this square. 11 The beckoning hand in the darkness tempts you. As you enter the shadows a gloomy voice says I am the hand that grasps but there is no eye that sees. Tell me what you look like and you shall live Your task is to write a short descriptive paragraph of your character s appearance. Just a few lines will do. Read your description to another person in the class. If that person can imagine your character you gain 5 survival points and move on. If your description is unclear you must sacrifice 5 survival points before rolling the dice again. 12 OK this time we really have got a book of spells. Your task is to finish off this rhyming spell. You can do this on your own or with a friend, if you like. If you are successful you gain 5 survival points Splintered bone and rusty spike Thunder s boom and lightning s Spider s web and Full Moon s glare Rhyme these verses if you Wing of bat and eye of frog of cat and claw of Wand of wizard, blade of Complete this spell and you shall 13 Here s a test of nerves and quick thinking. You can do this on your own or with a friend, if you like. Look at the maze on the next page. You have thirty seconds to trace a path through the maze. Get a friend to time you. If you succeed pick up 5 survival points. If you fail lose survival 5 points. 3

4 THE MAZE 14 The evil-faced joker blocks your way. You must either tell a joke to your teacher that s funny enough to make him/her laugh or answer the following riddles. If you succeed in either task gain 10 survival points. If you fail you lose 10 survival points. Then roll the dice and move on. Here are the riddles A lady on a broomstick rescues 5 of her friends and then rescues another 4 just before they were about to be vaporized by a magic spell. What well-known proverb (with a slight twist) sums up her actions [Clue this is sew easy.] What makes a skeleton laugh a lot What would you get if you crossed a vampire and a teacher 4

5 15 How many smaller words can you make from the word PRESTIDIGITATION (it means juggling or conjuring) in 1 minute Score 1 survival point for each correctly spelled word you make. 16 What are the 3 errors Score 1 survival point for each error you spot. Lose 5 survival points if you don t spot them all! 17 Make 1 change each time in the word haunt to create a word that means the following (Note: the change each time might involve more than one letter.) Gain 1 survival point for each answer you get right. To catch prey. To tease or jeer at. Your uncle s wife. To show off or parade. A scurrying insect. Thin and ill-looking. 18 Think of 4 different ways of using the word bad (for example bad weather, a bad hair day although now you can t use these!). Explain to your teacher in more detail what bad means. Gain 1 survival point for each explanation. 19 You meet the Howler. He loves to write Horror stories and asks you for three ideas for plots. This is how you can think of them. Look at the grid on the next page. It shows 36 things you might find in a Horror story. Pick any 2 and put them together: this will give you an idea. For example, if I choose Mark (coordinates 1/5) and a spider s web (coordinates 3/4) my story can be about a man called Mark who s exploring a creepy house and gets caught in giant spiders webs. Then he hears or sees something huge coming out of the shadows See, it s easy. Select 3 pairs of words/pictures to give the Howler the 3 plots he wants. Gain 5 survival points and move on. 20 How many words can you make in one minute that contain the smaller word rat Score 1 survival point for each. 21 You have successfully made your way through the Haunted Mansion. But to escape completely you must leave behind a creepy creature that no one has ever seen before. Your task is to invent an original monster and describe it in a single short paragraph. 5

6 THE HOWLER S PLOTS 6

7 THE HAUNTED MANSION GAME BOARD 7

Adverbs or Describing Actions Words

Adverbs or Describing Actions Words SPOT THE ADJECTIVE ANSWERS: 1. Dad spends at least an hour with his special comb, smoothing down his shiny black hair with gel. 2. There was a cloud of pink glittery smoke and I landed with a soft thump