Game #4 – Days of Knights Here’s a game that will take you back to medieval times—back to the days of knights and castles and…dragons. The student answering the Bible question comes forward and selects one of five colorful knight’s shields, collecting golden coins and scoring points for the student’s team. Swords bring double or triple points. A visit from the king yields bonus points while a visit from the guard can cost points. And always, the student faces imminent danger and loss of all points from a fierce, fire-breathing dragon. Get ready for fun, adventure and gripping suspense—we’re playing Days of Knights ! Playing the game Bring up the Days of Knights title slide on the screen or computer monitor. Left-click to start the intro music and animations and then select a game spotter (adult) and a game starter (student). Explain the game to your students. “Today we’re in for a lot of fun and a whole bunch of excitement. We’re going to search for swords and golden coins. This could be a very dangerous game—some of you will have to face a fire-breathing dragon! Today’s Bible game is called ‘ Days of Knights ’. “When I ask a Bible question, wait until you hear the horn and then try to be the first to stand after the horn. When our game spotter calls on you, if you answer the question correctly, you will come forward and play the game.” (more at Slide 2)
Click once to advance to Slide S2, and then ask a student to select a shield. Click once to reveal the golden coins. “Each coin by the shield that you have chosen is worth 100 points for your team. You may choose as many times as you desire, collecting coins and scoring points for your team.” Have the student select two more shields, noting the number of coins each time. “If you find a sword…” (Click again and the sword will appear,) “ the number of coins on your next two choices are doubled or even tripled!” Click twice more to vanish the sword and cause the king to make an appearance. “If the king comes to visit during your turn, he gives your team 1,000 bonus points! These points will go on the score sheet immediately and cannot be lost for any reason.” Click twice more. The king will vanish and a very ugly guard will appear, claiming 1,000 points from the student. “If the guard appears, he will take 1,000 of your points and there’s nothing we can do about it.” Click once more and then pause. “But here’s the most dangerous part of the game: you may find yourself facing a fierce, fire-breathing dragon!” (Click once and the dragon will appear, roaring and breathing fire.) If the dragon appears, your turn ends, and you lose all your golden coins and your points. The only points the dragon would not take are the bonus points given to you by the king. Watch out for the dragon, and be sure to stop collecting coins before he comes!” (more at Slide 3)
Click again to advance to Slide S3, which shows three castles. “Once you stop collecting coins, you will try to get your treasure safely back to a castle. But choose your castle carefully, for danger is still lurking.” (Click several times in this slide as you explain the game. For simplicity in demonstrating the game, this slide is not hyperlinked. As you actually play the game, the castle slides will have hyperlinks.) “You might find your horse , which means that you would keep your points , and the scorekeeper would then write them on the score sheet. If you find the beautiful princess , you keep your points , along with a 500-point bonus . If you find the king , you keep your points and receive a 1,000-point bonus ! But if you choose the wrong castle and the dragon comes, you lose all your coins and the points they would earn you. Again, watch out for the dragon. “Ready? Let’s play Days of Knights !” This game is hyper-linked. A hyperlink is a special feature in PowerPoint which, when you left-click on it with your mouse, instantly takes you elsewhere in the game. Read through these next directions carefully, as they might prove to be a bit complicated. I would suggest printing out this page and referring to it as you learn where the various hyperlinks are located. When starting the first student’s turn left-click to advance to Slide 4. Allow the student to select a shield and then click again to bring in the first set of coins. Announce the child’s score and then click once more to vanish the coins. Each time the child chooses a shield, click to make the coins appear and then once more to vanish them. Proceed through the child’s turn in this way to bring in the coins, swords, people, etc. (more at Slide 4)
When the child chooses to stop, move the cursor to the upper left corner of the shield slide and left-click on the hyperlink there. This will take you to the castle slide, where you allow the student to select one of three castles. Left-click on his/her choice (the hyperlinks are right on the castles) to take the student to the next slide revealing the horse, princess, king or dragon. After announcing the results of the castle choice and recording any points on the score sheet, go to the upper left corner of the current slide to hyperlink to the next shield slide to begin the next player’s turn. If the student (on the shield slide) continues collecting coins until the dragon comes, the student does not go to the castle slide. His turn has come to an abrupt end and he has lost all coin points. (Any points given to him by the king are already on the score sheet and are permanent.) Instead of clicking on the hyperlink in the upper left corner, click on the dragon (the dragon itself is the hyperlink) to jump to the next shield slide and begin the next player’s turn. Remember, in any game that uses hyperlinks, the cursor becomes a tiny hand when you are on the hyperlink; it is an arrow if you are not. I would suggest opening this game in Slide Show View (or opening the game in the PowerPoint Viewer) and practice moving the cursor around in the various slides to locate the hyperlinks before taking the game to class. Become familiar with the game before trying it with a group of students. (more at Slide 5)
Hints and helps 1. When a student stops safely and her points are written down, they are permanent. A dragon on a subsequent turn does not affect these points. 2. When the king stops in for a visit, immediately record the 1,000-point bonus on the score sheet. A dragon (even on the same turn) does not erase these points. 3. As with the other games, don’t announce score totals until the end of the game. This helps build suspense. 4. At the conclusion of the game, plan a final question for each team. Go to Slides 64 (type 64 Enter) and 68 for these final questions: the castle slides hyperlink only to the king or princess, which ends the game on a positive note. 5. If the girls win the game, jump to Slide 72 to announce the win (type 72 Enter); if the boys win, go to Slide 73. If you are not playing boys vs. girls, use Slides 74 or 75 to announce a win for “Team 1” or “Team 2”. 6. Note: In this game, the hyperlink is usually an invisible square, approximately 3” by 3”, in the upper left corner of the slide. When the game is playing, move the cursor (ordinarily an arrow) to the upper left corner of the slide and it becomes a tiny hand, indicating that you have found the hyperlink. Left-click on it to use it. Two exceptions: (1) the dragon in the shield slide is a hyperlink that you click on to end the player’s turn ( if he finds the dragon) and advance to the next shield slide to start a new turn; (2) there are three hyperlinks in the castle slides, each positioned directly in front of one of the castles. Click on one of the three castles to activate these hyperlinks, each taking you to a different slide. ☺
