Going on a Picnic

Playing Going on a Picnic

A player is chosen to start the game. Without telling the other players they determine a word pattern and start the game by saying "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing ..." and say a word that fits their chosen pattern. If for example the pattern is double letters then the word might be "strawberries" or "cheese" or any other word containing double letters.

The next player tries to figure out the word pattern by saying "I'm going on a picnic and I'm bringing a ..." followed by their word. In the example the pattern was double letters. If the players guess was "book" the word fits the pattern. The player who started then says "Yes you can bring a book on the picnic".

If the word chosen does not fit the pattern for example "shoe" or "basket" the first player says "No you cannot bring a shoe on the picnic."

Play continues with each player taking a turn. When a player is allowed to bring their item on the picnic play moves on to the next player. Players continue to take turns guessing until they are allowed to bring their item to the picnic.

The game is over when the final player either figures out the word pattern or gives up and has the pattern revealed to them.

Variations

This game can be easily adapted to different age levels. If you are playing with younger children try using only words that start with the same letter like "apple", "ant", and "anchovies" or maybe the words that describe a group of items like names of different fruits "apples", "oranges" and "bananas".

To make the game a bit more difficult try using words that must be in alphabetical order. For example "apple", "banana", "cheese" and "dog". You can even add to that by having each player include everything the previous players are bringing and have them recite the list before they say their item. It would go something like this "I am going on a picnic and I'm bringing apples, bananas, cheese, a dog and earthworms". How much fun would that be with a large group?

Be creative and use your imagination. The more creative you are the more challenging the game can be.

Adapt the game for things you may be doing at the time. If you are in the car on your way to a day at the beach why not say "I'm going to the beach and I'm taking..."? How about a camping trip? Maybe you're going to the zoo. Your imagination is the limit.

To make the game a bit more difficult try using words that must be in alphabetical order. For example "apple", "banana", "cheese" and "dog". You can even add to that by having each player include everything the previous players are bringing and have them recite the list before they say their item. It would go something like this "I am going on a picnic and I'm bringing apples, bananas, cheese, a dog and earthworms". How much fun would that be with a large group?

Be creative and use your imagination. The more creative you are the more challenging the game can be.

Adapt the game for things you may be doing at the time. If you are in the car on your way to a day at the beach why not say "I'm going to the beach and I'm taking..."? How about a camping trip? Maybe you're going to the zoo. Your imagination is the limit.