Knight Moves
Two squares up, one square left…
Overview:
- # of Participants: 6+
- Where to Play: Indoors
- Age of Participants: Middle School / High School
- Approximate Time to Play: 20 to 30 minutes
- Materials: 100 folding chairs (or instead: 100 red solo cups)
How to Play:
Chess Background: The only knowledge that this game requires is how a knight moves in chess. Chess is played on a grid, and when the knight moves it has to go in an L shape, two squares in one direction and one square in the other direction. The knight can go in any direction as long as it follows the two-one rule and it is allowed to jump over other pieces.
For this game, you need to set up a giant 10 by 10 folding chair grid as your play area. Split your group up into two teams that you can easily tell the difference between. Have someone from Team 1 choose a seat in the grid, and record that person’s name. Next, have someone from Team 2 choose a seat, and record their name. Continue having players choose seats, alternating teams until everyone has gone and you have a list of everyone in the order they sat down.
The first person on the list (on Team 1) will move first, then the second person on your list (on Team 2), then the third person (on Team 1) and so on. On their turn, each player makes a knight move: 2 chairs in one direction, 1 in another direction. When it’s their turn to move, a player stands up, collapses their chair, and leaves it in its spot in the grid. They will then make a knight’s move to any chair that is still set up and not already occupied by another person. As long as there’s an open chair that they can move to, then they’re still in. The next person in the order will then go. If there are no open, valid spaces to move to, then the player is out. They will collapse their chair and step out of the grid. Once all of the players from one team have been eliminated, then the other team wins!
The goal of this game is to work with your team to take out the other team’s options, while also planning ahead to not hurt your own team’s chances at staying alive.
Lesson Handout: