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New Game : Shakespeare Death Bingo!
Working on a post over on Reddit, I just came up with this idea for a game. No, not a #hashtag game, an actual physical game that teachers can use in the classroom:
I call it Death Bingo. Let's say that you're studying Hamlet. There are ... 21? characters if you count Yorick and the Ghost. So maybe we just do a 4x4 grid. That leaves enough variety that each card will leave a few characters off.
Each grid is randomly populated with character names. If you get Ghost or Yorick, free space! Woe to you if you see names like Voltimand, Cornelius and Reynaldo.
Now start working your way through the play. Every time a character dies, put a big red X through his or her space.
Whoever gets 4 in a row first wins!
Does not work well with the comedies.
2 comments:
I like this idea! My first thought upon reading the title was a little different though. My thoughts went to Richard II and I was imagining a bingo card that said things like "Poisoned by wife", "Deposed", "Slain in war", "Haunted by ghosts he has deposed", etc.
To give it a little strategy, how about this: instead of picking characters from a hat, plays will be picked randomly and then in turn each player will try to name a character from that play who dies in a way that will fill a space on their card. Nobody can use a character already named, so if your opponent needs only, "Drowned at Sea" and it's your turn when Measure for Measure comes up, you hope to remember Mariana's brother Frederick and claim him before the other guy does.
Your version works for an audience that has broad knowledge of many of the plays :). Mine works for an audience who has not yet read a specific play.
"Wait, Laertes died?!"
- actual quote from my daughter, which caused me to realize that I'd written "Laertes falls, poisoned by his own sword" and never actually said "dies".
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