Rock, Paper, Scissors News Bowl
Contributed by: Marilyn Hawkins
Object of the Game: For individuals to move clockwise all the way back to their original seat or as many
places as possible (similar to the Around the World math facts flashcard game) in the playing time available.
Setting up the Game: The two starting players are those closest to the teacher’s desk. Remove one seat.
Starting: The first player (A) stands up beside the second player (B). Each player taps his/her fist into their
own open hand while counting in unison to three. On the fourth beat and the word “show” they each indicate either a rock (fist),
paper (flat hand), or scissors (split fingers). The winner is determined on the premise that rock smashes scissors, paper covers
rock, scissors cuts paper. In case of identical responses, the challenge is repeated.
The winner of the rock, paper, scissors challenge gets to select the News Bowl category and difficulty level of the News Bowl
question. However, his/her opponent has the first opportunity to answer.
If that opponent is correct, he/she advances by moving to stand beside the next player (C) and the player who selected the
question sits in the open seat.
What happens if the opponent misses the question? The player who originally selected the question then has an
opportunity to answer after receiving a clue from the teacher/facilitator. Attempts to answer continue back and forth between the
two players with additional clues until the correct answer is given.
The game continues with the player who answers correctly advancing to the next position for a rock, paper, scissors challenge.
Ending the game: When class time is done, all students share a “Good game!” sportsmanship handshake as they return to their own seats.