Easter Hop Spot
Supplies: Dice, 16 pieces of construction paper, marker, box for rolling die
Note: If you don’t have paper but have space outside, grab some chalk and create your Easter Hop Spot game outside.

Easter Hop Spot is good for young kids, is easy to set up and is best played with 3 – 6 players. This hopscotch game can be played indoors or out.

Easter Hop Spot Game Prep
a. First you’ll need 4 pieces of 4 different colors of construction paper; 4 pieces of red, blue, yellow, etc… so you will have a total of 16 pieces of paper. For Easter cut the paper into Easter egg shapes and have the kids decorate them.

b. Now take one color and number the eggs (pieces of paper) from 1 to 4. Now you should have red 1, red 2, red 3 and red 4. Now number the other colors 1 to 4, so that each color has the numbers 1 through 4.

c. Before you lay the paper on the floor, divide the eggs into four piles that have a set of numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. You cannot have two of the same color in a pile. The easiest way to do this is to grab the first color and lay out your four piles. (So you’ll have Red 1, Red 2, Red 3, and Red 4.) Then grab the next color and start with the Red 2 pile and add Yellow 1, and then one Red 3 gets Yellow 2 and so on. Then start the next color on Red 3 and the last color on Red 4.

Now assign a color to each number of the die. (You only use one die in in this game.)
We used sample colors, change as needed and write down. What number equals what color.
First Roll – Determines the Color
1 = Red
2 = Blue
3 = Green
4 = Yellow
5 and 6 = Roll again

Second Roll – Determines the Number
1 = 1
2 = 2
3 = 3
4 = 4
5 and 6 = Roll again

Once you complete the first two rolls you will know what spot you need to hop to. It could be Red 2 or Green 4 or Yellow 1

Now roll the dice one more time to learn how many Hops you have to get to that Spot from where you are. The value on the die is equal to the number of hops, so 2 = 2 and 5 = 5.

Now it is time to set up the board.
The board will be a four by four square and we will randomly set it up. See the game page graphic for a visual/general idea of how to set up this hopscotch game.

One a time pull a pile of the Eggs your separated, mix them up randomly and lay they out creating one side of your square. Space each egg about a foot apart from each other. Also keep in mind the players will be hopping on the outside of the eggs and not on the eggs (paper), so the square can be kind of tight.

Now one by one grab the other piles and complete the square. Remember in the end you want a four by four block.


How to Play Easter Hop Spot
Have the children roll the dice to learn their starting point. Once all the kids are on the board. (Note more than one child can share the same Spot)You can go around to each child and have them roll the dice or you can have a parent roll the dice and announce the move.

Now it gets tricky.
The child must Hop from their Spot to the new Spot based on their roll, however they can not Hop on Spot if there is a player standing on a spot. They must go around the other players or you can have other players step aside so others can hop on by on the outside of the board.

Example:
Sally is on Red 3 and rolls the die and Blue, rolls again and gets 4. So she must hop from Red 3 to Blue 4, this could be one egg or 8 eggs away. Now she must roll one last time to see how many Hops she has to get to that spot. A 1 means she only has 1 hop to land on Blue 4! If she rolls a 2, 3, 4, or more then that is the number of hops she has to get to the Blue 4 spot.

If they are unable to make it to the spot then they are out of the game. A low roll could spell doom while a high roll will keep them safe.

Play until there is just one player remaining in the game and they are the winner.

In addition to fun this game is good for learning colors, numbers and problem solving.

Hop Spot has a random winner and kids will enjoy playing it several times. So it is good for 20 – 40 minutes.

Variations:
Added Fun – Before the game begins select to a square or two to be prize winners and if anyone lands on those square they win a prize of candy.

Add Free Spaces – If the game seems to be ending to quickly and a free space or two to the game. Just roll the dice before the game and then let them know which squares are free spaces. Note: A free space does not count as a hop.

Thanks – Rachael of Danville, VA for submitting this game idea.