Game of WildLife

The Game of WildLife

This floor based game is designed for the upper key stage 2 audience but can be played by anyone. Designed with safety features, educational content and fun in mind.

This game was designed to be used in an educational environment. I incorporated the following aspects of England's 2013 Department of Education Key Stage 2 Science National Curriculum:

Exploring the world around you including the higher level of studying and raising questions about the local environment - all the native, non-native and invasive species used in this game are found in the UK
Identifying and naming a variety of common animals including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals - all the species cards have the image and the name of the species characters
Exploring examples of human impact (both positive and negative) on environments - the domestic cat is included with a 'Go to the Vet' card to use during an attack and 'Go Home' card to use in response to an environmental event, showing how pets and human intervention skew the game of life as well as 8 introduced species
Identifying and naming a variety of common animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores - this is shown in the three player interactions, attack, defend and escape
Recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things - this is shown through the Wheel of Destiny aspect of the game
Exploring how variation in offspring over time can make animals more or less able to survive - this is also included in the Wheel of Destiny under Baby Boom

There is some artistic licence in the game (for instance a Gull and a Muntjack Deer would normally have no quarrel) but to try and make it as realistic as possible I used the GB Non-Native Species Secretariat, The Wildlife Trust and The RSPB websites to research the species and interactions between them. I took care to include four different species of native, non-native and invasive species covering birds, mammals, reptile and amphibians as player characters.

I chose a round playing board, the central goal and the colour scheme to show that all species are trying to occupy the best habitat, and this causes competition. I added the Wheel of Destiny to show that environmental events, disease and reproduction effect all species, sometimes not in the way you think. When the Baby Boom hits all players must take two steps forward, this increases the level of competition. I decided to have an alarm to signal for when the wheel was to be spun for dramatic effect and mayhem aka fun.

I designed the game to be played in pairs. Not only does this facilitate teamwork but also has health and safety in mind, the player moving is not holding onto or wearing anything to identify them, reducing hazard potential.

This game was inspired by a talk by Jenn Sandiford of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust who is in charge of the Your Shore Beach Rangers project and a visit to the Cornwall Seal Sanctuary. Jenn highlighted the joy of children learning about the environment and showed us how educating and enthusing children can have an impact on their well-being as well as creating a lasting affinity with nature. The Cornwall Seal Sanctuary do not have a huge interpretation and signage budget, but I read more of the signage there and learned more, because they had turned their signage into an information treasure hunt, a game.

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Welcome!

This game was designed for school children, using key stage 2 around the subject of science, in particular with understanding the environment, recognising species local to them and introducing the concept of native, non-native and invasive species.

The Rules

Players are paired with one being the 'playing piece' on the board and the other standing by the relevant starting point with the species card, which dictates the movement of the 'playing piece'. The 'playing piece' moves one square at a time. When players are in adjacent squares actions on the species cards (attack, defend or escape) can be made IF the dice is thrown with the correct number. The dice can either be rolled by the off-board player or have student/s in charge of it. One player (or the teacher) will be in charge of the timer and Wheel of Life. The timer can be set for 5 or 10 minutes, when this sounds the wheel of life must be spun and whatever the outcome ALL players must move accordingly.

The Board

One of the pair of students stands on their starting spot. Their 'lives' depend on the instructions given to them by their teammate using the species cards, the roll of the dice and wheel of life. One step at a time the aim is to get to the best habitat at the centre. This can be played two ways. The short version, first one to the middle, or the longer version, king of the castle style, over a set period of time, the player who holds the central position the longest wins.
If a player wishes to, they can head for an island offshore. Here they will be 'safe' from other players but a long way from the best habitat.

Player Characters

There are species cards for each of the 12 animals on the board. Each is designed to mimic life in the wild as accurately as possible, this is so the players have fun whilst learning about the perils of life in the wild and the pressures of limited habitat. Controversially I have placed the Grey Squirrel in the non-native and Mink in the invasive. I did this because the Grey Squirrel only competes with one species, the Red Squirrel, whereas the Mink predates a wide range of species and can have a devastating effect.

REFERENCES:

AliExpress.com, 2020. 28Cm Jumbo Large Inflatable Dice Dot Diagonal Giant Toy Party Air Dice. [image] Available at: <https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000275993134.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_0,searchweb201603_0,ppcSwitch_0&algo_pvid=78498392-eb32-4084-9da0-857dd9f152ce&algo_expid=78498392-eb32-4084-9da0-857dd9f152ce-0> [Accessed 4 May 2020].
Department of Education, 2013. Science Programmes Of Study: Key Stages 1 And 2 National Curriculum In England. [ePDF] Department of Education, pp.6-15. Available at: <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/425618/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Science.pdf> [Accessed 27 March 2020]
The RSPB. 2020. Invasive Non-Native Species - The RSPB. [online] Available at: <https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/our-positions-and-casework/our-positions/species/invasive-non-native-species/> [Accessed 27 March 2020].
Nonnativespecies.org. 2020. Non-Native Species Information - GB Non-Native Species Secretariat. [online] Available at: <http://www.nonnativespecies.org/factsheet/index.cfm> [Accessed 27 March 2020].
Wildlifetrusts.org. 2020. Wildlife Explorer | The Wildlife Trusts. [online] Available at: <https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer> [Accessed 27 March 2020].