SURVIVAL GAME

GOAL
The goal of this game is to have students speaking and engaging with each other. They have to use
argumentation and their imagination.

Do not tell them the name of the game to keep the surprise and not influence their choices!

What do you need?

All you need to play is at least 2 teams of students, 2 six-sided dices, one copy of pages 7 and 8 per
team, and one copy of page 10 per team to keep tabs.

If you think teams are winning too easily or losing too quickly, feel free to adapt item points, number
of points lost per day, number of points won per activity.
CHAPTER I. Let’s Go On Vacation
DURATION: LESS THAN 5MIN

Divide your class in as many teams as you want. Show them pictures of four destinations for them to
go on a vacation and ask each group to decide where they want to go.

THE AMAZON POLYNESIA

EGYPT ANTARCTICA

Once they’ve picked, each group can give an explanation concerning their choice and say what they
would pack for their trip.

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CHAPTER II. The Crash
DURATION: LESS THAN 5MIN

Whatever destination your students were trying to reach, their plane has crashed and they all end
up on a deserted island.

Their belongings are on a part of the plane that is sinking in the ocean. They cannot save all of it but
have a few minutes to choose what to keep.

Hand out to each team a list and pictures of 40 tools and objects (see pages 7-8).

Each team has to pick 4 items. Each item is equivalent to a certain number of points but the
students don’t know the amounts (see page 9).

DURATION: 2MIN PER TEAM

Once they’ve picked their 4 items, they have to justify their choices to the rest of the class.

TEAMS ITEMS TOTAL POINTS

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CHAPTER III. Negotiation
DURATION: 5 TO 10MIN (DEPENDING ON HOW INVOLVED THEY ARE)

On the board, write each group’s 4 picks and ask each group to say why they didn’t pick the other
groups’ items. Tell each group how many points they have without revealing how much each item is
worth.

DURATION: 5MIN

Give the opportunity for each group to go over the items again. They can trade up to 2 items out of
the 4 they initially picked. No questions asked.

If the groups have exchanged items, change them on the board. Recalculate how many points each
group has. Tell them their respective number of points.

TEAMS ITEMS TOTAL POINTS

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CHAPTER IV. I Will Survive
THE GAME
DURATION: REST OF THE CLASS

Students have to survive 5 days on the island before rescue

comes. Day 1 0 points

Day 2 -4 points
Each day, the teams automatically lose points.
Day 3 -8 points
There are 2 turns per team, per day. Each time a team does an
activity, it’s considered as a turn. Day 4 -12 points

Day 5 -16 points

The team with less points starts. Students in that team have to decide on an activity to do to survive.
You can suggest them ideas (fish for food, create shelter, etc, etc). The difficulty of the task will be
determined by the objects they have picked previously and if either or not those can help them
complete the activity they’ve agreed on.

If it’s a difficult activity, have them roll 2 six-sided dices:

- if they get 10 or more, they’re successful and get 4 points,

- if they get between 6 and 10, they’re not successful but get 2 points,
- if they get under 6, they’re not successful and get 0 points.

If it’s an easy activity, have them roll 1 six-sided dice:

- if they get 5 or 6, they’re successful and get 4 points,

- if they get 3 or 4, they’re not successful but get 2 points,
- if they get 1 or 2, they’re not successful and get no points.

While one team plays a turn, the next team can plan ahead and think of their own activities.

If a team loses all their points before day 5, have them roll one dice to determine how they perished.

1 killed by a wild polar bear

2 fell of a tree

3 drowned in a waterfall

4 succumbed to unnamed disease

5 got bitten by paralyzing spiders and

buried alive

6 got food poisoning after eating wild

berries

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CHAPTER V. The Rescue Team
At the end of the 5 days (or more if you want to play longer!), check total points of all teams.
All the remaining teams are rescued.
The team with most points wins!

FINAL SCORES

TEAMS TOTAL POINTS

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ITEMS
knife lighter gas stove bow saw

radio rucksack compass first aid kit

repellent belt shovel blankets

rope glass bottle plastic bottle matches

tent chocolate bars hammer cooking pot

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ramen noodles duct tape fishing pole flare gun

extra clothes gun iPod manual flashlight

magnifying glass mirror pens whistle

sewing kit hiking boots jacket sleeping bag

suntan lotion tarpaulin hat toilet paper

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POINTS PER ITEM

Items Points Items Points

18 suntan lotion 4
knife

tent 18 radio 4

rope 16 flare gun 4

magnifying glass 15 whistle 4

gun 14 ramen noodles 2

fishing pole 12 hat 2

plastic bottles 12 toilet paper 2

hiking boots 12 sewing kit 2

cooking pot 12 pens 2

bow saw 10 iPod 1

tarpaulin 10

compass 10

lighter 10

glass bottle 10

mirror 10

jacket 8

hammer 8

first aid kit 8

sleeping bag 8

gas stove 8

rucksack 8

matches 8

shovel 8

extra clothes 8

repellent 8

belt 6

duct tape 6

manual flashlight 6

blankets 6

chocolate bars 6

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TEAMS’ HISTORY

TEAM: ……………. POINTS PER TOTAL

ACTIVITIES
POINTS: …………. ACTIVITY PONTS

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

TEAM: ……………. POINTS PER TOTAL

ACTIVITIES
POINTS: …………. ACTIVITY PONTS

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

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