*

Venus works hard trying to clean up the rubbish in the ocean in order to save the animals who are being poisoned and ensnared by it.  But since 80% of the rubbish in the oceans originates on land, it’s impossible for her to keep her beloved sea clean.  So, the rest of us need to make sure that all our rubbish is properly disposed and not littered.  More than that, we need to actually pick up other people’s litter in order to protect wild animals and help Venus.

 Yuck!  That sounds like a dirty job, and it’s important to take care not to pick up anything dangerous like broken glass or needles (ask a grown up to deal with that stuff) but if we don’t do it, who will?  Of course it would be better in the long run if we stop buying things that don’t degrade harmlessly in the environment – namely plastic – and then this nasty litter problem might be solved.

Anyway, I’ve invented a board game that you can make for yourself and all you need is paper; something with which to draw or paint; stones or buttons or whatever little things you’ve got lying around to use as counters; and a dice pinched from another game.

1.  Paint an aerial view (map-type) picture of Venus’s home town (it doesn’t have to be the same mine, you can use your imagination 🙂 )

 2.  Add places to visit, like shops and cafes

3.  Then add ways to score points like picking up litter; refusing to buy plastic items; recycling what you’ve found or bought; and freeing animals who have been trapped in cages.

4.  Finally add stepping stones which link all these places on your map.

Now your picture should look something like this:

NOW YOU’RE READY TO PLAY!

Imagine you have come to visit Venus and are staying at the campsite (place all the counters at the campsite to start).  But Venus is out diving, cleaning up the rubbish in the sea, so while you’re waiting for her you can explore the town.

Each person rolls the dice and the one with the highest score starts.

When you roll the dice you move that number of spaces (stepping stones) from the campsite.  You can go in any direction but you can’t change direction in the middle of one roll.

The idea is to go around the town, accumulating points by landing on the award-giving spots.  You have to roll the exact number to land on the award-spots (and that doesn’t mean the stepping stone next to the award-spot – you actually land on the award-spot).

You can go around the town as many times as you like and land on the same awards more than once, but if you go back to the campsite the game will be over.

In other words, the game can last as long as you like.  As soon as the first person gets back to the campsite, the game is over and you add up all your points.  The person with the most points is the winner (not the first person back to the campsite).  So, you need to be aware of when you are in the lead on points and then get back to the campsite as quick as you can before someone else overtakes your score.

It’s fun and very easy to make 🙂