E & L: Evolution

Time: 15 min

This game is an extended version of ‘rock, scissors and paper’ (the rock blunts the scissors, the scissors cut the paper and the paper envelope the rock)

OBS: (remember that strict Muslims cannot mime or imitate animals. This exercise may not be appropriate for all groups)

Instructions:

-Try a couple of rounds of rock, scissors and paper first to ensure that everybody knows how to play*.

-This is an all-against-all game. The aim is for all the participants to reach the highest possible level of development.

-There are four levels of development. Everyone starts at the lowest level, as amoebas and crawl around with their knees crooked, thumping their fist on their head saying 'eggeggeggeggeggeggegg’. When two amoebas meet, they position themselves in front of each other swinging their arms and saying ‘Schwing, schwang, schwung! After ‘schwung’ they make a rock, scissors or paper-sign towards one another.

-The loser continues life as an amoeba and looks for other amoebas to compete with. The winner develops into a DRAGON!! The dragon stamps around roaring ‘ooooaaaahhh!’ and looking very scary. The dragons meet other dragons to compete with.

-The loser after a dragon fight goes back to the amoeba level and must again find other amoebas to compete with. The winner, however, becomes a PRINCESS, whominces around with her arms over her head saying: ‘tingelingelingelingeling!’ She seeks out other princesses that she can compete with. The loser of the princess competition goes back to the dragon level.

-The winner of the princess competition reaches the highest level of development, Nirvana, and becomes a BUDDHA! The Buddha sits down with crossed legs and makes a humming sound while gazing at the other poor creatures that still have to struggle…

* Paper, rock and scissors game: The couples face each other, with one hand behind their backs. On the count of 3, they bring their hands forward together, either curled in a fist ("stone"), flat ("paper"), or with two fingers like scissors. Stone wins over scissors (can blunt them), scissors win over paper (can cut it), paper wins over stone (can wrap it).