The Square Life

Summer nights may be the best part about living in Utah. The late sun sets help it to cool down just enough. Perhaps it’s still warm, but the last thing you want to do is go inside to the artificial chill of your stale apartment. So below are activities that work better by moon-light. Even though the sun turns in, it doesn’t mean you have to.

SARDINES
One person is “it” and hides. And then everyone else has to find them. But, as a reverse Hide-And-Seek, if your find the “it” hidee, join them! The last person to find the hiding group is the loser, and has to hide for the next round. Don’t hide in too cramped a location! If you are playing with a group of 10, unless you want to be completely squashed, rather than a little cramped, find a place big enough for 10.

FUGITIVE
With this game, you must get from point “A” to point “B” without getting caught- But don’t be fooled. This is not your average juvenile game of tag. Point “A” could be The Creamery on 9th, and Point “B”, the Library on 500 N. and University Pkwy. The only limits are how far you want to run, and how late you want to play. Whoever’s deemed “it” must travel by vehicle- scooter, car, bike- with flashlight in tow. (It works well to have a team of “Its”- one to drive, and one to shine the light). Define your boundaries, where you can and cannot go, and run! If you are caught within the beam of light, you are busted! The fugitive must give up, and return to a designated meeting spot. A fun twist, if you are in a car, is to make your running fugitives pile up in the car. A sort of Sardines on wheels. (please note: Square Magazine does not encourage any illegal activity- don’t pile in more than you have seatbelts for!)

CAPTURE THE FLAG
Two teams, two home base points, two flags there for the taking. You may think that this game is a standard night activity. The twist- play it in a wide open area. The night light plays tricks on your eyes, and what you think is a crawling enemy, is really a tree stump, or a trash can.

GLOW STICKS
If you want to make any old game fresh and exciting, just add glow sticks. Examples: Fly a kite in the park at night. Tie a glow stick to your kite, and watch it soar- or rather, watch what could be mistaken for an alien invasion. Play kick the can with either a glow stick attached to the can, or attached to all the players. Either way, the green flashes spice up the game. Good old Tag. Yes, it was called juvenile earlier, but it is brought up to a whole new level when everyone but “It” has a glow stick around their neck.