Couriers and Decoys: Get the Real Letter Through
A team's couriers must cross a guarded border carrying envelopes; only some hold a real letter of the keyword and the rest are empty decoys. Guards may stop anyone by pulling their flag, but they only get five inspections per round, so they must decide whom to stop.
How to play
- Mark a start zone, a 15 m wide guarded border and a destination office (3 min).
- The courier team gets a five-letter keyword and ten envelopes: five with a letter and five empty; it decides in secret who carries which (3 min).
- 3-minute round: couriers cross as often as they like with one envelope per trip; a guard who pulls a flag opens the envelope and uses up one of five inspections; if there was a letter, the envelope is confiscated (3 min).
- At the end of the round, the courier team tries to guess the word from the letters that arrived; a correct guess wins the round (1 min).
- Play three more rounds with a new word each time, switching courier and guard roles (12 min).
- Analysis: how the real letter was hidden and which clues helped guards use their inspections well (3 min).
Rules
- Only pull the flag; do not grab the envelope or clothing.
- One envelope per trip, always held in the hand in plain sight.
- Guards may not enter the start zone or the office.
- Inspected couriers walk back along the side so they do not cross the running lanes.
Variations
Easier
Guards get eight inspections and the word has four letters.
Standard
A five-letter word, ten envelopes with half decoys and five inspections per round.
Harder
One guard is a traitor who may let an envelope through unopened even when inspecting it.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: run the office that decodes the word or lead the guards and decide whom to inspect.
- Hearing impairment: round start and end are shown by raising a cone.
- Dyslexia: the keyword is chosen from a visible list of ten PE vocabulary words.
Learning goals
- Apply deception strategies in attack.
- Decide how to use a limited resource on defense.
- Combine speed, reasoning and communication in one game.
Equipment for a class of 25
- envelopes: 20
- cards: 20
- cones: 20
- pinnies: 28
- flag belts: 14
Teacher tip
Use subject-related words (pulse, sprint, agile). Prepare the envelopes for all four rounds before class so no time is lost between them.
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