Giant Color Sudoku Relay

Each team solves a 4-by-4 sudoku chalked on the blacktop relay style, placing beanbags in four colors so no color repeats in any row, column or box. Students work on running, logical thinking and shared decision-making.

How to play

1. Chalk 5 grids of 4 by 4 with squares about 20 inches wide, and draw thicker lines to mark the four 2-by-2 boxes. Place 6 fixed beanbags in each grid as clues, the same for every team (3 min).
2. Make 5 teams of 5 in lines about 40 feet from their grid, each with a bucket or hoop holding 10 more beanbags in red, blue, yellow and green.
3. Explain the rule with an example: every row, column and box must have all four colors, each one only once (2 min).
4. On the whistle, the first runner grabs a beanbag, runs, places it in the square they think is right and comes back to high-five the next runner. Instead of bringing a new one, a runner may move a misplaced beanbag.
5. When a team thinks it's done, everyone sits down in line. The teacher checks: if there's a mistake, the teacher only says "there's an error," and the team keeps going (8 min).
6. Second, harder round with only 4 clues or, for older students, beanbags labeled 1 to 4 instead of colors (5 min).

Rules

• Each runner makes one move per trip: place a beanbag or move one.
• The fixed clues can't be moved.
• Set the beanbag down by hand; no tossing.
• The team decides the move from the line before the runner leaves.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the student stays by the grid and places the beanbags teammates bring, following the team's decisions.
• Visual impairment or color blindness: use very different colors and write the color's first letter on each beanbag.
• Skill level: more confident teams play with fewer clues while everything else stays the same.

Learning goals

• Apply logical rules to solve a problem as a team.
• Run relays with controlled starts and stops.
• Discuss and agree on every move while respecting others' ideas.

Equipment for a class of 25

• chalk: 5
• beanbags: 80
• cones: 5

Teacher tip

Test the sudoku on paper first to make sure it has only one solution. If a team argues too much, add a rotating captain who gets the final say on each move.

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