Three Fronts: Split Your Squad
A force-allocation game: before each round, each team secretly decides how many players to send to each of three fronts, where students race to carry beanbags. Winning two fronts takes the round, so teams must read the opponent and take risks.
How to play
- Cone off three zones, each with 12 beanbags in the center and one hoop per team 30 ft away on each side. Two teams of 12 in pinnies; the extra student keeps score and rotates (3 min).
- Planning (1 min): each team writes on a card how many players it sends to fronts A, B, and C (12 total; a front can be left empty). Both cards are revealed at the same time.
- Round (1 min): on each front, players carry beanbags one at a time from the center to their hoop. Once the center pile is gone, they may steal one at a time from the other team's hoop.
- On the whistle, count the beanbags in each hoop: the team with more wins that front. The team that wins two fronts takes the round point.
- Play six rounds (about 15 minutes). From round four on, the fronts are worth 1, 2, and 3 points and the split becomes more strategic.
Rules
- No guarding your own hoop: nobody stays within 3 ft of a hoop.
- No contact: beanbags are never pulled from hands and are only stolen from the hoop.
- Run looking ahead and slow down before reaching the hoop to avoid collisions.
Variations
Easier
Use two fronts instead of three with teams of 8, and decide the split out loud.
Standard
Three fronts with a secret split and six rounds.
Harder
Three fronts of different size and value, a 30-second decision, and no repeating the previous round's split.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: plays with hoops 15 ft away or serves as planning chief.
- Hearing impairment: start and end each round with a visual signal (dropping a flag) as well as the whistle.
- Fitness level: students who need a break alternate playing and scoring rounds.
Learning goals
- Distribute team resources according to the value of each objective.
- Anticipate the opponent's decisions.
- Sustain high intensity in short bursts.
Equipment for a class of 25
- beanbags: 36
- hoops: 6
- cones: 12
- pinnies: 24
- cards: 12
- markers: 2
Teacher tip
Early rounds are usually split 4-4-4; the fun starts when someone gives up a front to dominate the other two.
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