Re: Magic Cards

I think you have to have some flexibility with Magic Cards, D&D, regular
cards, etc, at camp. There is a lot of time to do a lot of things, and
the one thing guaranteed to turn a boy off from Scouting is that it gets
to be too much like school. As long as they are doing what they are
supposed to be doing the rest of the time, let them play cards or D&D
during their free time. Last month at summer camp, it seemed like
the old days at college with a floating poker game (chips but no money
involved) going on much of the day. But a boy would get up to leave for
an appointment with a MB counselor, and someone else would take over his
pile of chips. There was a lot of personal interaction going on, and it
was all in all a pretty good way to spend some free time during the day.
(Even snuck in a little exercise on probability!) Especially since the
waterfront was closed much of the week (low temps and fast current - at
least our camp opened, our sister camp was delayed several weeks because
of the snow levels).

In my experience, you will have some kids who go overboard, and they will
need some help in setting limits. We had to restrict D&D a number of years
ago because the kids were playing it instead of doing their job of teaching
the younger Scouts.

On the other hand, I have a Scout who will complain bitterly about hiking
(even a couple of miles) unless he is preoccupied with a fantasy game with
one or two other Scouts as he is hiking along. Nowadays, he can regularly
finish a 10-mile hike before he realizes he doesn't like hiking. Yes, he
does miss some of the sights along the way, but he would miss them all if
he didn't go. At least he's getting some exercise.

And I agree about the cost of the Magic Cards. They can be quite expensive,
and they can get lost or damaged at camp. Best they leave them at home if
they want to keep them in good condition. But that's something they need
to work out for themselves or with Mom or Dad.

Alan R. Houser ** Scoutmaster, Berkeley Troop 24 ** troop24@emf.net
** WWW page ** http://www.emf.net/~troop24/t24.html **

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message
• Previous message
• Maybe in reply to
• Next in thread