Toad Haven: Logic

Build a Paper Tower - Give each child a stack of paper and that is all and challenge them to build the tallest tower possible from paper alone. The trick we found to making the tallest tower was to fold each paper like an accordion widthwise. This will make the paper sturdy and able to stand more weight but don't tell them that. Let them figure it out.

The Scissors Are Open, The Scissor Are Closed - The players sit on chairs in a circle, preferably without a table in the way, and have an object such as an empty plastic drinks bottle or even a genuine pair of scissors. In turn, each player passes the object to the player on their left stating whether they are passing the scissors open or passing the scissors closed. As each player does this the others say whether they have got it right — the players who already know the game judge whether the passing was correct or not. The objective of the game is to work out what is going on and consistently find the correct method of passing.

Initially, new players tend to be confused — if playing with a real pair of scissors, they will often open the blades and then say that they are passing them "open". After a few rounds of guessing, they will begin to make other attempts — the first was too simplistic — such as passing the item in different rotations, or passing with opened or closed eyes. If the player does not understand the game by this point, they will often become frustrated. However, eventually it occurs to them what the correct players are doing and they will begin to imitate them. Sometimes, even though the player is getting their passes correct, they often will not understand why this is so — what they consider is correct may be entirely unnecessary, for example when playing with a bottle, they may remove the cap.

It is wise to require "successful" players to prove they understand what is happening by requesting them to pass the scissors open or closed at the whim of those who do know what the players ought to be doing. Often even now their analysis is wrong. If the player is still unsure as to what is needed, the action can be exaggerated until all players understand.

The game is generally only successful once with the same group, unless the correct method is changed. Otherwise, all players begin the game knowing how to win, while the best group is one where the majority does not know and there are only a few players who can demonstrate consistent correct passing.

The most common solution to this game is that scissors are passed closed if your legs (or even ankles) are crossed and open if uncrossed. At the beginning of the game positions and movements should be natural. Towards the end, they will need to be heavily exaggerated.

Other variations of this game theme are common, where different objects work as the "scissors" with the same solution, or with slightly different solutions — for example, the legs may need to be uncrossed when not passing, or the pass may need to be done so that the passing arm crosses the body. There may also be a combination of actions, such as needing to pass a pair of scissors blade-first to the next player as well as crossing or uncrossing the legs; the player may realize that one part is necessary but not the other.

Both the person who leaves the room (Person A) and one other member of the group (Person B) must know how the game works.

Once the object has been selected by the group and Person A has re-entered the room, Person B volunteers to point to random objects in the room, all of which Person A dismisses. Until Person B wishes to reveal the pre-selected object to Person A , the objects he/she points to may be any color except black. When Person B points to a black object, Person A knows that the pre-selected object will be the next one Person B points to. Thus, Person A is able to successfully identify the object.

The pattern will be more difficult to guess if Person B points to a different black object each time the game is played.

The secret is simple: you "get there" only if you insert an "um" or "ah", between "to" and the destination. "I'm going to take a plane to Tokyo" won't get there, but "I'm going to take a plane to, um, Tokyo" will. Most people will not notice this, instead assuming there is some rule relating to the name of the place chosen.

As a result of this, the game is also often known as "The Train to Umbridge", using the sentence format, "I was on the train to Umbridge and I got off at, um, Govan," or some variant thereof. This name is, of course, a pun on the use of the hesitatory word "um" and also the "umbrage" that players take, should they not be able to guess the rule.

Bobby's World - Gameplay begins when one of the players with knowledge of the game says "I'm going to Bobby's World. What can I take?" Play then goes around the circle with players trying to guess one thing that can be taken to Bobby's World and one thing that cannot. This is put in the format of "You can take ____, but not ____."

The game revolves around only certain players knowing what types of things are allowed in Bobby's World. Only things whose spelling includes a double letter in it can be taken. Therefore, a book can be taken, but a page cannot because of the "oo" in book. Players who do not know how to play frequently think that the solution to the secret lies in the object itself instead of its spelling.

In this example Player A and Player B know how to play:

Player A: I'm going to Bobby's World. What can I take?

Player B: You can take a tree, but not a leaf.

Player A: I can take a pillow, but not a bed.

Other players would then attempt to guess objects to prove they know how to play. To keep up the confusion, players who know how to play use objects that are related so that players who don't know how to play will continue to look for a connection in the objects themselves. For example, "I can take a floor, but not a rug" is a better response than "I can take a floor, but not Africa" even though both are equally valid answers.

Who Has The Cup? - The first person to speak after the leader asks "Who has the cup?" is the person with the cup. So if the first person to speak says "I have the cup," the answer is yes. If that first person asks, "Do I have the cup?" the answer is yes. If that first person says "Joe has the cup" where Joe is any other player, then they are mistaken. But if that first person says "Does Joe have the cup?" and is told no, and then says "Well, do I have the cup?" then the answer is yes.

Petals Around The Rose - The person who knows the secret rolls 6 dice at once. He then calculates how many petals there are around the rose on that roll.

There are three, and only three, rules:

The name of the game is "Petals Around the Rose".
The name is important.
The answer is always an even number.

The solution is therefore relatively simple; the 'rose' is the center dot on any dice that has one, and the 'petals' are all dots around it. The die faces without center dots, including 2, 4, and 6, do not count, and colors have no relevance. Counting the petal dots yields the final number. The answer to the dice shown in the picture to the right is 6.