The Elizabethtown College High Library and Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being recently came together to offer students a way to relieve stress or take a break from studying. It is an event called “Pop Up Lawn Games.” The purpose of the lawn games is to give students a mental break and to interact more with their peers. The lawn games will be found in the library’s IDEA lab from now until Feb. 18. Some of the games that can be found in the IDEA lab are: cornhole, croquet and balloon tennis. There are even exercise/stability balls that you can sit on while studying. There are also jump ropes you can use to take a bit of a break.
If you have never tried cornhole or croquet or balloon tennis, here is a bit of background on each.
Cornhole is a popular game that consists of a platform (typically a 48 by 24 inch) made of wood, with a hole in the center towards the back. It also requires the use of beanbags and 4 players. The goal of the game is for you and your partner to throw the beanbags either onto the platform or into the hole to score points. However, you are playing against another pair. The goal is to get to 21 points before the other team.
Croquet is a game that is based on roque, which is a game where you use mallets to hit a ball into wickets. You need a colored ball and a mallet (one for each player) nine wickets and two stakes. The goal of the game is to hit your ball through all the wickets and to hit both stakes to win. On your first move you put your ball close to the first of the stakes. You then hit the ball towards the wicket. If you get the ball through the wicket, you can take another turn. If you miss the wicket on your next turn, your turn is over and the next player goes. If either you or someone hits another player’s ball, you can go again. This part of the game can be frustrating because your opponent can knock you really far out of the way if they hit your ball correctly. This is not in the rules, but some people I have played with have called this kind of move a “bye bye ball.” Once you get about halfway through the course, you need to hit your ball towards the second stake. If the ball misses, it is the next player’s turn. If it hits, similar to if a ball goes through the wickets, you can go again. The point of the game is to get your ball through the wickets and hit both stakes before your opponents.
Balloon tennis is exactly what it sounds like: tennis with a balloon instead of a tennis ball. The goal of balloon tennis is to score points based on shots that make it difficult for your opponent to return.
