I find that there is nothing better to do with a beautiful fall day than to spend it running through a prairie trying to kill or not be killed. For the second year in a row I've taken my boys out to Camp St. Croix for a wonderful game of Predator/Prey. This year there were over 200 people who paid $5 to be assigned to an animal group and then try to survive the afternoon. The game is a bit complicated but takes minimum set up beyond rule sharing. All you need are some woods and hopefully a lovely prairie that is turning golden and red in the autumn sun.
This year the crew I arrived with ranged in age from 7 to 45. We became gnus. We didn't know much about gnus- only that we were on the bottom of the food chain for the day. There was no one for us to prey upon, but plenty of groups who wanted to prey on us. After the game was explained top predator groups were given bandanas to where as headbands, and middle level predators tied bandanas around their arms. This helped us identify who to avoid when we were let loose in the prairie. And then we were let loose in the prairie. Part of our job as gnus was to find one tablet marked food, one shelter, and one water. They were hidden on camp's property. But the bigger, the harder part of our afternoon would be to stick together and to stay alive. We always had to be within 15 feet of each other, meaning we only moved as fast as our slowest member. And anytime predators spotted us, a whistle was blown and we had to run for our lives for 20 seconds. Then another whistle would blow, the predators would 'carry off' their spoils (our friends!) and we would regroup and count our losses. We started with about 15 and to survive as a group needed to end the afternoon with our tablets found and at least 6 gnus still alive.
Even before that first whistle blew the adrenalin was flowing through our whole group. It is stunning how an afternoon changes once you know you are being hunted. We stayed low, kept in the shadows, and tried to slow the beating of our crazy hearts. When that first whistle blew, it wasn't only the youngest members of our group who found tears leaping to their eyes as we tore through the prairie, hoping to outrun the predators for 20 seconds. It was intense. Hearts leapt out of chests, cries were uttered, and we paid no mind to brambles and thorns tearing our skin as we ran for our lives. For over two hours we snuck around, hunting for food, water, and shelter while trying to avoid ambushes. Our numbers dwindled, but with 20 minutes to go before the final bell was to ring we had found everything we needed. We then hustled to the deepest prairie grasses and settled in for a heart-wringing wait. We heard the tigers amble by, within feet of our hiding place. Our eyes were our only way to communicate and they were shouting PANIC! but we kept it calm and made it to the bell. As we were walking back to the debrief I mentioned how intense it had been to be hunted. One of my fellow 8 year old gnus admonished me, saying, "But Gretchen- you only had to do this for 2 hours. Imagine rabbits who live like this 24/7, 365 days a year!" Frankly, I couldn't. I'd be spent by the end of day one for sure. We also ran into one of our gnus who had become part of the lion pack. She was amazed at how different it felt to strut around as a lion after spending time as a lowly gnu.
The whole afternoon was an intense learning experience. Not only was the setting visually stunning, but to be put in the shoes of an animal of prey was an eye-popping adventure. We will sign up again next year!
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