Active play is important for your children’s development both mentally and physically, but there’s always that slouch halfway through summer when kids start getting bored. If you and your kids are tired of the usual suspects when it comes to playing outside – games like Hide and Go Seek, Freeze, and Red Rover – there are a variety of other outdoor games you can add to your repertoire in order to break up the monotony. Here are a few more unique outdoor games for kids that will get your children excited about playing outside again this summer.
- Blind Man’s Walk
Image via greenwichfreepress.com
This game adds a challenging twist to traditional obstacle course games. Set up obstacle courses in your backyard with things like hula hoops, buckets of water and pool noodles. Allow the kids to practice a few times, and then send them through the course one at a time while blindfolded. Time each child to see how quickly they can make it, perhaps without knocking over buckets of water or other objects. If you have little Pirates in the house, you can call the obstacle course challenge “Walk the Plank” instead.
- Pirate Tag
In this fun twist on a classic game, one person is chosen to be “it,” or the Pirate, and chases the other players. When the Pirate catches someone, this person becomes part of the Pirate’s crew. The original Pirate and the new capture must hold hands or both hold onto a jump rope while they chase the rest of the kids. The game continues in this fashion until all but one kid has joined the Pirate’s crew. The uncaptured kid gets to start the game as the Pirate the next time around.
- Bean Bag Toss
Image via gogosqueez.com
Bean bag toss games are very popular and easy to set up with little or no equipment. You can use store-bought bean bags, or make your own with a few dollars’ worth of beans and some upcycled old sheets or retired clothes.
You will also need to make a target or goal. You can build a pyramid with empty soda cans for the kids to throw their bean bags at. To make the game a little harder, half-fill these with water. The winner is the kid who knocks down the most cans, or knocks down all the cans in the lowest number of throws.
You can also use a painting ladder for scoring. Set up the ladder and assign a point value to each space between the rungs. Let the kids throw the bean bags, aiming for the higher-valued spaces, and tally their scores to find out the winner.
- Juggling practice
Image via sewmamasew.com
Another fun thing the kids can do with those bean bags is learn how to juggle. Watch a few instructional videos on YouTube so your kids get the general idea, and then turn everyone loose outside to practice. Start with just a couple of bean bags each, and as the children get the hang of the game, you can add one more at a time.
As much fun as kids have indoors these days with all the media and toys available to entertain them, it’s still important to get outside and play as much as possible. You can make this easier by incorporating some of their indoor interests into their outdoor play. What summer outdoor games do your kids love to play? How do you encourage them to play outside when they’d rather stay in?
Ahoy mateys!
Another eventful Arrrgust has come and (almost) gone. We’ve had fansite giveaways, a free hook for Left Hander’s Day and a PVP contest for those competitive Pirates. The last week of Arrrgust was something special for those with a bit of a creative side. Pirates got out their pencils, markers or fired up their graphics programs and tried to create the most unique flag design around. We got so many great entries, it was tough to choose a winner! With help from some members of the Marketing team here at KingsIsle, we voted on all of our favorite flags and tallied up those who got the most votes. Below are the winners for the Grand Prize, Runners Up and Honorable mentions in the 2015 Pirate101 Arrrgust flag design contest.
Grand Prize
Runners Up
Click the images to view at a larger size.
Honorable Mentions
Click the images to view at a larger size.
Congratulations to all of the winners and thank you to everyone who submitted entries for this contest!
-Bonnie Anne
What’s a Pirate’s favorite month? Arrrgust of course! Arrrgust is the month where we celebrate every pirate’s favorite, happy exclamation of “ARRR,” and so far there’s been plenty of Arrr worthy moments. Be sure to check our Arrrgust page to join in the fun. There’s only one week left, so hop to it!
Today we’re announcing the winners of our grand week of PvP matches. There were a ton of contestants (and a lot of cowards . . . that’s ok, we still entered you scurvy dogs who entered a match and fled on the first round). Most matches lasted between six and nine rounds.
There was a nice spread of classes being used in the PvP matches, but Swashbuckler pulled out in the lead as to be expected. Swashbuckler is the favorite class in Pirate101 (as shown in the 50 million player graphic)
It is interesting that Witchdoctors overshadowed the Musketeers in pure numbers of attendees for this contest however. Go Witchdoctors!
We compiled all the entries into our event and rolled the giant database dice here at KingsIsle. As it turns out, our top winner for the Arrrgust week of PvP was a Buccaneer. Congratulations Sydney Morgan for winning 60K Crowns!
Also Congratulations to our other top winners! They have each received a gift of 10k Crowns:
- Stubborn Duncan Freeman, Witchdoctor
- Noble Wolf Hawkins, Swashbuckler
- Fallon Nightingale, Swashbuckler
- Merciless Ronan Silver, Swashbuckler
- Cruel Flint Strong, Swashbuckler
- Chloe, Privateer
- Kai Kidd, Swashbuckler
- Slick Trevor Sharp, Witchdoctor
- Reckless Angel, Musketeer
Even if you didn’t win, we certainly hope you had fun enjoying Ranked PvP in Pirate101. Feel free to congratulate the winners in the comments below, and thank you for your participation. Don’t forget we have another chance to win Crowns in week 4 of Arrrgust. This time, get your creative juices flowing and unfurl your flags!
Best of luck,
~ KingsIsle Community
It’s Photography Day today! Did you know that in Wizard101 and Pirate101, you have a kind of camera built right into the game? We call it “taking a screenshot.” It’s very handy and a great way for fans of our games to catalog their wonderful times, great friends, and happy moments.
The first thing you should know, taking an actual photograph of your computer screen with your phone or a camera is probably the easiest way to ruin a good photograph! The colors never come out right, you’ll get lines through your picture, and it’s never very straight. You’d be surprised how many photos our Community team sees like this. Just say “No” to taking pictures this way!
Next, to take a simple screenshot, all you have to do is press either the F12 button or the PrtScn button. Like magic, your screen is captured and saved in a file on your computer. The location where your screenshot is saved flashes on your screen for a moment, and usually that’s located in your Documents folder in a subfolder called “Wizard101.”
Now if you want to take a screenshot like a pro and really make your screenshots shine, we have some tips that will help you work your magic and impress your friends.
- Remove the Interface – Before you take your screenshot, hold down the Control key and Press G. Control+G removes the health and mana globes, the quest arrow, and all the other things on the screen that are getting in the way of your great screenshot! After you’re done, just press Control+G to bring all of those handy icons back into view.
- Back up against a wall – This is kind of tricky, but sometimes you can back up against a wall and your player will disappear from view so you get a nice screenshot of the environment only. In Pirate101, this is even better because you can hold down your right mouse button and move around to position your “environment-only” screenshot.
- Shoot for even higher quality – Looking for an even higher quality screenshot? Go into your game settings and try putting your game into its highest resolution and select full screen size! Try turning Bloom on and off and see which one you like better.
- Edit like a pro – If you use the PrtScn button, you can open up another graphic program like Photoshop, Gimp, or even Window’s Paint, and use Control+V to “paste” your screenshot. Then you can enhance the colors, crop it, and save it in a higher resolution format that’s still web-friendly, like .png files.
- Don’t overdo it – Once you start messing around with filters and features in Photoshop, it’s very easy to go crazy and make a beautiful catastrophe of a picture. Eek! Stick to the basics and make your favorite game shine!
When you’re all done, your Community and Social Media team would love to see your creations! In fact, we repost the screenshots we receive on Facebook, Pinterest, and Tumblr! So join in the fun and send us your best creations for Photography Day to community@kingsisle.com!
Do you have a really good tip for taking a good screenshot? Please leave a comment below!
We’re having a bit of fun today in the KingsIsle office looking at Travel Review sites in the real world—read on and let’s imagine these also exist for Wizard101 locations!
Travel review sites have become very popular in the Wizard101 Spiral. There is a lot to review with so many Wizard101 zones to explore in the Spiral. After all, how else are you going to decide the best locations for questing, shopping or just finding a place to relax and socialize?
In fact, the use of travel sites have become so widespread that even the older members of the population, such as Merle Ambrose, have figured out their way around the website (although we suspect that Ambrose may have had help from one of his young students). Here are four of the most popular reviews from all around the Spiral.
Review #1:
Username: Meowiarty (Marleybone)
Location: Newgate Prison
(Image via wizard101.wikia.com)
After a prolonged stay, I can honestly say that the accommodations here were dreadful, not at all what one would expect from a long-standing establishment of repute. Room sizes were quite small, with inadequate common Wizard101 areas and few opportunities to take in the air. The bed was hard, and I am certain I found bedbugs in the bedding. Room service was awful, with poor menu options, and the food that was delivered was cold. When I demanded recompense, the waiter had the audacity to hit my door with a stick of some sort, for the purpose of frightening me into accepting the meager fare as my due. I was glad when, with the help of my friend Malistaire Drake, I was able to find accommodations more befitting of my status and repute.
Review #2:
Username: Sherlock Bones (Marleybone)
Location: Royal Museum of Marleybone
(Image via wizard101central.com)
Students of my level of deduction will appreciate the intellectual haven that is to be found in the Royal Museum. This is an excellent place to look for clues and practice your observational skills. There are at least six exhibits containing treasures from the ancient world of Krokotopia, which I highly recommend seeing. Unfortunately, Meowiarty and Malistaire Drake are trying to steal the Krokonomicon, a book containing many powerful spells. Visit these wonderful exhibits before it’s too late!
Review #3:
Username: Mimir Winterbane (Hrundle Fjord, Grizzleheim)
Location: Well of Urd
(Image via wizard101central.com)
If you’re looking for some spirited fun, stop by the Well of Urd. Don’t be fooled by the, er, rustic setting of this vacation destination. The accommodations are strictly BYOB — bring your own bread — and please don’t forget the honey! It’s a true adventure, hosted by yours truly. I can promise that no matter what, you won’t be bored!
Review #4:
Username: Merle Ambrose (Ravenwood School of Magical Arts, Wizard City)
Location: West Ende Girls Snack Shop
(Image via wizard101central.com)
By far the best place in Wizard City to satisfy your cravings. The West Ende Girls Snack Shop has everything from harvest corn to star fruit, although its radioactive pizza is a bit potent and not for the weak-hearted. The only reason I’m not giving this wonderful snack shop five stars is, frankly, the girls’ appalling behavior when someone let it slip that it was my birthday. My advice: Don’t go here on your birthday unless you want to be embarrassed with singing, cupcakes and persistent inquiries as to your exact age!
We hope you’ve enjoyed these travel reviews! Which were your favorite reviews? If you were to write a review about a location in the Spiral, what would you say?
KingsIsle Blog 
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