Game In-Game
I started playing Animal Crossing in March, due to being in lockdown. I had never played before and I probably wouldn’t have done if lockdown hadn’t happened. It quickly became clear that I wasn’t super creative and wouldn’t have an amazing photogenic island.
But as Halloween approached which is my favourite season, I thought it would be fun to create some games on my island and open it up for kids to come over and join in with the games, giving them a chance to make new friends, grab prizes and goody bags, and hopefully fill the void of them not being able to go trick or treating as they would have done in previous years.
After mentioning my idea in a Facebook Animal Crossing group the Halloween event quickly became full and the kids came over and had an amazing time. I set up a photo booth and costume area for the kids to grab photos with their new friends, and created games such as find the witch, which was just me hiding somewhere on my island dressed as a witch and the kids had to find me in a set time, if they did they would unlock the spooky gate to reveal goodie bags for each of them. There were other games which included musical chairs, treasure hunt, a board game, hide and seek and more.
A King Tut run part of the Christmas celebrations!
So I bought a new Switch and another copy of the game and created a new island dedicated to games. I started building the island from scratch in the hope it would be ready for Christmas, and after many long nights of creating the island, it was ready.
Again I popped the info in the Facebook group and the slots were instantly filled. I created a Santa’s Grotto and dressed my character from my main island as Santa and the kids had the chance to have their photo taken with Santa and grab a gift, something they couldn’t do in real life.
Once the kids had finished at the grotto the games started, there was a king tut run, a Christmas themed obstacle course, a treasure hunt, a fishing competition, hide and seek, a find the item game and lots more.
Facebook messages of appreciation post-event
Once the event had finished the kids all then grabbed a goodie bag before setting off home. The feedback from the parents was amazing, they said the kids love my events and they always put a smile on the kids faces, something that is really needed at the moment.