Arachnid Games

Classroom Games

• Classroom games can be run by a supervising teacher. "Insect or Arachnid" requires the use of a bag containing slips of paper; written on each slip is a fact about arachnids or insects. Players take turns to draw a slip from the bag, and must decide whether the fact applies to arachnids or insects.

  "Spider Relay Race" is played outside, and is much like a traditional relay race, except that players must travel across a short distance while crouched in the crab position and while wearing two sets of pretend spider legs. The spider legs are made by tying stuffed pantyhose together, which are then attached to a participant's belt. When each player reaches her partner, she passes the sets of legs on.

Spider Battle Games

• These games revolve around conflicts featuring spiders. "Spider Wars" is played out on a board with a nest at each end, with a web between it, marked with holes. Players aim to get their spiders across into their opponent's nest, by placing the pegs at the end of each spider's leg into these holes. Spiders can knock others out if their pegs are pushed into an already occupied hole.

  The "Starship Troopers Miniatures Game" is a wargame based on the science-fiction book and movie series of the same name. Players control either the alien arachnids or the heroic human marines, and they must utilize their troops to achieve particular objectives, such as defending a bunker.

Video Games

• Arachnid titles are available on a number of video gaming systems. In "Spider," for the Sony PlayStation, players control an arachnid containing a human scientist's mind, and they must adventure across 32 levels in a bid to bring down some crime bosses. Each level is full of threats to the spider, such as bats, pits and beakers of liquid.

  "Miss Spider: Harvest Time Hop and Fly" is a title available on the Nintendo DS, which is based around the "Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends" book franchise. Players take part in mini-games, such as guiding a spider around a level to collect food or controlling a fruit-hunting dragonfly as it drifts through the air.

Other Board Games

• "Insey Winsey Spider" is intended for young kids between the ages of 3 and 6, with each player controlling a plastic spider. Participants use a spinner to determine how much to move on each turn, but must avoid being washed down the sink.

  In "Beware the Spider," players must try their luck at hooking plastic critters off a spider's web using a pronged device. Players must be careful not to touch the web itself, since if they do, a felt spider located nearby is activated and the player must return his prize. The participant who accumulates the most critters wins.