Hobbies And Interests
Traffic Lights
This classroom activity is aimed at kids of around kindergarten age. An adult leads and supervises the game, and finds a suitable open space in which to play. The adult calls out colors during the game which correspond to those found in a traffic light; "red" requires kids to stand still, "yellow" involves jogging in place, while "green" means running around. The adult can make the game more complex by adding commands such as "traffic jam," whereupon the kids all move very slowly, or speed bump, in which kids jump every so often as they move about.
Rush Hour
This board game tasks players with making it across the board and reaching the marked office space. Players roll dice to determine how far they move each turn, and the board squares represent city locations such as suburbia and an expressway. Along the way, players must drop off their commuters at the required spaces on the board, and may sometimes be required to pick up other passengers.
Beat the Traffic Warden
A board game of tactics and luck, participants in "Beat the Traffic Warden" control a motorist out to hand parking tickets back to the titular traffic warden, while one player takes on the role of the warden himself. Players move around the board by rolling dice, with the form of the board itself looking similar to the classic property-trading game "Monopoly." Landing on the various squares dictates to the players what to do and determines their interactions with the traffic warden player.
Frogger
"Frogger" is a classic video game, which has appeared on countless gaming systems and in arcades, and is now available as an iPhone app. Players must guide frogs across a busy road, trying to avoid the traffic which will squash their amphibians to a pulp. The frog begins at the bottom of the screen and players must time their movements well to avoid becoming road kill. Movement is controlled by tilting the iPhone or by tapping or flicking the screen. The game makes things more complex later as the player must leap over floating platforms and evade water snakes.
Traffic Giant
This PC video game is similar to the classic metropolis-building game "Sim City," except that in "Traffic Giant," players must sort out the congestion problems which arise in a bustling city. Players must choose between several types of transportation, such as trams and buses, and implement them in the virtual city. Each form of transportation costs varying amounts to purchase initially and to run, with some types more effective at certain traffic-related tasks than others.