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How do I Play Lewis & Clark Travel Games?

The famous expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to find a trade route from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast. The two men followed two rivers, the Missouri River and the Columbia River, to blaze the trail. The classic American adventure story helped develop an understanding of the Native American culture as well as study the geography and climate of the west. To help students or children understand and absorb the historic journey, incorporating a game will help make the task fun and entertaining. Have the children create the game themselves and the trivia questions about the adventure.

Things You'll Need

Cardboard
Game pieces
Cards
Dice
Paint
Paint brush
Trivia

Instructions

- 1
  Create the game by painting a piece of cardboard, approximately 18 inches by 18 inches, to resemble the terrain covered by Lewis and Clark from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast. Add a path of squares or dots to indicate the path the players must follow. Add landscape elements, such as desert and mountains as well as cultural ones, such as a Native American village, to the board.
- 2
  Create trivia cards, several for each dot or square on the board, regarding the historic journey. Create bonus cards as well to correspond to special spots on the board, such as the Native American village or a desert.
- 3
  Spread the board out on a table or even on the middle of the back seats of a car if playing while traveling. Playing the game on a cross-country trip or a trip out west can help the players appreciate the history of their surroundings.
- 4
  Place each game piece at the start of the trial, which should be near the mountain range. Game pieces can be anything from small figurines to clay molded pieces.
- 5
  Roll the dice to see who plays first. The player with the highest number starts.
- 6
  Roll the dice and progress spaces in correlation to what number is rolled. For example, if you roll a five you move forward five spaces.
- 7
  Move the game piece to the appropriate spot and answer a trivia question. If the question is answered correctly you roll again, move your piece and wait for your next turn for the question. If you answer incorrectly you forfeit the roll.
- 8
  Landing on a bonus spot means you must answer a bonus question to pass. For example, landing in the Native American village means you must answer a bonus question. If the question is answered correctly you may roll again, answer another question immediately and roll a second time if you answer correctly again. If you answer the initial question incorrectly on the first try you must spend the next turn in the village and wait for your next turn to answer another question. Once the initial question is answered incorrectly you forfeit the bonus roll and question.
- 9
  Progress around the game board until someone reaches the ocean. The first to reach the ocean wins.

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