Hobbies And Interests
Cowboy Poetry
One of the most iconic images of the cowboy is sitting around the fire with a guitar and harmonica, strumming out simple plaintive songs. Celebrate this tradition by holding your own cowboy poetry writing competition. This activity is appropriate for people of all ages. Young children can write simple cowboy poems while adults can write more complex and meaningful poems. However, the poems don't have to be meaningful to be engaging. In fact, writing a fun or funny poem can engage an audience just as fully as a serious or meaningful poem. Place a small cardboard box on a table. Participants can vote for the best poem here. Count the votes and give small awards to the first-, second- and third-place winners. Making the party a costume party can create an appropriate Western atmosphere. Playing cowboy music is another way to create atmosphere.
Gold Panning
The California Gold Rush helped spur many people to move out west in the hope of finding gold. Not many people made it rich, but it did help populate the area more quickly than it would have otherwise. Have your own gold rush with a gold panning adventure. This game works best as an activity at a Western-themed birthday party for younger children. Bury several small items or prizes in a sandbox. These objects should be small plastic toys, coins and other similar items. Start by giving the birthday child a kitchen strainer. He digs sand out of the sandbox using the strainer. The holes in the strainer will let the sand fall out but won't let any of the prizes escape. Give each child 2 minutes to look for prizes, with everyone keeping what they find. Make sure you keep track of how many items you put in the sandbox. The children may not find them all.
'GunFu Deadlands'
"GunFu Deadlands" is a free game designed by Christiaan Jansen. It is available to download from the Play This Thing website. It simulates a Wild West shoot out. Players control a cowboy who has to take out all the other cowboys on the screen. Players have a gun with unlimited ammo that must be reloaded every six shots. Players run through the levels and hide behind doors, buildings and fences to avoid being seen. Each opponent has its own view which is indicated by a small black dot. The solid artificial intelligence and quick reflexes of the gunman make careful stealth important. Players control movement with the arrows and aim with the mouse. Click the left button to shoot. Players are also aided by "bullet time" which slows the game down. Players can still aim in real time, making bullet time essential. Click the center button on the mouse to activate bullet time. Click the right mouse to dive and go into bullet time.