Battle of the Games Read online

  This EPUB edition published 2013

  First published in 2004 by

  MACMILLAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

  15–19 Claremont Street, South Yarra 3141

  Visit our website at www.macmillan.com.au or go directly to www.macmillanlibrary.com.au

  Associated companies and representatives throughout the world.

  Copyright © Felice Arena and Phil Kettle 2004

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Battle of the games.

  ISBN 978 1 4586 4725 2 (EPUB)

  Project management by Limelight Press Pty Ltd

  Cover and text design by Lore Foye

  Illustrations by Gus Gordon

  Visit www.macmillan.com.au/primary to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find subject catalogues, teacher support material and news of professional development events.

  Contents

  CHAPTER 1

  Rain Games

  CHAPTER 2

  Show Me the Money

  CHAPTER 3

  Snap!

  CHAPTER 4

  Noble Knight

  CHAPTER 5

  Just One More

  EXTRA STUFF

  Games Lingo

  Games Must-dos

  Games Instant Info

  Think Tank

  Hi Guys! (Author Letter)

  When We Were Kids

  What a Laugh!

  CHAPTER 1

  Rain Games

  Best friends Billy and Sam are hanging out together one rainy Saturday at Billy’s house.

  Billy “I wish the rain would stop. Then we could ride our bikes.”

  Sam “Yeah. It’s really coming down. You sure your mum won’t let us play outside?”

  Billy “Nah. I’ve already asked a million times. She said we should be able to entertain ourselves indoors.”

  Sam “So, what are we gonna do?”

  Billy “Wanna watch TV? Or a DVD?”

  Sam “Nah. I’ve seen all the movies you’ve got.”

  Billy “No you haven’t. What about ‘Killer Bunnies’?”

  Sam “Seen it!”

  Billy “You sure? The one where a bunch of rabbits grow really long fangs and take over a small town.”

  Sam “And they’re as tall as the humans—yeah, I’ve seen it.”

  Billy “Okay then, wanna play a game? I’ve got a new computer game called ‘Super Hero Racing’.”

  Sam “Cool!”

  Billy and Sam sit in front of Billy’s computer. Billy explains the rules of the game to Sam while it’s loading.

  Billy “You’ve got ten superheroes to pick from. Once you choose the hero you’re gonna be, you have to race each other around the world. You have to jump over mountains and bust through buildings. You can fly, run or swim. The first one back to the starting place is the winner. I’m gonna be Super Bull Man … half-man, half-bull.”

  Sam “I’ll be Super Stallican … half-stallion, half-pelican.”

  Billy “Okay. Ready, go!”

  Billy and Sam frantically click and move their joysticks. It’s a close race but Billy makes it over the finishing line first.

  Billy “Yes! In your face! I’m the winner! Champion of the world! And you’re the loser! Woo-hoo!”

  Billy begins to do a funny dance in front of Sam.

  Sam “What are you doing?”

  Billy “It’s my victory dance. Yeah! I’m the greatest! And you’re not!”

  Sam “It’s only one game. And now that I know what to do, I challenge you to a re-match. And this time I’ll beat ya!”

  Billy “Okay, you’re on!”

  CHAPTER 2

  Show Me the Money

  Billy and Sam play another game of “Super Hero Racing”. Again, Billy is the winner and again he rubs it in Sam’s face. Sam wants to keep playing until he wins. Twenty times later he still hasn’t beaten his friend.

  Sam “I hate this game.”

  Billy “You’re just saying that because you can’t beat me. Ha, ha!”

  Sam “Well, let’s play something else. Then you’ll see who’s laughing.”

  Billy “Okay! But I gotta tell you I’m the king of all games! Computer games, board games, whatever. You won’t be able to beat me at any of them.”

  Sam “Yeah, right. Just you wait and see … king of big heads!”

  Billy “Okay, forget the computer. How about Monopoly?”

  Sam “Now you’re talking, dude!”

  Billy and Sam set up the Monopoly board on the kitchen table. Billy decides to be “banker” and deals out some money to himself and Sam. The boys choose their markers.

  Billy “I bags the dog!”

  Sam “I’ll be the car!”

  Billy “Right, we have to throw the dice. Whoever gets the highest number starts. Here goes … 6! Yes!”

  Sam rolls the dice. It shows a 2.

  Billy “And the champ of the world makes his move!”

  Billy rolls the dice and it shows a 5. He moves his marker.

  Billy “One, two, three, four, five! Kings Cross Station. Yep, I’m gonna buy it. Your turn.”

  Sam rolls the dice. It also shows a 5. He moves his marker onto Kings Cross Station.

  Billy “Aha! That’s mine! Hand over the cash, boy!”

  The boys continue to play Monopoly for over an hour. Eventually Billy wins. This time he does his victory dance on top of the kitchen table.

  Sam “Stop dancing, will ya? I challenge you to another game. Got any playing cards? I’ll show ya!”

  CHAPTER 3

  Snap!

  Billy gets out a pack of cards and shuffles them. He divides them into two halves and hands one half of the cards to Sam.

  Billy “Right, d’ya know how to play Snap?”

  Sam “Umm, derr! Of course I do. Now this game I know I can beat you at!”

  Billy “Yeah, keep dreaming! ’Cause remember I’m the king of …”

  Sam “Yeah, yeah, the king of all games. I got it. But not this one! Let’s play!”

  Billy and Sam place their cards on the table, one on top of the other, watching for their chance to win.

  Billy “Snap!”

  Billy “Snap!”

  Sam “Snap!”

  Billy “Snap!”

  Billy “Snap!”

  Sam begins to feel frustrated as it looks like Billy is going to win again. Sam imagines Billy is a fly and he is about to swat him with his giant hand.

  Sam “Snap!”

  Billy “That’s not a pair! Where’s y’head? What are y’thinking?”

  Sam “Nothin’. Just daydreaming.”

  Billy “Well, I wouldn’t daydream if I were you. That’s no way to beat a world champion like myself. Snap!”

  A few minutes later the game is over. Sam has lost … again. Billy suddenly does a handstand.

  Sam “Now what are you doing?”

  Billy “Well, I got bored with my victory dance. So this is my victory handstand. I am the greatest! And you’re not!”

  Sam (whispering to himself) “What a show-off! I have to beat him at something. But what? … I know!”

  CHAPTER 4

  Noble Knight

  Sam suggests that he and Billy try their hand at chess.

  Billy (chuckling) “Chess?”

  Sam “What? You chicken? Scared that I’m actually gonna beat ya this time?”

&
nbsp; Billy “Huh! Yeah, right! I’m the king of chess too, y’know! So, are you sure you wanna lose another game?”

  Sam “There’s no way I’m gonna lose this one. Chess is a thinking person’s game. You need brains to play.”

  Billy (snorting) “Huh! Then dude, you’re gonna get whipped again!”

  Billy runs up to his bedroom and returns a few moments later with a chessboard and its pieces.

  Billy “Right, I’ll move my knight here.”

  Sam “Then I’ll move my knight and take your bishop, thanks very much!”

  Billy “That was dumb, ’cause now I can take your queen.”

  Sam starts to daydream again. He imagines that he and Billy are noble knights on their horses about to charge at each other.

  Billy “Come on! Stop daydreaming. Your move.”

  Sam “Aha! Gotcha! My king strikes and takes your poor old queen.”

  Billy “Yes!”

  Sam “What? What did I do?”

  CHAPTER 5

  Just One More

  Sam worriedly looks down at the chessboard while Billy is grinning from ear to ear.

  Billy “You just blew it! Checkmate!”

  Sam “What? No way! How?”

  Billy “See my knight. And there it goes. Say goodbye to your king!”

  Billy jumps to his feet and breaks out into his victory dance. Sam drops his head into his hands.

  Billy “Hey, it’s okay. You can’t expect to be good at everything. You just can’t beat me at games. I told you I was the king.”

  Sam “But even kings can lose their crowns, y’know.”

  Billy “Yeah, but not me. Hey, still friends?”

  Sam “S’pose so. But if you were a real friend you’d let me choose one more game.”

  Billy “Sam, you don’t want to … “

  Sam “Come on, just one more!”

  Billy “Fine! But don’t cry like a baby when I crush you again. What game do you want to play?”

  Sam “What about Rock, Paper, Scissors?”

  Billy “Sure!”

  Sam “And if I win, then will you forget all the games you’ve won today and crown me the king of all games?”

  Billy “Yeah, okay.”

  Sam “What? Really?”

  Billy “Yep, really, ’cause you’re gonna lose again anyway.”

  Sam and Billy clench their fists, ready to make the action for rock, paper or scissors.

  Billy “Wait up. Paper beats rock ’cause you can wrap it over it, right?”

  Sam “Yep.”

  Billy “And scissors beats paper ’cause they can cut through it. But scissors can’t beat rock ’cause they can’t cut through it. Right?”

  Sam “Yep. That’s it. I thought you said you were king of all games.”

  Billy “I am, and don’t you forget it. So, bring it on. I can feel another dance coming!”

  Sam and Billy shake their fists.

  Billy and Sam “One, two, three!”

  Sam makes the action for paper while Billy makes a rock shape.

  Sam “I’ve won! I’ve won! I’ve finally won! I’m the king of all games!”

  Sam suddenly dances around Billy.

  Sam “Hey, this is the coolest victory dance ever! I just wanted to save the best till last!”

  dice Small cubes with a different number of dots on each side, from 1 up to 6. If there’s only one cube, it’s called a die. More than one, it’s dice.

  friend The perfect person to play a game with!

  game An activity that is entertaining and fun.

  joystick A control device on a computer or video game that guides you on screen.

  Monopoly A board game where you can buy houses and hotels with fake money.

  victory When you have beaten your opponent.

  Try to keep all your board games in one spot so that you know where to find them when you next want to play with them.

  Be gracious when you win. No-one likes a show-off.

  Don’t go too crazy with a joystick—it could break.

  Find a large flat surface area to play your games on, such as a kitchen table or the floor.

  Have plenty of snacks and drinks nearby … to help you play better. It’s tiring stuff, competing!

  Make up your own games. Use pencils and paper to design your own board game and decide on some rules of play.

  Always have fun. Remember … it’s only a game!

  Games that don’t need any equipment to play them can often be the best fun, especially on long car trips. Invent some memory games and remember to remember the rules!

  Have your own Battle of the Games with some friends, but you have to make up your own victory dance if you win!

  The most expensive Monopoly set in the world is worth 2 million dollars. It’s made out of gold, rubies, sapphires and diamonds.

  One of the greatest chess players in the world is Gary Kasparov from Russia.

  PlayStation 2 is a video game system that not only has cool games but is also able to play DVDs and CDs.

  Tell your parents that that makes it cheap at half the price!

  Five fun board games to play are Scrabble, Monopoly, Battleships, Backgammon and Cluedo.

  The American board game Clue is called Cluedo in Australia.

  Bingo is played around the world by a lot of older people.

  Fish is the name of a (really easy) card game.

  Snakes and Ladders, based on an early Indian game called Moksha-Patamu, was first played by Victorians in England in 1892.

  One of the most popular Nintendo games is “Super Mario Brothers”.

  1 Snap is a card game. True or False?

  2 Is there a “prince” piece in the game of chess?

  3 What’s the highest number you can throw with a pair of dice?

  4 What’s the one thing you try to have when playing a game?

  5 What sort of stick do you often use to play computer games, especially ones that require speed or direction?

  6 What sort of weather is great for playing indoor games?

  7 Is there such a device as a Game Girl?

  8 Have you ever won a game?

  How did you score?

  If you got all 8 answers correct, then you definitely love to play games and have the right to call yourself the king of all games!

  If you got 6 answers correct, you’re also a great game player but probably need to brush up on the rules sometimes.

  If you got fewer than 4 answers correct, then games don’t seem to interest you much. But you’ll always be around to join in if your friends want you to play.

  Hi Guys!

  We have heaps of fun reading and want you to, too. We both believe that being a good reader is really important and so cool.

  Try out our suggestions to help you have fun as you read.

  At school, why don’t you use “Battle of the Games” as a play and you and your friends can be the actors. Set the scene for your play. Bring some games to school to use as props but leave your computers at home! And make sure the desk you use for the victory dance is strong enough.

  So … have you decided who is going to be Billy and who is going to be Sam? Now, with your friends, read and act out our story in front of the class.

  We have a lot of fun when we go to schools and read our stories. After we finish the kids all clap really loudly. When you’ve finished your play your classmates will do the same. Just remember to look out the window—there might be a talent scout from a television station watching you!

  Reading at home is really important and a lot of fun as well.

  Take our books home and get someone in your family to read them with you. Maybe they can take on a part in the story.

  Remember, reading is a whole lot of fun.

  So, as the frog in the local pond would say, Read-it!

  And remember, Boyz Rule!

  Phil “I used to love playing Snakes and Ladders!”

  Felice “Oh, yeah. I remember that game. I always had t
rouble keeping the snakes in one spot. They’d always slither away.”

  Phil “What? You used real snakes?”

  Felice “Yeah. Well, how else do you play Snakes and Ladders?”

  Phil “It’s a board game, silly! You’re not supposed to play with real snakes!”

  Felice “Oh! That explains why I was never good at it!”

 

 

  Felice Arena, Battle of the Games

  Thanks for reading the books on GrayCity.Net