Now that you know how we built our Obstacle Course from THIS POST, let’s cover how we actually played the game, The Floor is Lava. On the TV Game Show, all the contestants have to do is make it across the lava pit. Then there is a time component and how many make it, etc. Three teams of three compete against each other. Well, I didn’t want to make the kids compete, so I made it a grand goal they all had to work towards. This is how we Play The Floor is Lava:
How to Play The Floor is Lava with Kids
So you know from the Lava Pit Building Post that we had all these balloons making up the lava. Well, among those lava balloons there were also Yellow/Gold, prize balloons, and coconuts. {Also from Cash’s Safari Party. See how we can double up all these party supplies to cut costs?} Inside those balloons and coconuts there were pom-poms the kids had to collect in order to ‘Level Up”
Level Up Score Board
Looking back at the Food Ideas Table, you’ll notice the different “Levels” for Gatorades, snacks, and eventually cupcakes. The kids would go through the course, collecting pom-poms, filling my scoreboard and then going to the Level Up Table.
I made a Scoreboard using foam board from Dollar Tree and a 2-Liter Soda Bottle to make a volcano we could see into. With some tape and spray paint, I made little Level Windows where the kids could see their pompoms dropped inside. Every time a window filled in with orange pom-pom, they got to go to the table and earn that next treat.
Scoring Points to Level Up
When a kid entered the lava pit, his/her job was to find a yellow balloon and pop it for the pom-pom inside. So, while going from entrance to exit, they were stretching and reaching to find yellow balloons. They had to get the pompoms out the exit to bring them to the volcano scoreboard and level it up. Some kids found yellow balloons with 1 big pom-pom, some found a balloon with 3 small pom-poms.
Level Up Coconuts
We hid 5 coconuts in the course as well. The coconuts each had one GIANT Pom-Pom in them that would be an automatic level up. These were hidden very well, high and low, inside of things so they were hard to get to. You’ll see we have a few bonus tools in the course to help them find the coconuts: Reach Grabbers and Fish Nets.
Most of the coconuts were high up in the tree vines so they had to work together to stack the boxes to get them or use tools to knock them down.
With this style of scoring and teamwork the kids got to keep going through the obstacle course over and over, encouraging each other to make big reaches for balloons and coconuts. They all won over and over with each trip to the Level Up Table.
Hopefully you have enough room in your garage to build a course at least once. All kids were quite tired after the party from jumping around and dramatically falling into the balloons. The got to climb, leap, bounce and use up a lot of energy they’d been stuck with over the winter. More on this party around the blog.
- The Floor is Lava Obstacle Course for Kids
- The Floor is Lava Party Food Ideas
- Giant Volcano Decoration | DIY Guide
Plan a Party with Me! It’s sort of my thing…
See all of our past Birthday Parties and visit the Etsy Shop to plan your own! The Vintage Event on Etsy
Affiliate Disclaimer: My blog is heavily monetized with numerous affiliate links throughout. If you click on these links and make a purchase I earn a small commission. THANK YOU for helping me build the boys’ college savings accounts! Please feel free to visit all of our affiliates and read the entire disclosure/disclaimer HERE
