The brass rubbing game is a great way to look at your area in a different way – seeking out details you have never noticed before.
Getting Started:
This creative game is one that works well in an urban area.
You can play alone, or with a few friends or family members. If you are a larger group then divide into small teams of three or four.
Choose a word or phrase that you want to work with. A word could be your name, your favourite colour or food, or something with a meaning you feel strongly about. How about ‘love’ ‘friendship ‘cooperation’ or ‘equality’ or just a simple ‘hello’? A phrase will take longer to complete, so bare that in mind when choosing it. Choose something really important to you like ‘black lives matter,’ ‘save our planet,’ or ‘thank you key workers.’
The Brass Rubbing Game:
Armed with a large sheet or two of sturdy paper and a supply of wax crayons head off into your area to find your word or phrase. If you are working in teams or with several people you might decide to split up, with a time to be back at base.
You now need to find letters from road signs, drain covers and anywhere else that you can make a rubbing of to make up your word or phrase on the sheet.
When you find a letter that you need place your paper over it. Pressing hard, use your crayon to colour over the letter, revealing its shape on your page. You may find that using the crayon sideways and rubbing along its length is easier than using the end of it, depending on the size of your crayon and the letter you are rubbing.
Take it further
This is taken from the book Games, Games, Games, a publication with around 250 group games. The games are essentially co-operative in nature and develop skills and attitudes which encourage learning together and supporting one another.
If you enjoyed this new way of exploring your local area, you might also like to try a Penny Hike or to do an environmental survey of our area.
