Double Dare Gameshow

This party was based on Nickelodeon's Double Dare, which we loved to watch growing up, and we'd often make our own version to play with homemade challenges and obstacles. A couple of years ago, I decided to put together a homemade version again as a family Easter party, which we played with Mike's family then with mine in Vegas. There are board game versions that have come out, but there's only so much you can fit into a box, so we'd sometimes use the trivia questions from the box then still use our own homemade physical challenges.

For those of you who aren't as familiar with Double Dare, basic game play is this: Players are divided into two teams, the Red team and the Blue team. The game starts off with a toss-up challenge to win control of the round. The winning team is awarded 20 points (dollars), and is asked the first trivia question. They can answer the question for 10 points, or Dare the other team to answer for 20 points. If the other team doesn't know the answer they can Double Dare back to the first team for 40 points. The first team either has to answer or accept a Physical Challenge. The host would usually give the teams these instructions at the beginning of the show: "I'm going to ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, or think the other team 'hasn't got a clue', you can dare them to answer it for double the dollars. But be careful, because they can always double dare you back for four times the amount, and then you'll either have to answer the question or take the physical challenge." Then in round 2 all points were doubled.
The Physical Challenges were often messy. They could be anything from trying to hit tossed meatballs into a bowl using a baguette as a bat, or trying to squirt something off your teammate's head using a bottle of seltzer. If the team completed the task within the allotted amount of time, 15-30 seconds or so, they'd win points and get the next question.
After two rounds of this, the team with the most points gets to try the Obstacle Course. This consists of eight different stations, the goal being to find or grab an orange flag from each one. The teammates would take turns completing a station, winning a certain prize for each one. If they made it through all eight stations, they won a grand prize. The stations were things like searching for the flag in a stack of giant foam waffles complete with gooey syrup, reaching up into a giant nose to dig around for the flag, swimming (or rowing a small inflatable boat) across a large tub of swampy water to get to the flag on the other side, etc. There are a few websites out there that have complete lists of the different challenges and obstacles used in the show. Ours were usually made up of whatever we found around the house!
For our purposes, rather than having the physical challenges be a race against a clock, I made them all competitive so that the teams would be racing against each other to complete a task. I did some research online to come up with a list of Easter-based trivia questions with multiple-choice answers. I prepared ten physical challenges with an Easter theme, and ended the game when we had used up all of them. We played the game indoors, then came outside for the messy challenges!
OUR PHYSICAL CHALLENGES:
*Egg Toss- Each team chose two members to participate. Each pair were given an egg and placed a short distance apart. The player with the egg had to toss it carefully to their teammate. Then the pairs were told to step further away from each other and toss the egg again. The pairs got further and further apart until one team dropped their egg and the other team was declared the winner.

*Sponge Relay- Teammates form a line one behind the other and must pass sponges from a bucket of water over their heads until it reaches the last person who squeezes what they can from it into a cup. The cups are marked with a line and the first team to get water up to that line wins. (Notice in this photo that my brother on the right is NOT passing the sponge over his head, cheater McGee!)

*Cream Pie Hunt- One player from each team tries to find a piece of candy in a pie tin full of whipped cream.

*Eggs in a Basket- One teammate stands with an Easter basket held on their head while another teammate tosses water balloons into the basket. (I had to break the bottom of the baskets inward so that there would be jagged basket pieces poking up to pop the balloons, because otherwise they would sometimes just bounce out and there would be a dispute about whether that balloon counted...especially among Mike's family who are cut-throat vultures when it comes to competition!) First team to get three balloons in wins.

*Word Search- Teams race to find Easter-themed words in a word search.

*Puzzle- Teams race to put together an Easter-themed puzzle

*Easter Greetings- Teams were given stacks of paper in their team color. They all try to make paper airplanes and throw them into a large basket. First team to get three airplanes in the basket wins. (Initially we tried to have team member assignments, some folding the airplanes, some throwing, but the folding took too long and the throwers became impatient and started making their own so we just did away with the assignments the second time we threw this party).
*Hatch the Eggs- We blew up several yellow balloons and several pink balloons. Each team was assigned one color or the other and had to sit on the balloons to pop them. First team to pop all of their balloons wins. (I originally wanted to fill the balloons with pudding or whipped cream, but didn't since no one wanted to get THAT messy).
*Jelly Beans in a Jar- I had a baby food jar full of jelly beans and each team got one guess at how many were in it. The team with the closest guess wins. (Smaller jar meant less counting for me!)
*Alternate un-used idea: Save the Peeps- Spread a package of marshmallow peeps at one end of the yard or room, and teams must line up and take turns running to pick up a peep and bring it back to a basket. Winner would've been based on either who got a certain amount first, who got more within a certain time limit, or who had the most when all were gathered (as long as it was very clear when all of them had been gathered).
OBSTACLE COURSE:

*Granny's Attic (from the show)- Hunt for the flag in a trunk full of old clothes and trinkets.

*Easter Basket- The flag is hidden in one of several baskets of Easter grass and eggs

*Stairway to Heaven- Player climbs the staircase to get to the flag at the top while members of the losing team shower down pillows and blankets at them. (That's my dad in the photo... he tripped on a blanket and hurt his ankle during this one... he finished it out like a trooper nonetheless, as my sister in the red shirt continued to pelt him mercilessly with pillows).

*Tub o' Suds- Once at the top of the stairs, the next player had to search through a bathtub full of sudsy water for the real flag among a lot of wrong-colored flags

*Stack of Stuff- Flag is hidden in one of two or three garbage bags filled with junk

*Deep Sea of Blankets- Several blankets are layed out on top of each other with a flag hidden between one of the layers
*Gooooal!- We had a set of Easter eggs that looked like soccer balls strewn on the floor, one of which had a flag inside

*Camp Out- Flag was hidden somewhere in a cute little campsite scene complete with a tent, sleeping bags, and gear.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
1. What is the origin of the word "Easter"?
A. Recognition that the sun rises in the East for a new beginning
B. AEsturium, a wildflower widely found in Holland, Belgium, and France
C.* AEostre, the ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn
2. Easter is a combination of religious and pagan rituals. Religiously it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. What is its pagan significance?
A. Celebration of the vernal equinox
B. *Celebration of Spring
C. Celebrate the season's first harvest
3. At Easter, rabbits are used to symbolize what?
A. Spring
B. *Fertility
C. Jesus Christ (an innocent slaughtered)
4. The visit of the Easter Bunny is based on what?
A.* A German fable about coloring eggs so they could be identified in case of famine
B. To remind all of the Spring harvest
C. To renew and expand life by bringing to all the symbol of life, or the egg
5. Why are white flowers predominant at Easter?
A. White hyacinths and tulips symbolize sorrow
B. *White symbolizes Christ's purity and majesty
C. White azalea symbolize rebirth and renewal
6. In some religions, Easter begins with Lent, a period of penitence, which lasts for how many days?
A. 12
B. 26
C. *46
7. What is the connection between Easter and the Jewish Passover?
A. *Passover in Hebrew is Pesach; in Europe Easter is also called Pesach.
B. Passover and Easter are celebrated for the same number of days
C. Both celebrate the freeing of the soul from oppression
8. In what country would you find an ancient Easter tradition called Smingus-Dyngus, a custom of splashing water on each other?
A. *Poland
B. Ireland
C. Wales
9. Why was Easter Island called Easter Island?
A. The first European to discover it was Capt. Jacob Easter
B. *Europeans first discovered it on Easter Suday, 1772
C. Napoleon named it because he just liked the name
10. Which country had an armed uprising called the Easter Rebellion which started on Easter in 1916?
A. Russia
B. Hungary
C. *Ireland
11. The custom of Easter baskets originates from what?
A. The baskets farmers would use to collect their crops
B. The ancient Greek myth of the Cornucopia, the horn of plenty
C. *The Catholic custom of bringing Easter dinner food to mass to be blessed
12. Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, celebrates what?
A. *The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem
B. The commemoration of the Last Supper
C. The edict in 325 AD by the council of Nice that Easter must fall on a Sunday
13. In the song Here Comes Peter Cottontail, he's got colored eggs for who?
A.*Sue
B. Mother
C. Tommy
14. If you do what with an egg, it is said to protect you from lightening, hailstorms, and beehives?
A. Break it open at precisely midnight on mid-summer's eve
B.*Bury in garden or yard
C. Throw it at your neighbor's dog
15. How long will a boiled egg keep in a refrigerator?
A. 3 Days
B. *A week
C. It doesn't require refrigeration once it's boiled
16. A female rabbit is called what?
A.*Doe
B. Femmie
C. Just a girl rabbit
17. What is the name of the dance commonly done at Easter time?
A. Egg Drop
B. Mashed Potato
C. *Bunny Hop
18. To light a candle on Easter is to symbolize what?
A. After darkness comes light
B. *Easter Sunrise
C. Easter Sunset
19. Highly intricate eggs decorated with wax and dye are known as what?
A. Golden Eggs
B. Juevos Rancheros
C. *Ukranian Easter eggs
20. Purple is a common Easter color. In the ancient world, where did purple dye come from?
A. Grapes
B. *Shellfish
C. Crushed amethyst rocks
21. Pretzels were made by Monks at the Vatican to give out to the poor during Lent because:
A. *They looked like Christ praying with arms folded
B. They didn't use yeast and thus were unleavened bread
C. They were just easy to make
22. The word Lent means what?
A. Live without
B. *Lengthening of days
C. Live again
Oster Haas is German name for what?
A. Easter House
B. Easter basket
C. *Easter bunny (or Hare)
23. Easter Lily symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus because;
A. Blooms in the spring
B. *It comes from a shell that is buried in the earth then emerges
C. It is white and pure
24. In some European cities, it is customary to squirt this on people and exchange good wishes:
A. *Perfume
B. Spices
C. Water
25. New born rabbits are called what?
A. Bunnies
B. *Kits
C. Kids
26. In the song Easter Parade, what street do they walk down?

A. Main Street
B. Santa Monica Blvd
C. *Fifth Avenue
27. A sweater made of spun rabbit fur is called what?
A. Cashmere
B. *Angora
C. Silk Wool
28. How many jelly beans will be made this holiday season?
A. 18 Million
B. *15 Billion
C. 120 Billion
29. How many Easter eggs are hunted in the United States each year?
A. Over 1 million
B. *Over 1 billion
C. Over 1 trillion
30. How many pounds of Easter candy do Americans eat each year?
A. *7.1 Billion
B. 10 Billion
C. 13.4 Billion
31. Which part of chocolate bunnies do most children eat first?
A. Tails
B. Feet
C. *Ears
32. How many chocolate bunnies are sold each year?
A. 10 million
B. *60 million
C. 1 billion
33. What is the most popular Easter candy?
A. *Chocolate eggs
B. Marshmallow Peeps
C. Jelly Beans
34. Which is the most favorite jellybean flavor?
A. *Cherry
B. Strawberry
C. Grape
35. Which is the most popular symbol on Hallmark Easter cards?
A. Easter Bunny
B. *Easter eggs
C. A cross

LESSON LEARNED:

In any sort of competition, such as these physical challenges, have very clear rules and procedures outlined beforehand and be prepared to make an authoritative call if things get dicey, including disqualification if necessary. It's supposed to be all fun and games and no host wants to hurt the feelings of their guests, but some people take competition more seriously than others, so know your guests and plan accordingly!