Desert Island Picks

What you need

• Paper, 1 sheet for question strips and score scraps
• Paper bag, 1 (optional)
• Crayons or markers, 1 per player (optional)
• Kid scissors, 1 pair (optional)

How to do it

Grown-up prep: Write or find 15 to 20 desert island questions before you start. No other setup is needed. It works well in the car or at the dinner table.

1. Pick a player to be the first question reader.
2. Read the first desert island question out loud.
3. Take a quiet minute to think about your picks.
4. Go around the circle and say your picks.
   Ask: Which pick do you think will surprise everyone?
5. Now explain the reason for each pick.
6. Vote for the best reason by pointing at the winner.
   Ask: Whose reason made you think, laugh or change your mind?
7. Pass the list and read a new question.
8. Now play again with new questions, or invent your own! What would YOU ask the next castaway?
   Ask: What is a wild desert island question you could make up for us?

Ideas to try

• What 3 foods would you bring to a desert island?
• What 3 toys or games would you take?
• If you could bring 1 animal friend, which would it be?
• What 3 pieces of clothing would you pack?
• Which book would you bring to read over and over?
• Which 1 song would you listen to forever?
• What 3 tools would help you build a shelter?
• Which 1 person would you want to be stranded with?
• What would you name your island?
• If you could bring a gadget with no battery needed, what would it be?
• What 3 things from your bedroom would you save?
• If you had 1 magic item, what would it do?
• What 3 things from the kitchen would you take?
• Which sport or game would you play on the beach?
• What would you build first on the island?
• What 1 thing would you bring to help you signal for rescue?
• What 3 smells or flavors would you want with you?
• Which movie would you bring and watch on a cave wall?
• What 1 thing would you bring to make others laugh?

Play it again

• Speed round: you get 5 seconds to pick and 10 seconds to give your reason.
• Team island: pair up and agree on one shared list, then pitch it to the other team.
• Silly mode: pick only things from the kitchen, or only things that are bigger than you.