Materials Needed

• 3 Tokens/playing cards for each student

How to play

1. Explain to students that they will play PSS with each other.
2. The winner asks the question or does the English practice if there is no question. The loser answers or repeats. Then the loser gives the winner 1 token.
3. They find another person to play with after.
4. Explain that you will give them some time to practice. When you turn off the lights, they need to fall asleep, because Nian the monster is coming.
5. They need to be as quiet as possible.
6. If they make a sound, they need to pay Nian 1 token so that he doesn’t take them out of the game. If they don’t have any cards, and they are not quiet, they sit out of the game.
7. When the lights come back on, students need to quickly find a new partner to play with.
8. At this time, students who don’t have cards can try to play with you to see if they can earn a card to stay in the game.

Teacher’s role

Monitor students as they practice. Make sure that students get to complete at least one round of practice before turning off the light.

When you go to them, walk around a little slowly and make some monster noise. Listen for students that move or make noise.

If they are really quiet, you can just quickly move on to the next round.

Who wins?

Game points are counted individually. Each person who has more than 4 cards can get 1 point. Then the team with the most points wins. You can break ties by having them play Paper, Scissors, Stone (Rock, Paper, Scissors).

What’s there to love?

This game takes ideas from traditional Chinese customs. It’s great for students to play, and the Nian monster adds an extra element of fun.