Due to the increasing popularity of archery brought about by the The Hunger Games fad, I devised a game based on another classic piece of young adult literature: Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. The Wonder Game, as it is currently known, is limited to five or fewer players and also calls for a nonparticipant person, known as the Cheshire Cat, to supervise and keep score. The game consists of eight ends and requires a number of materials: a soapbox between 2 to 3.5 ft high to stand on; a body of water (preferably larger than a kiddie pool); a float, raft, or boat which can support the weight of the archer; a cardboard partition that stands between 8 and 10 ft high with a 3 inch diameter aperture in the center and approximately 1.5 ft below the top edge of the partition; a fog machine or excessively smoky bonfire; pebbles (optional); an opaque blanket or sheet; a book of riddles; and croquet equipment (optional). The players go through all eight ends shooting at a consistent distance (probably 10 yards for players new to the game), scoring each end (except the third), and concluding with the highest scoring player as the winner. Each end corresponds with a chapter in Alice in Wonderland and allows players to emulate Alice in her adventures.

First End, or “Down the Rabbit Hole”

Archer shoots half his arrows from a kneeling position (Alice shrinks)

Archer shoots remaining arrows while standing on the soapbox (Alice grows large)

Second End, or “The Pool of Tears”

Archer fires all arrows from either a partial prone or sitting position on the floatation device in the body of water (Alice swims in a pool of her own tears)

Opponents are encouraged to splash or create waves to make the archer miss his mark

Third End, or “The Caucus Race and a Long Tale”

Archers all run in a circle continuously and fire arrows every time they approach the 12 o’clock position of their circuit to ensure they do not shoot another player (Alice and the creatures in Wonderland run in a circular “Caucus Race” to dry off from the flood of tears)

The Cheshire Cat presides over the Caucus Race and tells the history of William the Conqueror in an attempt to confuse them; any boring subject can be used in lieu of William the Conqueror

No score will be calculated from this end as there was no clear winner in the book; this end mainly serves to exhaust the participants

Fourth End, or “The Rabbit Sends a Little Bill”

Archer again stands on the soapbox, but this time behind the cardboard partition (Alice growing into a giant while inside a house)

Archer must shoot his arrows through the aperture in the cardboard no matter his anchor point UNLESS

Archer is taller than the partition while on the soapbox, in which case the archer may shoot by holding his bow above the top of the partition, or Archer’s arrow fletchings have a diameter greater than 3 inches, in which case archer may either shoot above the partition in the manner described previously or borrow another player’s arrows

Opponents are encouraged to throw pebbles at the archer (Alice heckled by bystanders)

Fifth End, or “Advice from a Caterpillar”

The Cheshire Cat arranges a smoky bonfire or fog machine near the target

Archer must shoot through the haze (Alice confronts the hookah-smoking Caterpillar)

Sixth End, or “Pig and Pepper”

The Cheshire Cat drapes a sheet in front of the target

Archer shoots without being able to see the target (Alice lost in the forest after a disorienting bout of sneezing)

This end is a complement to the Fourth End because now the target is obscured instead of the archer

Seventh End, or “A Mad Tea Party”

The Cheshire Cat asks the archer a series of riddles (Alice is subject to an inquisition of riddles at the Mad Tea Party)

Archer may only shoot if he correctly answers a riddle; archer may decline this end without a penalty, but can receive no points

If it is the archer’s birthday, he may not receive any points for this end (Mad Tea Party participants celebrate the Un-birthday)

Eighth End, or “The Queen’s Croquet Ground”

Archers take turns trying to shoot a perfect end which symbolizes the Red Queen’s catchphrase “Off with her head!”

The first archer to do so will receive their regular 54 points for a perfect end as well as a 20 point bonus

After three rounds of unsuccessful attempts by each player, they may either:

Play croquet to decide the winner of the end (only 54 points with no 20 point bonus), or Invoke Rule 42: “All persons more than a mile high to leave the court.” (For our purposes, “a mile” shall be equal to the height of the Cheshire Cat.) Any players remaining after the invocation of Rule 42 will receive 30 points to their score; if none are left, continue to scoring

Scoring, or “Alice’s Evidence”

The winner shall be calculated based on the cumulative scores of all ends excepting the third



