Poisoned tea time

Equipment: anything
Space: Anywhere
Number of participants: 10 to
Duration: 5 minutes
15 players
Context:
Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured
leaves of the Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to Asia. After water, it is the most
widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some teas, like
Darjeeling and Chinese greens, have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while
others have vastly different profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral or grassy notes.
Tea originated in southwestern China, where it was used as a medicinal drink. It was
popularized as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty, and tea drinking spread
to other East Asian countries. Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to the West
during the 16th century. During the 17th century, drinking tea became fashionable among
Britons, who started large-scale production and commercialization of the plant in India to
bypass a Chinese monopoly at that time.
Afternoon tea is a light meal typically eaten between 4 pm and 6 pm. Observance of the
custom originated amongst the wealthy classes in England in the 1840s. Anna Maria Russell,
Duchess of Bedford, is widely credited as transforming afternoon tea in England into a lateafternoon meal whilst visiting Belvoir Castle, though Charles II of England's wife Catherine of
Braganza is often credited with introducing tea to the court upon her arrival in 1662.

Development:
Poisoned tea time is a modification of the game Duck, duck, goose

A group of players sit in a circle, facing inward, while another player, who is "it", walks
around tapping or pointing to each player in turn, calling each a "tea" or pastry until
finally calling one a "poisoned". The "poisoned" then rises and tries to tag "it", while
"it" tries to return to and sit where the "poisoned" had been sitting. If "it" succeeds, the
"poisoned" becomes "it" and the process begins again. If the "poisoned" tags "it", the
"poisoned" may return to sit in the previous spot and "it" resumes the process.

Graphic explanation: