How to play freeze dance game

The Right Way to Play Freeze Dance in the Classroom

I'm going to go ahead and claim it: I am the master of freeze dance in the classroom. After running the game with my students from preschool through 9th grade over many years of teaching, I have figured out what rules and procedures help the game run most smoothly and keep everyone having the most fun. Ready to learn all the tricks of the trade?

The biggest key to success is setting up the rules before you start. Here are the rules I always tell students when we play freeze dance / musical statues:

When the music is playing you dance. When the music stops you freeze. The last one moving is out of the game and must go to a designated area.
Throughout the game, whether the music is on or off, whether you are out or still playing, your voice must be off. It's not fair if someone else can't hear the music stopping because of your noise.
For your movement to count as "dancing" you must move your feet and only your feet may touch the floor. Otherwise it's too easy to stop and start.
You cannot touch any other person or thing, and you must stay in your spot- you cannot move around the room while you are dancing. It's not safe.
If you forget any of the rules above, you will be out in addition to whomever is the last to stop moving- there can be multiple people out in one round.
I am the Almighty Judge. You may not argue with the Almighty Judge, and you may not attempt to become a judge yourself. Any attempts to usurp or argue with Almighty Judge will result in banishment.

Once the rules are established the rest is a matter of holding students to those rules. I have found the best way to see a room full of dancing children simultaneously is to look at the middle of the room and pay attention to my peripheral vision. Make sure to position yourself in a place where you can control the music and see every player at the same time.

Besides the rules above, there are a few other things I do without telling the students that help prevent tantrums:

I don't tell them in advance, but the first round is always a "practice round". I keep track of everyone who is breaking the rules- usually the shy kids who aren't moving, and the excited ones who are talking or laughing- and when I stop the music the first time I call out all the people who would have been out if it was the real deal. I tell them this is their warning and then remind them that from now on, if I call their name, they are out.
I make the first *actual* round of dancing the longest- I don't want the first person to be out after just a few seconds! And the second round is always the shortest, so that the first person isn't out on their own for very long. The rest of the rounds I keep relatively short, but varying the length of course.
After the first few rounds, if the students aren't too rowdy, I actually encourage those that are out to dance silently in their seats while they watch. It allows them to continue enjoying the music instead of feeling like they're missing out. It's important to keep them seated though, so you don't get confused while you're judging!
There are always a handful of students who figure out ways to "dance" with the least movement possible. I allow anything (as long as they're moving their feet) for the first few rounds, but after that I'll start pressuring them into changing up their moves by telling them not to be "boring". If they continue to barely move, I'll sometimes tell them that if they don't start moving more I'll decide they're out.
I keep a CD with lots of upbeat dance songs (find some of my favorites here) in my sound system at all times for this purpose. I like to change the song each round rather than playing and pausing the same one over and over- different students are more comfortable dancing with different types of music so I try to include a variety.
I model "laughing it off" for students- if they lose their balance I will wink at them, sigh, or otherwise try to make light of the situation in a fun way, like "oops, guess that just happened" as I call their name. I find that helps, especially for those that tend to have trouble with losing, to "save face" in front of their peers.

Now that you know all of my top-secret strategies for running Freeze Dance successfully in the classroom, it's time to get dancing! Be sure to check out the link above for some modern, upbeat music you can use in class for games like this.

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7 Amazing Variations on the Freeze Game. |

Kym Articles, Dance Activities, Games and Icebreakers July 30, 2020March 4, 2022Dance activity ideas

I know what you’re going to ask. Why would you want to play this game?

It’s fun and kids love it.
It can set the focus for the lesson if you spotlight the learning.
You can check on prior learning through the instructions you give.
It can be an effective review of the elements of dance.

Freeze is a game that is used in classrooms all around the world. It embodies the underlying strengths of all games in that it teaches about resilience and following the instructions or the rules of the game.

The Freeze Game

Learning about following the rules, even if they are different from what you first thought, is important for children to comprehend. Be sure to articulate at the beginning a clear set of instructions, rules and guidelines to scaffold how the game will be played.

You may need to stress that every time you play this game in the class that the rules will be slightly different, so it is important to listen carefully. Playing a practice round at the beginning can allow the teacher to check for understanding and clarify any rules that may be ambiguous.

Children need to be able to navigate our competitive culture and to tackle problems with determination and perseverance.

Games teach about resilience and restraint and about coping with missing out. The structure of the game supports the growth of skills that enables children to manage feelings of disappointment and to adapt to change. This is a part of the emotional challenges that the Primary classroom should present.

Playing it safe in the Freeze Game

As important as emotional safety and well being, the physical safe dance practice of the students is crucial in the Freeze Game.

You should always alert students to the space in which they are moving. This assists in developing spatial awareness between self and others and objects in the space.

Try to remove any objects that may be dangerous.
Ensure the children understand when and how they may touch other classmates within the game.

The Basic Rules of the Freeze Game

Everyone dances when the music is playing
When the music stops you must freeze straightaway and hold the shape until the music restarts
If you are the last person to freeze you move to the side of the space and run on the spot lifting your knees high until the next round. This is effective for fitness and participation.

If you are the last person to freeze you move to the side of the space and you are out of the game.
If you are not moving when the music is on, you move to the side of the space and do jumping jacks until the next round, and then you may re-join the game.

Freeze Game Variations

1. Spot on Connect

Place large spots or hoops on the floor when the children freeze making a still shape. Each round, a spot is removed. Then the child who is left without a spot joins their shape with someone else. At the end everyone is joined on one spot. The ending parts of this version of Freeze are really funny and the children love it.

2. Move with me

The same as the version above except the children who join must continue to move together with the music until the next freeze. Then they join with someone else and that grouping must move with the music.

You can be specific about what king of shape you would like them to form or which body parts they will connect. For example, make a curved shape that connects your elbow and your hand.

3. Elements of Dance Freeze

In this version the teacher gives instruction about how (dynamics, time) they must move to the music or about the shape (curved, angular, high/medium/low level) they freeze in.

If the focus of the lesson is on levels then they will be asked to move at different levels, or freeze using body parts at a low level.

4. Move like a ….

They move like something…an animal, a robot, like they are really cold, like their arms are really heavy. You could try moving like an emotion to introduce them to the idea of meaning making through movement.

You can change the instruction after every round of the game. Try having the children make suggestions of an animal to move like.

5. Stop and Listen

Edit the music to have different pieces of music after each freeze and the students must adapt their movement to the changes of the music. Try Giant music or ant music. I love using spy music!

The music does not have to be upbeat in fact the more contrasting the better.

6. Props Freeze

Each child chooses a prop to move with. This could be a scarf, a cloak, a feather boa or perhaps a hat. The prop will suggest how they are going to move. For example, they may use the cloak to be mysterious and creep through the space.

You could choose to do this with music or without. Using a percussion instrument focuses the movement on the prop rather than the music.

You can do another version where they choose a different prop after each round. If they are changing props make sure you keep the pace of the change fast.

7. Sing and Freeze

Choose a favourite song so that the children can sing along. They sing and dance at the same time and really try to stop singing and dancing when you stop the music.

Playing the freeze game in the primary dance classroom encourages controlled competitiveness, increases motivation and assists in trialing new knowledge.

Teachers who play games with a positive sense of joy and involvement, will foster equality and cooperation in their classroom. These versions of the Freeze Game give teachers an opportunity to focus on students’ success and creativity and their ability to solve problems, not just about winning or losing.

For more ideas to use in your classroom look at the ready made lesson plans and teaching resources available on Dance Teaching Ideas.

How to play Heroes of Might and Magic III better

Nikita Boguslavsky

has been looking for the Grail since 1999

Author profile

I played Heroes as a child, I play now and someday I will teach my children to play them.

Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia (HoMM III), also known as Heroes of Might and Magic III: Restoration of Erathia, was released in 1999. It quickly gained popularity and firmly entrenched itself in the culture of the post-Soviet countries. Heroes 3 is still played by tens of thousands of users around the world. And thanks to nostalgic memes, even those who don't play games know about strategy.

In my childhood, Heroes was played by everyone and everywhere: at home, in offices, computer clubs, and even in the showrooms of electronics stores. A party for eight people in the "hot chair" mode could be organized at one computer. Therefore, we often stayed away all night to finish a tense match. And even though the game has four full-fledged sequels, the top of the series for many remains exactly the third part, it is also a "three-ruble note".

Hot Seat mode allows you to play by taking turns taking a seat at the computer

I explain why other strategies have not yet surpassed Heroes 3 for me, and at the same time I explain how to get the most out of them in 2022.

What is Heroes of Might and Magic

This is a turn-based strategy series set in a classic fantasy setting. The player controls the so-called heroes, travels the world, develops cities and recruits troops. The goal is to capture enemy territories and destroy heroes controlled by the computer or other players.

In turn-based strategies, the participants in the match take turns taking actions instead of simultaneously

There are 10 factions in the game with unique aesthetics, tactics and a set of creatures. Barbarians, for example, get the most powerful monsters faster than others and can take the enemy by surprise. And necromancers turn dead enemies into skeletons and thus gather hordes of the undead.

General gameplay principles are the same for everyone. To hire troops and heroes, you need to build buildings in the city. To build buildings, you need to collect resources on the map. To move around the map, you need to defeat guard monsters. To defeat monsters, you need to hire troops - and so on until victorious.

There are hundreds of cards available in the game. They can be completed in many ways, depending on the chosen city, tactics and hired heroes. For example, for the "magic" Tower, it is critical to build and improve the structure "Temple Beyond the Clouds". It allows you to hire titans - these are one of the strongest creatures in the game. However, the temple is very expensive, so it is important not to forget about the economy. But the "swamp" Fortress often manages with weaker and cheaper wyverns. These creatures can easily be found on the map and quickly and without much expense to form an army.

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Often players don't try to come up with new tactics and instead improve existing ones. But even with this approach, the gameplay does not get boring, because with the same starting conditions, each game turns out to be unique.

The sorcerer besieges the elemental castle. In his army, not only "their own" creatures like golems and giants, but also warriors hired in the cities of other factions. Source: The 3DO Company

Battles take place on a separate battlefield, creatures move in turn, like chess pieces. The hero himself does not participate in the battle directly, but influences the situation indirectly. Its characteristics like morale, luck, attack and defense strengthen the troops. When an army is destroyed, the hero automatically dies.

Magic can be used once per round. Buff or speed up your creatures, inflict damage on opponents, scatter traps across the field, deliver a targeted lightning strike or cause Armageddon - this ability harms both your own and others.

In addition, the third "Heroes" has a full-fledged story mode. The story is divided into three games: the main game, subtitled The Restoration of Erathia, and two expansions, The Shadow of Death and Armageddon's Blade.

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In the fictional world of Enroth, wars are constantly raging: either necromancers weave intrigues, or demons try to destroy the world, or barbarians find dangerous artifacts. The story is epic in every sense, and the game allows you to participate in conflicts from different sides.

The 20 interconnected campaigns take 100-150 hours to complete and introduce most of the mechanics, factions, artifacts and characters.

Why Heroes of Might and Magic III doesn't go out of date

You can understand the basics of Heroes in a couple of hours. But it will take years to fully master the strategy and tactical features of the factions, learn how spells work and secondary skills. At the same time, you get the pleasure of the gameplay at any level of immersion.

Experienced players calculate every step, build supply chains and win by combining tactical tricks and non-obvious mechanics. An intense duel can last only a couple of hours, or about 20 in-game day-turns.

A picturesque panorama is displayed on the city screen. Among the buildings are dwellings of creatures, a guild of magicians, a market and administrative buildings. Source: The 3DO Company

But you can play in a completely different way, for the sake of the process, not the result. Leisurely explore the map and develop cities over 60 turns, capture sawmills and collect chests. Finally, consider landscapes. And enjoy the amazing music of Paul Romero: the third "Heroes" has one of the best soundtracks in the history of games. It sinks into the soul no less than compositions from Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

How to play Heroes better in 2022

There are three ways to play Heroes of Might and Magic 3: the definitive edition of the original game, Ubisoft's HD re-release, and the fan-made "improved" version subtitled Horn of the Abyss ( Horn of the Abyss).

Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete Edition. The Complete Edition consists of three parts: Rise of Erathia, Blade of Armageddon and Breath of Death. They were first released as a single collection in 2000. The set is now on sale in the GOG digital store, but users from Russia have not been served in it since the spring of 2022.

If you already have a copy, you will need to install the HD Launcher fan patch. With it, the game is displayed correctly on modern high-resolution monitors, and the picture becomes clearer.

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Heroes of Might and Magic III HD. In 2015, Ubisoft released a re-release for modern computers and tablets. But it doesn't include content from Armageddon's Blade and Death's Breath, so it's not the best way to get into the series. Also, there is no elemental castle and random card generator, and almost no one plays multiplayer.

Heroes of Might And Magic 3: Horn of the Abyss (HotA). Most of the fans now play HotA, or Horn of the Abyss. This is an unofficial remastered sequel from the Russian-speaking HotA Crew team.

Enthusiasts enlisted the support of several developers of the original and, together with them, finalized the balance, revived the multiplayer and added high-quality content.

On the left is the map from the original, and on the right is the version from HotA.

In modern Heroes 3, the design has been slightly improved and there is more variety in details. Source: The 3DO Company

HotA fixes many of the problems and flaws of the original. Simultaneous turns have appeared in online multiplayer: as long as the enemy is far enough away, players do not need to wait for each other after each turn.

Artificial intelligence has been noticeably improved: monsters no longer rush at the player without looking back. Heroes are not so aimlessly moving around the map. The mechanics of some skills like "intelligence", "logistics" and "necromancy" have been revised to improve balance, and "resistance" has been replaced with more understandable "interference". We also added the tenth faction - the Pirate's Quay, several artifacts and neutral monsters.

You can download HotA for free on the project website. The 236 MB client includes the excellent but very difficult Horn of the Abyss campaign for the pirate faction. As well as maps for single player and multiplayer. There are no story campaigns and maps from the licensed version in the Horn of the Abyss, so Ubisoft does not make claims of intellectual property infringement.

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Now HotA Crew is working on another expansion. It will add the Factory, a high-tech city with engineers, automata, and sandworms. When the expansion will be released is not yet clear.

Music for HotA was written by the initiator of the development under the nickname Docent Picolan. He died in 2020, after which the composer of the original game, Paul Romero, promised to help the project. Source: The 3DO Company

What to read, listen to and watch if you like Heroes

Heroes of Might and Magic III has several wikis and a detailed 350 page guide about the mechanics, objects, spells and creatures in the game.

Music. The soundtrack of "Heroes of Might and Magic" can be heard live. In Russia, symphony concerts have already been held several times, at which the composer of the original game, Paul Romero, conducted. The last one took place in the spring of 2022, already without foreign stars. Concert recordings are available on YouTube. It is also worth listening to covers by talented fans.

Polish Game Music sells vinyl records with music from Heroes 3. They are released in small batches and are not delivered directly to Russia, but fans take the records through intermediaries.

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Records from Game Music can be ordered from vinyl of different colors - in the tone of your favorite faction. Source: gamemusic.net

Video. One of the most notable YouTube channels on Heroes is Sir Troglodyte. The presenter easily wins difficult campaigns and comments on everything that happens in the style of a bedtime story. There are quite detailed guides on the channel, as well as online matches with experienced players. Everything is decorated in a friendly and “lamp-like” way, without profanity.

If you want to get a better understanding of the lore and plot of the Heroes world, please refer to the retellings on the xDLate Russian channel. His team released videos about most of the games in the series. Be sure to watch the detailed video with Might and Magic lore analysis.

Streams. The opposite of "Sir Troglodyte" - streamer Alexander VooDooSh. He mainly plays online, intensely and emotionally, sometimes with high stakes. Newcomers to Heroes will find it difficult to watch these streams. VooDooSh loves complex tactics, uses a lot of slang and plays very fast. You can follow his matches in the evenings on Twitch or watch recordings on an unofficial channel.

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Fan art. There is surprisingly little of it in Heroes, but at least a series of stained glass illustrations with dragons by the artist DrKhorn on Deviant Art deserves attention.

The Green Dragon is a level 7 max monster from Stronghold Forest Castle.

Source: DrKhorn / Devianart

Why "Heroes 3" was the best in the series

Numbered issues of "Heroes" were released until 2015. But since 2002, the series has been in crisis.

1986: New World Computing creates the precursor to Heroes, Might and Magic. is a first-person RPG that pits knights, wizards, and barbarians against android aliens and giant spaceships.

1995-1996: release of "Heroes I-II" and the formation of the series. The first strategic spin-off Might and Magic comes out only in 1995. The New World Computing studio takes its own King's Bounty 199 strategy as a basis0 years. In it, a hero on horseback explores the world, collects treasures and fights with a mercenary army. The game impresses the wife of studio founder John Van Kanegem. It is she who persuades her husband to transfer the concept to the universe of Might and Magic.

The experiment ends with success: the new colorful strategy Heroes of Might and Magic hooks players with colorful characters and a variety of fantastic creatures.

The original Heroes of Might and Magic is stylized as medieval icons and stained glass, but because of this, the creatures resemble characters from the "Suffering Middle Ages". Source: New World Computing

Alas, in 2022 it is worth playing the first Heroes only out of curiosity. The strategy is outdated in almost every aspect.

But the sequel, released in 1996, is already more reminiscent of the famous third part. Only the scale is smaller: there are not so many castles, creatures, spells and cards, and combat tactics are simpler. You can recruit five squads into an army, not seven. The battlefield is 9 × 11 hexes, not 11 × 15.

Heroes of Might and Magic II is similar to the third part both externally and in terms of gameplay. Source: The 3DO Company

1996: Heroes goes to 3DO. Together with the rights to the series, the company buys the New World Computing studio. So, 3DO has two popular series at once - the strategic "Heroes" and the original RPG Might & Magic.

New World Computing gets big budget and creative freedom to develop Heroes of Might and Magic III. The team, led by game director David Mullich, manages to reach an agreement with the publisher and fully implement the ideas. This was the first and last time Heroes was developed without major problems.

1999: The release of Heroes of Might and Magic III and the golden age of the series. Heroes 3 is received enthusiastically by players and the press. The publisher is trying to squeeze the maximum out of success. Development of add-ons begins almost immediately after the release of the original.

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Game director Müllich is constantly pushing employees and making them work overtime. In addition to the Blade of Armageddon, the developers even add a hero - Sir Mullich. He intimidates troops in the hope of boosting speed and morale.

The development schedule is getting extremely tight. Between 1999 and 2000, the same team released the base game, two major expansions, and six standalone mission sets subtitled Heroes Chronicles.

In parallel, New World Computing is working on the seventh and eighth parts of the main Might and Magic series. All this was under pressure from the publisher, who demanded that Heroes of Might and Magic IV be turned in as soon as possible.

2002: The failure of the Heroes of Might and Magic IV experiment. The creators are faced with an almost impossible task: in less than two years, translate the game into 3D and rework most of the game mechanics. And they almost succeed.

"Heroes IV" in terms of depth of mechanics and variety of gameplay is not inferior to the third part. In the "four" they rework the magic system, change the logic of map exploration and make the heroes full-fledged participants in battles.

Fans criticize authors for bugs and overly serious gameplay changes. In addition, the game comes out raw: at the start there is no multiplayer and random map generation. At the same time, the fourth "Heroes" still receive high ratings in specialized publications and show good sales.

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By 2022, most of the problems have been fixed. Now there are almost no critical errors in the game, local multiplayer is in place, and there is more than enough content, taking into account two add-ons.

Visually, Heroes IV has aged very badly: if 20 years ago, low-poly models with torn animation looked acceptable, now they are hard to perceive. Source: The 3DO Company

2003: Ubisoft buys the series. 3DO declares bankruptcy. The publishing house lays off employees and closes along with the New World Computing studio.

French publisher Ubisoft buys the rights to Might and Magic for a modest $1.3 million. The search for authors to create the next part begins. At the same time, the founder of New World Computing and the game designer of the third "Heroes" do not take part in further work on the series. Instead, they focus on browser and mobile games.

2006: the release of "Heroes of Might and Magic V" - a rethinking of the series from Russian developers. The only worthy game of the "new era". Initially, Ubisoft proposes to make a real-time strategy on the engine of the fourth part in order to compete with other popular representatives of the genre - Warcraft III and Command & Conquer.

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The development is entrusted to the authors of the Allods role-playing game series, the Russian studio Nival. They manage to convince the publisher and defend their vision. They use their own Silent Storm Engine technology and use it to bring Heroes 3 to 3D. It turns out better and more appropriate than New World Computing. However, the studio is abandoning the series' classic design in favor of a brighter, more Warcraft III-like one.

In some screenshots, Heroes V can be confused with Warcraft III - these games are so visually similar. Source: Ubisoft

Since 2006, the game's graphics and animations are somewhat dated, but the design and styling make up for it somewhat. But "Heroes V" is suitable for beginners. There is a good training here, and it’s easier to understand in a more modern interface.

Like other parts of the series, the game is fully revealed only with two expansions: "Lords of the North" and "Lords of the Horde". They add two factions and make several significant balance improvements, such as alternate creature development paths.

The best visual find of Heroes V is an animated 3D city screen. Source: Ubisoft

2011-2015: Release of Might and Magic Heroes VI and VII, series freeze. Ubisoft disagrees with Nival on the development of the series and transfers development to the Hungarian studio Black Hole Entertainment. At the same time, the publisher is rebranding and changing the word order in the title.

The sixth part is significantly inferior to the fifth in terms of the number and variety of content. Fans complain about the balance and bugs, and at the same time they criticize the new system of hero skills and the reduced number of resources - from seven to four.

A year after the release of the sixth part, Ubisoft removes Black Hole from work on the series and transfers it to the German studio Limbic. The finalization of the sixth "Heroes" takes 27 patches. Most are made by the new studio.

The creation of Might and Magic Heroes VII is also assigned to Limbic. The studio promises not to repeat the mistakes of its predecessors and reassures fans of the third and fifth parts. In the seventh "Heroes" missing resources are returned and interesting factions are added. Combat mode is being made more complex and deeper than ever in the series.

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However, the artificial intelligence of opponents is dumber and more primitive than in all other parts. Picturesque panoramas of cities are replaced by inexpressive static shots. To run the game, a license check is required on Ubisoft servers. It does not work well and sometimes does not allow you to enter the game.

Might of Magic Heroes VI (2011) introduces an Asian themed water naga city. Source: Ubisoft

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Freeze - a game for children

Number of players: any
Optional: no
1 participant is selected (Freeze). Freeze runs around the field, touches the rest of the participants. The one touched by Freeze freezes (freezes) until another participant approaches (runs up) and touches the frozen one.
Freeze will win if it freezes everyone, or the participants if not everyone has been frozen for some time.
Option: Defrost is selected and only defrosts.