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Play the DIY chocolate safety game

This quick and fun game teaches the importance of DIY safety gear with a tasty twist.

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You’ll need

  • Bars of chocolate
  • Plate
  • Knives and forks
  • Hard hats
  • Safety goggles
  • Work gloves
  • Face masks (or dust masks)
  • Knee pads
  • High-visibility vests
  • Dice

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist  to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help.

Planning and setting up this activity

  • Gather a set of safety equipment for each team and place it in a pile next to the chocolate.
  • Place the bars of chocolate on a plate with a knife and fork. The bigger the bars the longer the games will last.
  • Check for allergies, eating problems or dietary requirements, and adjust the chocolate as needed. You may need to use something else, such as fruit or cake.
  • Make sure the hard hat fits securely on all players. 

Running this activity:

  1. Gather everyone together and show everyone the safety equipment. Ask if anyone knows what each item is and what it’s used for while doing DIY or construction work. The items are:
    • Hard hat: A sturdy helmet designed to protect your head from falling objects or accidental bumps, especially in construction or other risky work areas.
    • Safety goggles: Protective glasses that shield your eyes from flying debris, dust or chemicals when you’re cutting, sanding or working with tools.
    • Work gloves: Thick, tough and durable gloves that protect your hands from cuts, burns, or heavy materials when you’re using tools or handling rough objects.
    • Face mask (Dust mask): A mask that covers your nose and mouth to keep you from breathing in dust, fumes or harmful chemicals during tasks, such as sanding or painting.
    • Knee pads: Soft, protective pads you strap on to protect your knees when kneeling on hard surfaces for long periods, such as when fixing something on the ground.
    • High-visibility vest: A brightly coloured vest that makes you easy to see, especially in dark or low-light conditions, such as when working near roads or in dimly lit areas.
  1. When everyone knows what the items are, explain that you’re going to play The Chocolate Game with the equipment. The aim of the game can be either the first person to eat the chocolate or the person who eats the most chocolate.
  2. Place the wrapped bar of chocolate, the plate, knife and fork and the equipment in the middle of each group. Everyone should be able to reach all the items.
  3. Choose one person in each group to go first. They can roll both the dice.
  4. If they roll a double (the same number on both dice), they must put on all the safety gear, one piece at a time. They can put the items on in any order, but they must wear all six pieces before they can start eating the chocolate. Once they’re wearing all the equipment, they can then unwrap the chocolate bar using the knife and fork, then start to cut it up and eat it. They can use their hands to take the chocolate off the fork and put it in their mouth once cut. The person keeps eating until another player rolls a double. When this happens, the player who is eating must stop, hand over the gear to the next player, and let them take their turn. Again, the new player must wear all the safety gear before they can start eating.
  5. If they don’t roll a double, the dice are passed to the next person in the circle, they then roll the dice and the game continues.
  6. Keep going – either until someone eats the first bit of chocolate or until all the chocolate is gone.

Reflection

This activity was all about understanding the importance of using safety equipment when doing DIY or building work. Did everyone remember what each item was for? How did it feel to wear everything at once? Was it hard to eat the chocolate with the face mask on? What did you think about trying to move around with the work gloves and knee pads? How did the game make you think about how important safety gear is on a real job site? Do you think it would be harder to work in construction or DIY projects without this gear? Why is it important to be safe, even if it feels like a lot to wear? It was a good reminder of how important each piece of equipment is for safety, even if it felt awkward at times.

Now think about the game itself. What did you like about it? Did you find it challenging to roll a double and get your turn? How did you feel when you did get a double? Did you manage to get everything on and hold the knife and fork before someone else got a double? How did it feel waiting or watching for what everyone else got? Did you feel quite calm, or did it make you feel tense, especially if you were the one putting the safety equipment on?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Active games

The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.

  • To make this activity easier, you could just use one dice and have players try for the chocolate when they roll a 6. You could also let people wear less equipment or have more doubles pairs that allow them to try for the chocolate, such as double threes and double fours.
  • To make this activity harder, you could consider creating ‘double challenges’ where the player must answer a quick trivia question about safety equipment, such as ‘What does a high-vis vest help you do?’. If they get it correct, they can continue to put the equipment on and try to get the chocolate. If they get it wrong, they don’t get to try for the chocolate.

·       Make sure the equipment is suitable for everyone in the group to wear. You could use large or adult sizes if needed. You could also find items that are easy for everyone to take on and off quickly, such as knee pads with Velcro straps or goggles that can be quickly taken off like glasses.

·       Make sure that everyone can see and easily roll the dice. You could use large dice to help everyone be able to grip, roll and read them. You could also use a lighter dice, such as inflatable dice, a press down popping dice, or a digital dice roller.

·       Check for allergies, eating problems or dietary requirements and adjust the chocolate as needed. You may need to use something else, such as fruit or cake.

·       People can work in pairs to play the game. One player from the team rolls the dice and another teammate puts on the safety gear. When they roll a double, they work together to unwrap and eat the chocolate.

·       Make sure any equipment is accessible for everyone. There should be space or access for everyone to move around and reach anything needed. For example, you could also put items on a table, rather than the floor if people struggle to bend down.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Scouts DIY Activity Badge

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