Grassy Branch Farm: "Hit or Hold" - An Egg Cracking Good Game

In my family, Easter is first and foremost about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians. My family celebrates Easter Day by attending Morning Mass as a family (all 20 plus of us - we take up a whole pew) then heading back to mom and dad's to enjoy a fabulous family meal. By the time we are done eating we are stuffed to the brim and ready for an afternoon nap. BUT that doesn't happen......

Several years ago my sister-in-law learned a new game from a co-worker and decided it might be fun for our family to give it a try. Needless to say it has become an O'Reilly Family tradition.

-Hit or Hold - An Egg Cracking Good Game-

This is how it works -

* Choose one family member to be the moderator. This person will draw the game bracket, provide the slips of paper for numbers, flip the coin, and keep track of the bracket winners.. The moderator can also play the game.

* All ages are welcome to play (this year our players ranged from 18 months to 93 years old)

* Each family member is to bring a hard boiled egg to the family gathering.

* The eggs cannot be raw or frozen (only hard boiled)

* Egg decorating is encouraged - but nothing can be used to strengthen the egg shell (so that means no gluing of fabric or other materials on the egg and no use of hard acrylic sealers or polyurethanes, etc. Eggs found to be in violation of this rule are automatically disqualified.

* Contestants take turns drawing a number from a basket.

* A game bracket is made (depending on the number of participants sometimes a lucky person or two will have a bye). Contestants are placed on the bracket based on their number.

* The first set of contestants are called to the center of the room

* One of those two contestants is asked to call the coin toss

* The moderator flips a coin. The winner of the coin toss gets to choose "Hit" or "Hold."

* What does "Hit" or "Hold" mean? It means you get to choose if you want to be the person hitting your egg against the other person's egg or if you want to hold your egg and let them hit your egg.

* Rules of "Hitting" and "Holding" - Your egg must be exposed. Your hand cannot protect the egg in anyway. You can hold your egg top to bottom or sideways. You can hit top to bottom or sideways. Just as long as your hands are not disrupting the hit. You cannot hold anything else in your hand (such as a napkin, sweater sleeve, pillow, etc.). The egg must be presented in it's truest form.

* Once the person who makes the call says "Hit" or "Hold," the game is a go and the "Hit" or "Hold" action is taken.. The person's egg that cracks is out. The winner of that round is moved up on the bracket and the game continues until there are only two uncracked eggs left. Surprisingly, one egg will always crack and one will not. The last two eggs compete for Champion.

* The Champion of the game is the person's with the only uncracked egg in the room.