Mehan Jayasuriya

"We've got Chicago's largest Twister game here everyone," shouts the announcer over the PA system, "sponsored by S...B...C...SBC!" Originally planned to break the Guinness record for the world's largest game of Twister, underwhelming attendance has caused today's event to fall short of expectations. Taking place in Navy Pier's Compass Rose Garden, this competition, organized by the second annual International Chicago Toy and Game Fair, is supposed to appear to be a large-scale version of the familiar game. Kids with numbered placards on their backs wait outside the velvet rope, poised and ready like tiny marathon runners.

Inside the roped-in area, enough Twister boards to accommodate 500 are duct-taped to the concrete, many of them flapping in the wind. A "block" is a group of four boards, which is large enough for up to twelve players, and there are three kinds: adults, kids and family. "I don't want any kids playing with strange adults, that's my thing," the announcer says, attempting to humorously avoid legal liability. The crowd is evenly split between excited children and their photo-happy parents; the two teenage punks sporting black T-shirts and studded belts clearly stand out, despite the numbers on their backs. As the contestants find their way to different boards, it becomes clear who is serious about Twister and who isn't; while the punks remain humorless, a few of the younger kids relish the opportunity to jump around in their socks. "Isaac, are you here?" the announcer yells into the microphone. "I'm gonna hook you up with a prize for registering first!" A pudgy boy with a number one on his chest raises his hand sheepishly.

The game begins. "Left foot red. Right foot blue. Aaron to the DJ table, please." A few parents boldly wander into the maze of boards to photograph their children with newly purchased digital cameras. "Okay, we're watching. If you fall, you're out!" shouts the announcer, as the DJ spins Freak Nasty's "Da Dip." Meanwhile, Isaac props himself up like a crab, each of his hands and feet on a colored dot. "Right there, right there!" shouts his dad from behind the rope. "Get your butt off the floor, boy!" Dad's friend steps forward and chimes in, "Yeah! Right there!" The boy struggles to stretch his foot over to the next dot and then falls flat. "Aww!" yells his father in frustration. "You'll get your prizes but you'll have to kick your players out!" the announcer warns in the background. Isaac gets up and waddles outside of the playing area, his head hung in defeat. His mom is waiting just outside the rope for him with a neon blue Gatorade.

(2004-09-08)

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