The Fountain Game We Invented 我们自创的喷泉游戏

Today is Sunday, so we didn’t have to go to the maker’s workshop. My mom went out to work, which meant it was one of the only times I get to stay home by myself. I started off doing my AoPS math, even though I was actually supposed to do Khan Academy instead — we do Khan Academy on weekends and AoPS on weekdays, so I kind of did the right thing at the wrong time! When my mom came back, she caught me watching YouTube videos, and she told me to go work on my typing. But what she didn’t know is that I’d already been reading even before she woke up, so I’d actually finished all my tasks — math, typing, and reading.

After that, we headed to the Irvine Spectrum Center to play. First, we wanted to buy some Apple AirTags. Then we went to the “mushroom cloud,” which is basically my favorite little spot, and I played tag there for a while. Next, we went over to the giant ground fountain, where water streams shoot up and down from the floor. The whole challenge is to dodge them as you run across without getting soaked.

That’s when my friend and I came up with a game we called “Attack and Defense.” Here’s how it works: when you run across the fountain, you have to pull off an impressive move — like dodging the water streams, jumping at the very last second, or doing a 180-degree turn when you land. Then it’s your opponent’s turn. To keep the battle going, they can either copy your move exactly, or level it up by doing something harder — for example, landing a full 360 instead of a 180. As long as you pull off your move, the battle keeps going and it’s the next person’s turn. But if you fail, the battle ends and your opponent wins.

I pulled off some pretty impressive moves, and my opponent had some great ones too. By the end, we were both super happy, and then we all headed home. It was such a creative, fun day!