Egg Lotto is the Most Fun Easter Game You’ll Ever Play

Egg Lotto is the most fun Easter activity that’s ever existed. Why, you ask? Because Egg Lotto is the perfect balance of mystery, fun, and fabulous cash and prizes! If you win, you win something totally awesome. If you lose, you still get some candy, so you still win! There’s literally no downside, making it the perfect game. It’s a game my parents invented when I was a kid, and it’s about time we spread the fun on to the entire world!

PS: The best way to play Egg Lotto is by asking a parent to run it for you (because parents can generally afford better prizes), but you can play it with a best friend, sibling, or invisible friend as long as you have all the supplies.

Here’s what you need to play:
– At least 24 plastic Easter Eggs (12 eggs will work, but we’ve found 24 is the most fun ratio. If you have lots of players, you might want to add more.)
– 12 small strips/squares of the paper of your choosing
– 1 average sized sheet of paper
– A pen/pencil/marker/lucky writing utensil of your choice
– A bag of small candies, like Cadbury Mini Eggs or Skittles (if you prefer, you can use coins. Or small collectible toys like Shopkins!)

Optional:
– An empty basket or bowl, generally of the Easter variety
– That really annoying grass stuff that always gets everywhere

Set-Up Instructions: (based on a 24 Egg game)
1. Write “Egg Lotto” at the top of a sheet of paper in your most awesome handwriting. Make it big so it stands out. Then, write the numbers 1-12 down the page, like how you would for your homework.

2. Next to each number, write down the possible prizes. This is where a parent really comes in handy, because they can write awesome stuff like “One new video game of your choice!” or “No chores for one week!” or “Trip to Disney World!” (my parents wrote this on my Egg Lotto EVERY year. I never won it. I’m beginning to think it was a sham.)
The prizes don’t have to be anything crazy, just something fun that’s worth winning. You can even write stuff that doesn’t cost any money, like “Family game night!” or “Give mom a skateboard lesson!”.

3. With your most skilled scissor hand, cut out 12 strips of paper. Size doesn’t matter, as long as you can fit a number on each strip. Once they’re all cut out, take your best numbering hand and write the numbers 1-12, one number on each strip.

This is a lot of reading. Here’s a peep for making it this far! You’ve earned it!

4. Fill all 24 Eggs with the candy or coins of your choosing. This gives all the eggs equal weight, so no one can cheat by feeling for a light one. Then, place the 12 numbered strips in 12 of the eggs. When you’re done, mix up all the eggs until you can’t remember which ones are which.
(If you don’t want to do candy/coins, you can put blank strips in those 12 eggs instead, that way if anyone shakes them, they can’t tell the difference between the bogus eggs and the prize eggs.)

5. Add your annoying Easter grass to the basket, bucket, or hold-y thing of your choice. Then toss all the eggs in there too. Fluff it around a bit to make it pretty, and then you’re done! Now you just need to wait patiently for Easter morning to present this game to someone awesome you think deserves to win a prize!

Other Ideas:
– Instead of physical prizes, skip all the paper strips and fill the eggs with coins and cash, in whatever denominations you’re comfortable with. Winning cash is pretty fun!

– Instead of making the prize list, write the prizes on the strips of paper and hide them inside the eggs, like you would the numbers. This makes things even easier, but just as exciting.

– If you’re a really super nice awesome kid, you can make this game for your parents by listing off helpful stuff you’ll do for them as prizes, like “Walk the dog every day for a week” or “Will try not to be such a cranky mess in the mornings before school” or “Help dad wash the car”, stuff like that. Considering they put in the effort to raise you and put a roof over your head, we think you can give them ONE chore or nice deed. It’s really not so bad.

Egg Lotto Rules:
– Every person who is playing gets ONE turn. On their turn, they’ll pick one egg from the basket.
– If the Egg contains only candy (or coins or the blank piece of paper) – they lose. Sorry, game over. Go see if you have better luck with the egg hunt!
– If the Egg contains a strip of paper, they’re a big winner! Match up the number on the paper strip to the prize list, and see what you’ve won! Do a happy dance! You’re a champ!

Bonus Rules:
– Add in a little risk factor for the winners by giving them the option to trade in the prize they won for another chance to play. If you decide to try again and pick a loser, you lose everything. If you pick another prize, you can decide which prize you like best. It’s a risky move, but it can pay off big. (Still never won that trip to Disney, though!)
– If you’re feeling generous, let the losers pick once more, giving them another chance at a prize.

That’s it! You’re done! Now go gnaw the ears off a chocolate bunny or see how many jelly beans you can eat without getting sick!