In the end, the final child who was not eliminated got to keep the bucket and all candy that was left inside the bucket.
When the other kids realized this they started protesting and yelling at me: That is not fair! Hey, we only got one, this is so unfair!!
They criticized and protested, rather then congratulate the student that actually won the game.
I looked at the kids and said, wrong! This game was totally and completely fair. Everyone had an equal chance to win (it wasn't based on intelligence or skill, simply on dumb luck) and everyone received a prize (at least one piece of candy) for playing. I told them how disappointed I was that they were so busy complaining that they failed to congratulate the boy who won the game and acknowledge his success.
Good for you.
I think it's appropriate to have "everybody wins" games for small children--let's say, 5 and under. After that, it becomes ridiculous to have everyone always get a prize and nothing ever be skill-based or even luck-based, where someone wins and someone doesn't. I sometimes think all the competitive urge now gets channeled into the few places it's still allowed, such as sports, and that's why sports has gotten increasingly berserk. Kids need practice being graceful losers and graceful winners.
