As Andrew Mangold held up "a golden egg" on Wednesday, June 29, all the campers in the first session of Newtown Parks & Recreation's Dagorhir camp gathered around him.The Lord of the Rings, campers will be guided through a series of exercises to prepare them for camp. The exercises will explain the rules of Dagorhir to ensure maximum safety while enjoying maximum fun."parks.newtown-ct.gov or 203-270-4340.

This is the seventh summer Mr Mangold is running the Dagorhir camp. Parks and Recreation's summer brochure describes the camp as "a land where imagination is reality and 'fun' is the law of the land."

It was the second day of role-playing with the egg, which was handmade and about as long as a forearm. Light reflected off of it as Mr Mangold held it up for campers to see.

For the day's role-playing scenario, called "The Quest of the Golden Egg," Mr Mangold said the campers would be in a "pirate land" and would work in teams to search for the egg. Pirates, he reminded the campers, need ships to get from island to island, and the "ocean" was the grass on the field at Dickinson Memorial Park, where the camp is held. "Swimming" across the ocean was also allowed in the scenario.

"Dagorhir is a new type of sport that blends creativity and exercise all on the same field," the Newtown Parks & Recreation brochure reads. "It is a game which requires teamwork, as well as individual skill to succeed. Based off of medieval combat and inspired by Tolkien's

Mr Mangold said "The Quest for the Golden Egg" scenario was inspired by popular role-playing scenarios with campers throughout the years of the program. Campers enjoy working together on "a big adventure across the park," according to Mr Mangold, and for this quest he added, "a few things the campers haven't seen before… and one big golden egg" to the equation.

The egg was also used for Tuesday's role-playing scenario, which Mr Mangold said had campers interacting in a "medieval world."

Role playing days at the camp are popular with the campers, Mr Mangold said, explaining that campers expresses their uniqueness through action and embodying a character. The kids play harmoniously together, he said, as the campers interacted behind him, spread out across a field and below trees.

Other games are played throughout the day at the camp, including Bear, Salmon, Mosquito, a game that was played just before the role-playing began on Wednesday. Like Rock, Scissors, Paper, Shoot, the game had campers - with Mr Mangold on a team - attempt to guess which animal the other team would mimic with movement and sounds. The winning team, which could be one person or multiple people, would chase the other team members to tag them and continue the game.

After Bear, Salmon, Mosquito and other games ended, Mr Mangold gathered the campers.

"We are going to enter role play for the remainder of the day," said Mr Mangold, just before campers dispersed, holding foam swords and shields.

Mr Mangold said the gear used for the Dagorhir camp is made by hand.

As teams dispersed, campers huddled together to discuss strategy, searched for ships (otherwise known as hula hoops), and began practicing "pirate speak."

As Mr Mangold told the campers, "Let's hear a good pirate 'Arrrgh!'"

The camp has a second session scheduled to run Monday, August 8, to Friday, August 12. The camp runs from 10 am until 1 pm, and is for children between 8 and 14. The fee is $150 for the week.

More information about registering for the camp and other programs offered through Newtown Parks & Recreation is available at its website