Liz... I should add that some of my people are swallowers... so I think marbles may be a problem. Some with definately try to mouth them... and they don't have the cleanest of hands.

Here is what I came up with...
Mind you I have a few interns to help me (I belive they will show up since I will offer them something really cool)
casino... I set up a few tables playing holdem, 21, roulette and maybe poker. I can do all this for cheap, my biggest concern is making paper chips...lots of work there! The patients come in and get to play for a half hour or so, I make chips from paper and they win tickets. Would be so cool though... I would be a pit boss I would make the poker tables really colorful and such (artsy) and we would wear appropriate costuming.

Concerns/Problems is that the hospital will probably say no gambling. .. even though there are other games that are doing exactly that (two horse race games I know of). I can support why this would be a much better (healthier) game... but I may get nowhere with that.

Second: HErmit crab races... I would have to get someone to lend me or rent me the crabs for cheap, but I would make a big round racetrack, the crabs race from the middle out... I would have zones to race too. I would have cute names for each crab, maybe tape numbers to their shells.
Concerns/Problems: Patients might try to swallow crab, Patients may freak out over crabs (either I doubt will happen) third and biggest concern... crabs may refuse to race do to temperature that day.

Third:
I had originally thought of just stealing the horse race game and making it into a car race game... use model cars and such. Its no more fun than the horse race, and will seem sort of pathetic in comparrison

anyone have any ideas about the paper chips... I would need a few hundred and would love to put the hospital name or initials on them