Mind Your Manners

Mind Your Manners

Mind You Manners is a simple game that reinforces good manners at home, school, community and at play. There is no role playing, no questions to answer. Simply read a manner card and move ahead for good manners or move backwards for bad manners.

The manner cards cover home, school, and community situations. There are many more good manner cards than bad manner cards so everyone can cross the finish line. There are also a few colored smiley face cards in the deck and matching smiley face pictures on the board. If you draw a smiley face, you may move ahead on the board to the next smiley face of that color. The board and cards are a little more lightweight than your average game, but the cards are coated with plastic.

Object:
Advance along the colored path, starting in the bottom left hand corner and be the first to cross the finish line at the top right hand corner.

Set up:
Place the board on a flat surface and deal five cards to each player. The rest of the cards become the draw pile and are placed face down by the board. Each player chooses a pawn and places it in the lower left hand corner of the board at START.

Play:
Players take turns. Place one card from your hand on the discard pile, follow the directions, and then draw a card to replace it. There is a number and symbol in the top left hand corner of each card that will tell you whether you will be moving forward (+) for good manners, or backward (-) for bad manners, and how many spaces. Here are a few card examples:

• +9  You were a good sport about losing the game.
• +4  You were kind to an animal.
• +4  You were quiet during the movie. 
• +4  You kept the sound from the radio soft so that only you could hear it.
• -3  You forced your way to the front of the line.
• -3  You tracked mud into the house.
• -3  You bothered your neighbor.
• -2  You tipped your chair back at the table.

You may instead play the - cards on another player. If the player has a card with a ribbon on it, he may cancel the action and your turn is over. If you draw a smiley card, advance to the next smiley face of that color and draw again.

Play until someone crosses the finish line and wins the game.

Try this:

• Make a game out of just the cards. Read a card and ask the players if it is a good manner or a bad manner. Don't let incorrect answers pass with just a "wrong answer" response. Explain and correct.
• Eliminate the smiley face cards so that your only way to advance is related to manners cards.
• Ask the players to explain why bad manners are bad. For example - You tracked mud into the house is bad manners because someone could slip on the wet mud and hurt themselves and it is inconsiderate of the person who will have to spend time cleaning it up.

In the box: Game board, 100 manner cards, 6 pawn

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.