Barrel Of Monkeys - Candy Cane Edition

Barrel of Monkeys - Candy Cane Edition

I tried the Barrel of Monkeys game several times when I was a kid and then kicked it to the curb, forever... I thought. So what am I doing with another one? Well for one, it was brand new and I bought it for $1. Up until yesterday that would not have been enough. You could have given it to me for free, or better yet, given me $1 to take if off your hands and I wouldn't have been interested. But for two, however turned off I was by the game, this was a Christmas version, and you know how I love Christmas games. So I decided to take a look at the monkeys just to see if anything had changed over the years. While examining them, and it has been a long time, it appeared to me that one arm/hand was flatter and angled up more than it used to be, and I figured that might just be the advantage I would need to finally conquer this game.

If you've never played Barrel of Monkeys before, you get 10 monkeys and you are required to pick them up, one at a time, linking them together until you are holding a long chain. The catch is that you can only use the hand that is holding the chain while doing this. The monkeys were always sold, and stored, in a plastic barrel. The monkeys in this game seem to be a little smaller than the original ones I remember, and no storage barrel included.

Within 10 seconds bad memories came flooding back and I regretted the purchase. I couldn't then, and I couldn't now, imagine that it was even possible. But how could they keep selling the game since 1965 if it was impossible? Something we have now that we didn't have then helped provide the answer - You Tube. I figured if it was possible, somebody somewhere had videoed themselves doing it and I would find it there.

I had to go through a few, but watched one that finally provided the answer. While holding that long string of swaying monkeys, position the bottom monkey close to the next monkey you want to pick up and gently touch it to the table, just enough to still it and then, with it anchored enough to stay still, move your arm so that his arm is angled so that his hand is lying straight/flat on the table top. Then carefully pull the sting of monkeys toward the monkey you want to pick up. Oh, maybe you should just see it for yourself. Here is the video I watched. You Tube Barrel of Monkeys.

After many years, I finally figured it out. Will I start playing it now? We'll see how it goes next Christmas, but it's doubtful. Just because you can do something doesn't necessarily make it fun. If you're interested in trying your hand at it, click on the image below to go to Amazon.

To read about more than 40 Christmas games and toys I have blogged about, click here.