Toasted or Roasted Card Game

Toasted or Roasted is based on a summer favorite - toasted marshmallows

Toasted or Roasted Card Game Set is a summer card game if I ever saw one. Be the first to start a fire, spear 3 marshmallows and toast them to win the game. Your opponents can hinder your progress by raining on your campfire, blowing out your fire, or burning your marshmallows. You can also hinder their progress using the same methods.

The cards come in the plastic, resealable, waterproof bag that you see above. Perfect to take camping or play out in the back yard on your picnic table. As a matter of fact, the game board, which measures 10" x 7.5", is designed to look like a picnic table top.

Your very first goal is to get your fire started. Once that is done you can commence to roasting marshmallows. Your opponent(s) will be doing the same. Therefore, to throw a monkey wrench in their plans (and them to throw one in yours), certain cards may be played to hinder the progress.

 

There are six different types of cards in Toasted to Roasted:

• 10 Fire starter
• 16 Marshmallow
• 16 Toasted
• 8 Roasted
• 2 Rain
• 2 Strong wind 

There are two different types of game discs:

• 4 disks have firewood on one side and a campfire on the other.
• 4 disks have a toasting stick - toast 1 marshmallow on one side and a toasting fork - toast 2 marshmallows on the other side.

Contents of bag

Education Outdoors has a number of outdoor/camping/fishing themed games. Click here to check them out.

Object:

Be the first player to start your campfire and toast three marshmallows.

Set up:

Give each player a fire starter disk and a toasting stick disk to place on the table in front of them. Shuffle the cards and deal four to each player, face down. Place the remaining cards in a stack, face down, on the game board.

Play:

You have several goals, in this order:

• Start a fire. You must draw a fire starter card and place it on your disk. This will allow you to flip your firewood disk so that the campfire side is showing. 
• Place a marshmallow card on your toasting stick disk.
• Place a toasted card on top of your marshmallow card to complete the set.

Players take turns. On each play you will draw a card from the pile or the tool box and play or discard a card. If you have a card in your hand that you don't want to discard, you may place it in the tool box to save for later. However, any player can pick that card up at any time, instead of drawing off the pile, and use it. Remember your goal is it toast three marshmallows while attempting to block your opponent from doing so. Here are the steps you will take for each card played:

• Fire starter - This card must be played on your firewood disk each time you want to toast a marshmallow. Once this is played you can add a marshmallow(s) to your stick.
• Strong Wind - Play this out of turn as soon as another player plays a fire starter card on his firewood. Then remove and discard both cards and the play jumps to your turn. The other player must draw another fire starter card to get his fire going again.
• Marshmallow - Once your fire is started, you can place a marshmallow on your marshmallow toasting stick disk. Once you have one completed toasted marshmallow you can flip this disk to the other side, the toasting fork side. If your disk is on the toasting fork side, you can play either one or two marshmallows.
• Toasted - Place this card on a marshmallow card to complete the toasting process. Take the toasting card and place it to the side to keep track of how many marshmallows you have toasted. Discard the marshmallow and fire starter card and start over.
• Roasted - Play this card on a marshmallow card. Sorry, your marshmallow has been burned to a crisp, discard both cards.
• Rain - Place this card on a player's campfire card so that he has to flip his card back to the firewood side. If he has a marshmallow(s) in play, he cannot play on it until he has placed a fire starter card back on his disk and flipped it back to the campfire side.

It seems like a lot to remember, but you will get the hang of it quickly.

Try this:

• Follow up by really toasting marshmallows. My cousin and I used to use forks and toast them over the fire on my aunt's stove.
• Work on visual discrimination, manual dexterity, bilateral coordination, in-hand manipulation, executive functioning skills, sequencing skills, strategy, process skills, social interaction skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the bag: A picnic table game board, 54 cards, 8 disks

 

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

Domino Rally Racing

Domino Rally Racing - All the action of the domoin effect in a race track

Have you ever stood dominoes up on end, one after another, and then pushed the first one forward to watch them all fall? That's basically what you have with Domino Rally Racing. There is a lot more in the set up than there is in the action - it's all about the journey. 

The box says "original", so this must be where it all started. This game comes with lots of different pieces, including 150 dominoes, that you will line up close enough that pushing one will trigger the next, and then the next, and then the next to fall. People refer to it as "the domino effect". I won't try to describe all of the pieces here, but I will put a picture of the pieces below under.

Left: Contents of the box.  Right: Image on the back of the box. Try this set up and then make up your own.

Included is an instruction booklet that shows you how to assemble different components of the game, and there is one set-up pictured on the back of the box, but other than that you are on your own. Use your imagination and set up one layout after another. It can be different each time you play. 

Left: Pieces in the box.  Right: One of the pages of instructions. No reading required to follow the instructions.

Set-up can take quite awhile, and after setting off the first domino it will go quickly. Here are a couple simple tips to remember as you build:

• Don't leave too much space between the dominoes. When one falls it has to be close enough to the next piece to knock it over.
• Be careful and use a steady hand when setting up your race track. You don't want to inadvertently set it off before you are finished setting it up and have to start all over.

I've also blogged about Domino Rally Treasure Hunt. Check it out here.

Try this:

• Engage both hands by holding a handful of dominoes in the non-dominant as you use them to set-up with the dominant hand.
• Pile the dominoes on the table before setting up. As you pick them up, one at a time to set-up, turn them in-hand to position.
• Re-position yourself around the table for the easiest set-up. Walk around the table and work from different angles as you go, instead of trying to do it all from one location or reaching across dominoes that you might accidentally bump.
• Work on sorting by color by making each section of dominoes a single color.
• Take a few breaks to rest your hand/arm if needed as you go. This can be tedious and exacting work.
• Start with a short path - set them up and knock them down. Then increase a few dominoes at a time, making longer paths over time to increase endurance.
• Work on visual discrimination, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, coordinated use of both hands, fine motor precision, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

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