Race to the Treasure

 

A cooperative game by Peaceable Kingdom

Peaceable Kingdom is known for their cooperative games where players must work together to beat a common foe. In cooperative games, players either all win together or all lose together. In Race to the Treasure, players will work together to defeat the ogre pictured on the box lid. I have previously blogged about several of their games and I will add them later in this post. 

In Race to the Treasure, players will beat the ogre to the treasure by creating a path, on the game board, from START to END. Along the way players must collect three keys to open the treasure. If players do it before the ogre gets there, they all win! If they beat the ogre to the END, but don't have three keys, they still lose.

The game board measures 12 x 17". It is designed as a grid and across the top it is lettered A - F, and down the left side it is numbered 1 - 6. START is in the upper left hand corner and END is in the bottom right hand corner, at the end of the ogre's path. The orange path down the right side of the game board is the ogre's path.

The game also includes one letter die, one number die, 10 ogre cards, 27 path cards, 4 key tokens and 1 ogre snack token. Here is a pic of the contents.

 

There is something about Peaceable Kingdom games that I love - they print the instructions on the inside of the box lid. Never lose the rules or have to go searching.

Other cooperative games I have blogged about:

• Hoot Owl Hoot
• Count Your Chickens
• Stone Soup
• Snug as a Bug in a Rug
• Willy's Wiggly Web
  
• Obstacles
• Max 
• The Orchard
  

Object:

Beat the ogre to the treasure by creating a path from START to END. Along the way collect 3 keys to open the treasure.

Set up:

Place the board in the middle of the players. Place the four key tokens and the one ogre snack token on the game board by rolling the dice. For instance, roll the dice and if you get, for example, 5E, place one token on that square on the board. Look for E across the top and then 5 down the side. Where they intersect is 5E. Keep throwing the dice until all tokens are placed on the board. Shuffle the path and ogre cards together and place them face down in a pile near the board. 

Play:

Players take turns. Choose a card. If it is an ogre card, place it at the top of the orange column and you're turn is over. If it is a path card, place it on the START square on the board. Once the first path card is laid, future path cards must connect to a path card that is already on the board. Players are trying not only to beat the ogre to the END card, but they have to weave their path so that it covers keys that have already been placed on the board. Three of these keys must be collected to win. If you place a path card on a square where there is a key, collect the key and place it at the bottom of the board on one of the ovals, for safe keeping. If your path covers the square with the ogre snack, you may remove one of the ogre cards from his orange path. Players are encouraged to discuss moves together, planning and using strategy to win the game. Players continue to draw one card at a time and either place an ogre on his orange path, or add to the players path. Whoever make it to the END square first (ogre or player's path) wins the game.

Try this:

• Skip the game. Use the dice to build a path from START to END. Place the path tiles face up on the table so you can see them all. Throw the dice. Place any path piece on that square. Keep throwing the dice and placing path pieces. Can you connect enough of the path pieces so that they will make a path to the END?
• Cup the hand for shaking the dice. If the player has difficulty doing this, place a small ball in the palm and curl the fingers around it. Remove the ball and place the dice in the players palm.
• Keep the palm cupped for a while longer by counting to ten, watching them "dance", answering a couple of trivia questions about Shrek, etc.
• Skip the game. Mix the path and ogre cards and place the pile face-up in front of you. Place one ogre card to the left of the stack and one path card to the right. These single cards will start new piles.Take the cards off the middle pile one at a time, with the dominant hand, and place it on the matching pile, either the ogre or path. Separate them without taking more than one at a time or toppling the stack. 
  
• Work on manual dexterity, palmar arch development, visual discrimination, spatial relations, planning, strategy, logic, process skills, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  

In the box: Game board, 27 path cards, 10 ogre cards, 4 key cards, 1 ogre snack card 

Greedy Granny

 

Greedy Granny - Watch out, she's a light sleeper.

Try to swipe the snacks off of Granny's tray without waking her up and getting caught. If she wakes up and catches you, she will lunge forward and everything, including her teeth, will go flying. Now that I'm retirement age, I'm wondering if I should be a little offended by this game. Nah, it's all in fun.

Granny, her chair, and tray are two pieces of hard plastic that easily snap together to make a single unit. There is a purple button on the small table next to her chair (see image above). This button will take minimal strength to push.

There are 12 snacks total - 3 pretzels, 3 blue cookies, 3 red biscuits, and 3 yellow crackers. Also included is a treat wheel (spinner) that will dictate what each person will do on each of their turns. The arrow on the spinner moves freely. See more about the spinner under rules (below).

Here is an image of Granny and her snacks, so you can get a little perspective. 

 

CAUTION: These pieces are the sizes and shapes of real food. Closely monitor those who may mistake them for food.

Ready to risk it for a biscuit? Here are the rules:

Object:

Be the first player to get one of each of the four snacks - one pretzel, one cookie, one biscuit and one cracker.

Set up:

Assemble Granny and her chair. Put Granny's dentures in her mouth. Push the top half of the chair back and Granny will lean back with it. As Granny leans back, her mouth and eyes will close and she will appear to be sleeping. Stack all 12 snacks onto her tray. If you can't fit them all, just put some in her lap. Place the spinner near by.

Play:

Players take turns. Each player will start their turn by spinning the treat wheel. This will tell you what you will do on your turn. Here are the different options on the wheel:

Orange 1, orange 2, orange 3 - Take a snack off the tray and press the purple button that many times.

Purple 1, purple 2, purple 3 - Return a snack to the tray (if you have one) and press the purple button that many times.

Circle with a line through it - You lose a turn.

2 peg people - Take one treat from any other player.

Unless you lose a turn on the spinner, follow the directions on the spinner. If you have to push the button on your turn and Granny wakes up and lunges forward, you must return to her tray all of the pieces you have collected, as well as all the pieces that were scattered. If she doesn't wake up you got away with it. Keep the piece and the next person plays. Keep playing until someone gets one of each different treat and wins the game.

Don't forget to also retrieve her teeth when they fly out. They may land on the floor and you may forget all about them and then lose the teeth, since they are not really any part of the game. The front of the box shows two plates, but I only got one.

Try this:

• Let the individual examine the Granny unit before playing. Push her back into the sleeping position and then punch the button until she lurches forward so the player knows what to expect while playing. 
• When putting the game away, pick the treats up one at a time and squirrel them into the palm. See if you can hold them all. Drop them into the box by handfuls.
  
• When setting up the tray, pick up one piece in the dominant hand and transfer it to the palm. Then pick up a second piece and do the same. Then place them in the tray one at a time, bringing each piece to the finger tips first before dropping it into the tray.
• Sort the treats into categories, design a pattern with them on the table top, have snacks standing nearby and compare them to the real thing.
  
• Put all the snacks into a see-proof bag and pull them out one at a time by category. For instance, find all the pretzels by feel, then all the cookies, etc. Or pick them up one at a time and by feel only, tell if it is a biscuit, cookie, pretzel, or cracker. Then pull it out and see if you are right. Can you get more right than wrong? Kudos if you can also remember the color without seeing it.
  
• Don't place the treats on the tray while playing if the individual does not like to see them flying. Pile them to the side of Granny's chair and pick them up from there.
  
• Work on manual dexterity, finger strength, finger isolation, planning, creating an O in web space with index finger to thumb and flicking the finger (spinner), visual discrimination, inhibiting startle response, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation.
  

In the box: 2 piece Granny/chair unit, 12 snack pieces, spinner