A Game of Spoons?
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by
The Hastings Crazy Quilter
Pioneer Press BB, updated 09/28/12
-----------------
by
The Hastings Crazy Quilter
Pioneer Press BB, updated 09/28/12
Merlyn of St. Paul ended his [Bulletin Board notes: or, of course, her!] contribution on Sept. 21, 2012, with these words: 'I also mourn the passing of a selfless generation of parents who would do anything (provided it didn't cost much) to make their kids' lives happy.' It reminded me of some of the games we would play as a family around the dining room table. As the years went by, our family compiled quite a collection of board games -- but when I was young, we played games with what was on hand.
My favorite game was SPOONS. SPOONS is like Musical Chairs, only it is a card game using spoons (not knives or forks; no substitutions, please). Select out of your deck of cards several sets of four of a kind; you need one more set than the number of players. Center on the table in front of all the players a bunch of spoons -- one less spoon than the number of players. Shuffle your cards, and deal them all out. The object is to get four of a kind in your hand, so you select out a card you don't want, put it face down on the table, and simultaneously everyone slides a card over to the player on their right. You keep passing cards around the table until (hopefully) you get four of a kind in your hand. When you do get four of a kind, you grab a spoon.
This results in everyone scrabbling for a spoon. Whoever doesn't end up with a spoon gets a letter. When you spell out SPOONS, you are out of the game. The really good SPOONS players will get four of a kind and stealthily steal a spoon, and continue passing cards until someone else notices. Sometimes a smart-aleck will smuggle in an extra spoon.
If you are a beginner SPOONS player, you will soon learn to place the spoons bowl side down (yep, those spoons can get quite airborne if they are hit just right). You will also learn the benefits of various spoon arrangements on the table. A slippery table can greatly add to the excitement.
In our family, my two sisters were the ones to watch out for -- not because they were such good players, but because they had NAILS. Blood was shed when they were playing. They had to sit next to each other, because no one was dumb enough to sit between them. And no one tried to wrestle a spoon away from them.
Over the years, we have introduced SPOONS to our nieces and nephews and to my husband's Boy Scout troop. Haven't found a group yet that doesn't get into the spirit of the game.
My favorite game was SPOONS. SPOONS is like Musical Chairs, only it is a card game using spoons (not knives or forks; no substitutions, please). Select out of your deck of cards several sets of four of a kind; you need one more set than the number of players. Center on the table in front of all the players a bunch of spoons -- one less spoon than the number of players. Shuffle your cards, and deal them all out. The object is to get four of a kind in your hand, so you select out a card you don't want, put it face down on the table, and simultaneously everyone slides a card over to the player on their right. You keep passing cards around the table until (hopefully) you get four of a kind in your hand. When you do get four of a kind, you grab a spoon.
This results in everyone scrabbling for a spoon. Whoever doesn't end up with a spoon gets a letter. When you spell out SPOONS, you are out of the game. The really good SPOONS players will get four of a kind and stealthily steal a spoon, and continue passing cards until someone else notices. Sometimes a smart-aleck will smuggle in an extra spoon.
If you are a beginner SPOONS player, you will soon learn to place the spoons bowl side down (yep, those spoons can get quite airborne if they are hit just right). You will also learn the benefits of various spoon arrangements on the table. A slippery table can greatly add to the excitement.
In our family, my two sisters were the ones to watch out for -- not because they were such good players, but because they had NAILS. Blood was shed when they were playing. They had to sit next to each other, because no one was dumb enough to sit between them. And no one tried to wrestle a spoon away from them.
Over the years, we have introduced SPOONS to our nieces and nephews and to my husband's Boy Scout troop. Haven't found a group yet that doesn't get into the spirit of the game.
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