Family Games -- Spoons

Rozanne Paxman

Make Time for Your Family with Game Nights

In today's world, nothing is more important than family and family relationships. And what is better for building those relationships than to spend some fun time together.
Dick and Mary recently wrote a great post about family game nights on Scrap Girls homemaking blog ? HowMomDidIt.com - called Old-Fashioned Family Game Night. It reminded me of all of the years I've spent with my family, gathered around the dining room playing board games and cards, and it made me want to resurrect some of those traditions with my own family.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka8d-05aQB4

When I was a kid, I used to play a game with my brother and friends which we called Donkey, though it is a variant of Spoons. There are a lot of variations of this game, but this is how we played it.
The objects of the game: To capture a spoon with each round played so that you can be the last player standing. You will also want to make sure that you end up with a spoon at the end of each round so that you don't have to be the donkey.

The set up:

• In the center of the table, place enough spoons (with handles facing out) for everyone who is playing, minus one. (If five people are playing the game, you will have four spoons in the center of the table.)
• The dealer gives everyone four cards.

To Play the Game:

• During each round, the players are all trying to complete a book ? a set of four cards of the same number. (Example: Four 6's.)
• The dealer starts drawing cards from the deck of cards. If the card won't help complete their book, they pass the card to the left. Then they immediately draw another card from the deck. If it doesn't help them, they pass that card to the left. They continue doing this over and over again until the round ends.
• The person to the left looks at the card they have been passed. If it doesn't help complete their book, they pass it to the left. Then they take the next card (and so on and so on).
• The cards can be passed as quickly as possible and it isn't unusual to see them pile up by the side of someone who is moving slower.
• The first person to complete their book grabs a spoon from the center of the table.
• Everyone else grabs a spoon. Because there is one less spoon than people at the table, someone will end up without a spoon.
• If you are playing Donkey as we played it, this spoon-less person will run around the room or the table saying, "Hee-haw! Hee-haw!" Then that person will be out. If you are playing regular Spoons, that person will just be out (with no running around and braying required).
• The game then continues until there is only one person remaining - and that person wins the game.

If you're like me, it's easier to learn how to play a game by watching it played. Here's a fun YouTube video in which the rules of Spoons are demonstrated very well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka8d-05aQB4

 Dick and Mary have given some great suggestions for getting your own family game night going. You'll want to check out their fun article here!