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Friday, October 24, 2014

Tic Tac BOO!







































Okay! Just between us.....do your grandkids cheat when they play board games with you? Or is it just me who suspects my little darlings think I'm the one who was born yesterday? Perhaps my eyesight isn't what it used to be, but there are times I detect little hands deftly guiding the spinner to the exact number needed to leave grandma in the dust. On other occasions, a playing piece might go nonchalantly slip-sliiiding past a penalty square. In my most recent experience, "someone" decided to change game rules mid stream, announcing an extra toss of the dice to "anyone who is wearing pink socks and a Cinderella t shirt!" Well, that wasn't me. At least that day!

But this brave grandma marches on. Not only are we still playing games together, but we're making them too! This team effort began with a hike in the woods. "Find grandma a rock that looks like a ghost! How about some round ones? Nice and fat - like a PUMPKIN!" They turned them in like there was no tomorrow; my pockets groaned with every shape and size imagined by benevolent Mother Nature. Then we sorted. Painstakingly. And that's when monsters butted their way into a game that traditionally fields only two sets of combatants. "We can paint these now," I announced. And paint they did. When that game lost its charm, I was left behind to turn rocks into creatures with features for Tic Tac BOO!

So, I thought our game was "cheat proof." Ghosts play against either pumpkins or monsters. Not both. One scrapbook paper square per token. Three in a row wins. We enjoyed it tremendously, until it occurred to me that strategy isn't a strong motivator for kids who see these zany characters as a collection of personal little friends, not disposable pawns on a game board. With rules relaxed, squares filled up quickly, each with two, sometimes three, occupants. Neighbors went visiting and discussed things among themselves as the game evolved into a multilevel and far more imaginative experience than I'd ever anticipated. There were still "winners," of course, and the inevitable "losers." Oh, and the "cheater," too. Don't forget about her! She just sits here delighted, "braggy," in fact, about how honestly clever all her young grandchildren are with a pile of rocks after she's tossed that pesky old rule book right out the window!


15 comments:

  1. LOL this is so cute and yes they'd all want to keep their game rock critters as pet toys later, I would think ! :)

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  2. Your rocks/ghosts/pumpkins/monsters came out so cute!

    And yes, Amara cheats! We were playing Ponopoly the other morning and she would often try and get away with rolling one number -- such as eleven -- but only advancing 10 spaces because she really needed that property. Grandma does not allow! She also cheats at Sorry! And I love it! Love your game board, too!

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  3. This is so cute, love the idea of painting rocks and decorating as ghosts and pumpkins. My little ones love to collect rocks and paint, so this will be right up their alley! :)

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  4. Well now that was fun. Hee hee. I'm with the little cheater - I like to think of her as the "innovator". Ben likes to "shuffle" the cards when we play Candyland - and the strange thing is that he always seems to get a really good card right in the beginning. And sometime Grammy still wins. He's come to the point now where he is willing to let the loser of a game have first turn in the next game instead of insisting that the "rules" say that the youngest goes first. Funny and fun little kids for sure.

    I love the rocks painted up for the tic-tac-BOO game - very clever. One time we tried to play tic-tac-toe with hershey kisses - but someone kept eating them.

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  5. Love the painted rocks! I see a possible activity for next week.

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  6. What a cute idea. A fun game too. Have a happy day!

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  7. This is adorable! I need to make those cute little markers for my tic-tac-toe table! :-D

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  8. Very cute! Thanks for sharing your grandma experiences and ideas with us at the Make It Monday Link Party!

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  9. What a fun idea your Tic-Tac-Toe table is. The kids will have so much fun making the pieces and playing the game. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!

    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick
    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  10. Such a fun idea! Thanks for sharing it at the party! Theresa @DearCreatives

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  11. This is so cute I have to pin it!

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  12. So this was the game you mentioned. I just can't resist painting on rocks, and these ones are adorable. Your comment about cheating brought back lots of memories, like when my son confessed to liberally helping himself to money from the bank in Monopoly! No wonder he was able to get all those hotels! Happy halloween :)

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  13. Congratulations! This post is featured over at Diana Rambles today and has been pinned in the Featured at Diana Rambles board at Pinterest, Tweeted, and Recommended on G+. Please grab a featured button off my sidebar or via the link under the features. Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!

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  14. Yes I have cheaters too! Lil stinkers, they are fun! We made some rocks to play with outside; bigger ones painted like people. We glued eyes on but they popped off, so we then drew them on. Never thought to use them as game pieces.

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  15. So cute! I love your ideas :)
    xx
    Mila
    milaslittlethings.com
    milawayable@gmail.com

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