Granny's House
Granny's House Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Double-sided obstacle board. Basic side (blue background); advanced side (orange background).
- Double-sided path board. Basic path (clovers only); advanced path (clovers and thieves).
- 12 item tiles.
- 24 item stickers for the tiles.
- 1 pawn.
- 1 die.
Goal
Your task is to reach Granny's house with an appropriate gift. Along the way you face many adventures, so you must equip yourselves well… But what to take? A hat, honey? A food basket, or perhaps rope and an inflatable ring? Decide for yourselves what will be best, and set off!
Idea of the Game
The idea of the game is to work out which items can be used, and how, to overcome each obstacle. Every item can be used in many ways (not necessarily in line with its real purpose), so a great deal depends on your creativity and imagination. There are no fixed good or bad solutions. You decide together what is possible and what is not. The game is more about sharing the adventure than about reaching the goal at any cost. Agree on a common strategy. Discuss which items you will need and how to use them to get past a given obstacle. Let younger children show their imagination, and be open to their unusual, strange and sometimes wildly crazy ideas.
Example: A flashlight can light the way through a cave, scare a bear with a sudden flash, or, once the batteries are removed, serve as a snorkel for crossing a river, or as a hammer for knocking a picket out of a fence you must pass through.
Setup
Before the first game, stick 2 items of your choice on each tile, one on each side. Punch out the holes in the path board. Throw the cardboard punch-outs away; they are not used in the game.
- Take all components out of the box.
- Place the obstacle board on the bottom of the box with the chosen side facing up. For the first game the basic (blue) side is recommended.
- Place the path board on top of the obstacle board with the chosen side facing up. The obstacles must be visible through the holes in the path board. For the first game the basic path (clovers only) is recommended.
- Shuffle the 12 item tiles and place them on the table, face up on a random side. This is the pool of available items. Items on the other side of the tiles are not available in this game.
- Choose your starting equipment: 6 items. Starting with the youngest player, each player in turn picks an item from the pool and places it in front of them, until there are 6 in total. In a 4- or 5-player game the items will not be split evenly, but do not worry about it, as you will all use them together. Discuss which items are worth taking: what will help you overcome the nearest obstacles? Experienced players may reduce the number of starting items to 4.
- Place the pawn on the starting field. It represents the whole team; each player in turn will move it.
- Give the die to the youngest player; they will begin the game.
On the setup illustration, the labels are: "starting field" and "entrance to Granny's house".
Playing the Game
Roll the die and move the team's pawn by the number rolled. You must move along the path towards the entrance to Granny's house. Depending on the field where the pawn ends its move, carry out the corresponding action. Then pass the die to the player on your left.
Empty field Nothing happens.
Lucky field You have managed to find a useful thing. Take 1 item from the pool or from those already lying on the board. Look at the obstacles ahead and discuss what would be most useful.
Obstacle You have met an obstacle. To pass it, you must use one of the items you have. Discuss which item could be used here and how. The solution must make sense. Place that item on the obstacle field. If you do not have anything suitable, you will have to step back (see the next page).
Thieves (advanced path only) A thief takes 1 item from you. Decide together which one, and return it to the pool. Which will a magpie take more readily, and which a fox?
Example: Alek rolls the die and moves the team 3 fields according to the result. A tall fence appears in front of the players. Unfortunately there is no way around it. What now? The players have only stones and a flashlight available. How can these items be used to overcome this obstacle? Hania suggests that the stones can be piled up and used to climb over the fence. Everyone agrees that this is a good solution. Phew, it worked! Alek places the stones on the fence field and passes the die to the player on his left. The team moves on.
If you do not have a suitable item? You must step back. Move the pawn to the obstacle located directly below it (as shown in the illustration).
- If that field has an item on it (you have already overcome this obstacle earlier), the pawn ends its move and the next player rolls the die.
- If that field is empty, you must now overcome this obstacle by placing a suitable item on it. If you do not have one, move the pawn down to the next obstacle, and so on. If there is nowhere to fall (there are no more obstacles below), you return to the start and the game ends.
Example: The players have stopped on the field with a rushing river. Unfortunately they have only a trumpet and sweets, and have not thought of a way to use them to overcome the fast current. They are therefore forced to step back. They move the pawn down to the field with a blazing sun. The items they have again are no use here, so the pawn falls to the next field, a tall fence. The players have already overcome this obstacle earlier (by piling up stones). They do not need to use another item.
End of the Game
The game ends when:
- You reach Granny's house with a gift. Hooray! The expedition ends in success. You do not need to roll an exact number to reach the entrance. The gift must not be just anything. What would Granny be happy with? Certainly not stones or sticks. If you do not have anything suitable, you return to the start.
- You return to the start. The obstacles met along the way made it impossible for you to reach Granny. Better luck next time!
Item Descriptions
The item tiles show the following items:
- Hat
- Food basket
- Glasses
- Sweets
- Honey
- Dog
- Wooden crate
- Large umbrella
- Flashlight
- Stones
- Inflatable ring
- Sticks
- Trumpet
- Bucket
- Blanket
- Burn cream
- Gloves
- Rope
- Flowers
- Inflatable ball
- Repair tape
- Whistle
- Phone
- Mess tin
Obstacle Descriptions
The obstacle fields show the following obstacles:
- Bear cub
- Tall fence
- Blazing sun
- Rushing river
- Dark forest
- Small grass fire
- Poison ivy
- Storm
- Broken tree
- Cave
Beginner Tips
Each obstacle has a suggested item that can be used to overcome it, followed by an open question inviting other ideas ("…or?"):
- Bear cub: put a jar of honey, or…?
- Tall fence: climb it using a wooden crate, or…?
- Blazing sun: put on sunglasses, or…?
- Rushing river: cross it using an inflatable ring, or…?
- Dark forest: use a flashlight, or…?
- Small grass fire: put the fire out with water from a bucket, or…?
- Poison ivy: put on gloves, or…?
- Storm: use an umbrella, or…?
- Broken tree: use a rope to climb the tree, or…?
- Cave: use the flashlight on a phone, or…?