My Very First Games: To Market!
My Very First Games: To Market! Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Important
Carefully remove the perforated pieces from the plates. Immediately discard the plates, to ensure all small waste articles are removed.
Game Contents
1 market stand (box bottom with insertion, game board and scenery insert), 8 small crown coins, 4 large star coins, 4 HABA play money bills, 16 product tiles in 4 categories, 4 shopping lists, 1 die, 1 set of game instructions.
Discovering Details With Creative Play
Before actually playing the game, take the time to discover the game contents with your child. Play along! Explore and talk about the illustrations on the market stand, the shopping lists and the product tiles. Lay the product tiles face up next to the market stand. Show your child that the same items on the tiles can also be found on the market stand, and that the colors and shapes on the tiles are also shown on the die. Let your child place the product tiles on the corresponding illustration on the market stand. Tell your child the names of the foods and other products. Practice rolling the die with your child and let them find the tile corresponding to the die face.
Look at the coins and play money bills together, discovering which coins and play money bills buy which items. Let your child put the coins and play money bills in the corresponding cashier slot on the market stand. Talk about the varying values of the coins and play money. Why are some items on the market more expensive than others? Which coin is more valuable and what can it buy?
Thus, your child becomes familiar with allocating colors and discovers the market stand mechanism, whereby only the coin or play money bill fits in the slot which corresponds to price.
Before playing for the first time, talk about the everyday shopping scenario. Where do you usually go shopping, at the market or at the supermarket? What do you usually buy? This is how role-play games develop, bringing the shopping game materials to life for your child.
- Which food articles and other items do you already know?
- What are your favorite things?
- Which foods taste yucky?
- What is the name of the store where we usually go shopping?
Older children, who are already familiar with the game materials, can also be asked specific questions about the market stand and money. For example: How many pairs of socks can you buy? Did you see the scales? How many bananas are there? Where is the potato sack? Where are the fish? How many coins do you (still) have? And so on.
Game Idea
To market, to market! Each of you has a shopping list of four products you need to buy. But where can you buy rolls and which market stand sells cheese? How much do socks cost and where to buy tasty strawberries? What can you buy with the large play money bill? The die determines where you can shop next. But with a little bit of luck, you can decide where to shop next yourself.
Who will be the first to fill their shopping list with the desired items and go home with a full shopping basket?
Before You Begin
Place the game box bottom with the insert in the center of the playing area and take all game materials out of the box. Now place the game board on top of the game box bottom. Make sure the color segments are aligned with one another. The scenery insert is slotted into the long slit in the game board, with each market vendor at the corresponding color market stand.
Sort the product tiles into their various shapes, laying them face up on the corner, or in front, of the color-corresponding market stand.
Each child takes a shopping list. On the back of the shopping list is a picture of how much money each child receives at the beginning – 2 small crown coins, one large star coin and one play money bill. The children position their shopping lists face up in front of themselves and look over what they are supposed to buy. Have the die ready.
Surplus game material will not be needed and can be returned to the game box top.
Let's Play!
The game proceeds clockwise. The child who can shout "To market! To market!" the loudest gets to begin by rolling the die.
What Do You See on the Die?
- Do you see a colored shape? Ask the child: which color or shape is it? The child names the color or shape. The right answer is rewarded with warm praise. Help the child if they don't know the name of the color or shape.
Now look at your shopping list. Which product matches the color and shape on the die face? You may now go to the market stand that matches the color on the die and buy the matching product. The sign at the market stand tells you how much you should pay. If you are not sure what an item costs, turn the product tile over. There you will find a picture of what the item costs. Put your coin or play money bill in the slot on the market stand. Excellent! You have paid for your product and can now take the matching product tile from the market stand and lay it on your shopping list.
Careful, now! When you have already bought this item, unfortunately you cannot buy it again and it is the next player's turn.
Roleplay at the market: whenever a player goes to market, introduce a little role-play game. One of the players, or mommy or daddy, plays the market stand vendor. The vendor sits behind the scenery. Typical exchanges of everyday shopping, or a creative improvisation of the same, can be spoken.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" "Hello! I would like to buy bananas/cheese/honey/bread, etc." "We have a very nice cheese on sale today." "How much does this cheese cost?" "This cheese costs one star coin." "I'll take it, please." "Should I wrap it or do you need a bag?" "No, thank you, just wrap it please." "Here you go, thank you for your purchase. Have a nice day!"
Do You See the Smiling Face?
This is your lucky shopping day! Take a good look at your shopping list. Which items do you still need to buy? You may purchase any item you need. Put the correct amount of money in the slot, take the product tile and place it on the matching spot on your shopping list.
Now it is the next child's turn to roll the die.
End of the Game
The game ends the moment a child has bought his fourth item and placed it on his shopping list. He is the winner of the game. The game can continue until all children have bought all the items on their shopping lists. The player with a full shopping list rolls the die for the other players and takes on the role of market vendor.
Variations
Once a child has fully understood the basic game, the following variations can be introduced.
Shopping Memory Fun
The same rules as in the basic game apply, with the following changes:
- The product tiles are laid face down.
- The child whose turn it is rolls the die. At the color-corresponding market stand he turns over any product tile with the same shape as on the die. Now he looks at his shopping list to see if the item on the product tile is also on his shopping list.
- It is! You may take the product tile and lay it down in front of you.
- No, it is not! Once all players have seen the product tile, turn it back face down again on the market stand.
- The smiling face allows you to turn over any product tile you would like to.
Shopping Spree
The same rules as in the basic game apply, with the following changes:
- The product tiles lay face up on the market stands.
- The game is played with the backside of the shopping lists. There are no specific items to buy, the children only see how much money they can spend.
- The child whose turn it is rolls the die and goes to the color-corresponding market stand.
- The child may now choose what he would like to buy, but must be careful only to buy items for which he has the correct coin or play money bill. It is thus likely that a child buys at the same stand twice, when the same color appears again on the die.
- The first player to spend all his money, wins the game.