Okay, here’s the low down. If you ever come over to our house and ask if we want to play a board game, you got it. BUT, this is your only warning, This family, well, we play to win!
Now that we are on the same page about games and Family (or Friends) Game Night, I must share our latest review from Out of the Box Games called Snake Oil ($19.99).
First, make sure you have plenty of time to play this game. Because once you get going, well, between the giggling and out of this world sales pitches, you might need some time set aside for all of the fun!
Now, the ages on the box state from ages 10 to Adult, but with a little help, our 6 year old Joseph plays. So. Much. Fun.
A little background about Snake Oil. A long time ago, like wild west days, there was a term used for certain (not all) men that were traveling salesmen. They were called snake oil salesmen. But these men were not just your average traveling salesmen, these guys were crooks trying to sell their, “snake oil”. As defined by Wikipedia, “Snake oil is an expression that originally referred to fraudulent health products or unproven medicine but has come to refer to any product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. By extension, a snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is himself or herself a fraud, quack, charlatan, or the like.”
Okay, so now that we know, snake oil isn’t a real thing and that there were men that used to try to sell this stuff, well, here is the idea behind the name of the game!
This game is best played with 3 to 10 players, the more the merrier! Each player gets Word
Cards and then one of the players gets to pick a Customer Card. The other players then have to choose 2 of their Word Cards and then “pitch” their two word product to the “customer”.
Seriously So Much Fun!
The kids and I have played a few times and the laughter that went on, well, they do say laughter IS the best medicine!
Isaiah (13), Ana (10), Joseph (6) and I set up the game. So super east to set up and get started within 5 minutes. Each of us got our 5 Word Cards and then Ana was chosen to be our first customer. She was a caveman. LOL Considering the cavemen were never known to speak, you can only imagine her reaction! Each “salesman” has to choose the two best words from their Word Cards to use in their pitch to try and make the item something the “customer” really has a use for!
Isaiah went first and his “pitch” was a Rock Pillow. Each “salesman” has to “pitch” their product for at least 30 seconds. You don’t know how long 30 seconds is until you are in the “pitch seat”!
This is a think on your feet game essentially and the things that we were coming up with in mere seconds was amazing!
Here are a few of the “customers” and the salesmen’s “pitches”:
Salesman Ana to Customer Joseph → Diamond Bone for a Caveman, “You can chew on it all the time and never have to get a new one!”
Salesman Mama to Customer Ana → Snow Fan for a Model, “When you need the perfect snow day picture this is the product you want! You get the snow without the cold part!”
Salesman Mama to Customer Isaiah → Bone Coat for a Couch Potato, “You can eat all the chicken wings you want and drop the bones in your coat pockets! Once the bones are in the pockets, the coat will magically compost them and hey will disappear!”
Salesman Ana to Customer Mama → Silent Bacteria for a Ninja, “When you have allergies and you are a ninja and trying to spy on someone and you really have the urge to sneeze. Just use Silent Bacteria. This product helps keep you silent!”
Salesman Ana to Customer Joseph → Day Wig for a Zombie, “You can wear it so that night time is not the only time you can go out. This way you look human again and no one knows differently!”
Once all of the “salesman” pitch their product to the “customer” then the customer has to pick the best “pitch” and that person wins the round, this is signified by that player getting the “customer” card. Once everyone has been a customer at least once, the round is finished and the winner is the player that has the most “customer” cards.
We ended up playing well over an hour one time, well after bedtime because it is such a fun game. The tears and the laughter are a side effect that is genuinely fantastic! All of us loved the game and we have played it a few time since the first go round. So, if you ever want to come over for Game Night, be prepared to play this incredible, laughter invoking, side splitting game!
There are a few other games mildly similar on the market, but nothing compares to the originality of Snake Oil. An ingenious idea and one that is so much fun!
The kids enjoyed it for pure fun, so school wasn’t really mentioned. But the company, Out of the Box Games does have this game set up to align with the Common Core standards required in a lot of states.
Check out what my fellow reviews had to say about Out of the Box Games too!
Would you like to follow Out of the Box Games via Social Media?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutoftheBoxGames
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OTBgames
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYAQiV5S9ZQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUTEAg1uDVwq0LNxFAwM7N5Q
This is the Final Review for the 2014 TOS Review Crew! So stick around and see what is coming over the holidays and then get ready for the New Year and the newest products!
I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks for reading our latest review!
In His Grace.
Callie
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