The Beetle Game - Retro Board Game

Product Information

Children can also use this fun festive game as an opportunity to practice their scissor skills - great for developing fine motor skills. Get children to help with carefully cutting out the pieces of the game - saving you precious prep time! Beetle is a British party game in which one draws a beetle in parts. The game may be played solely with pen, paper and a die or using a commercial game set, some of which contain custom scorepads and dice and others which contain pieces which snap together to make a beetle/bug. It is sometimes called Cootie or Bugs. The game is entirely based on random die rolls, with no skill involved. The first player from all the tables to draw a complete beetle shouts 'BEETLE!’ and scores the maximum 14 points for that round. Everyone else counts up how many body parts they have drawn, and scores one point per body part.The person with the highest score per round from each table moves up a table, e.g. if the winner is on table one, they move up to table two. The person with the fewest points in each round moves down a table, e.g. if they are on table six, they move down to table five. If your top table is number 12 make sure they know they move up to table one and table one moves down to table 12. However, remember that the body has to be drawn first, therefore you need a six to start. Also, the head needs to be drawn before the eyes. Where there are multiple body parts (ie two eyes) draw one each time the relative number is thrown.

The first player from all the tables to draw a complete image shouts ‘BEETLE!’ or ‘SNOWMAN!’ and scores the maximum 14 points for that round. Everyone else counts up how many body parts they have drawn, and scores one point per body part. The person with the highest score per round from each table moves up a table, egif the winner is on table one, they move up to table two. The person with the fewest points in each round moves down a table, egif they are on table six, they move down to table five. If your top table is number 12 make sure they know they move up to table one and table one moves down to table 12. At the end of the beetle drive, the winner is the person who has scored the most points from all the games added together. If there is a tie, the players with the same number of points roll a die – the highest number wins.You can also laminate the game to make it extra long lasting, meaning that you can use it for many more Christmases to come. Can I play this Father Christmas beetle drive game at home? Ideally you want 4 – 6 players at each table. Try to make your tables as even as possible as the less players there are at a table the better chance they have of calling beetle

On the day: Set up the tables and chairs, put scorecards, templates, dice and pencils on the tables. Once everyone has arrived, explain the rules – it’s fun to give the children a few practice runs at shouting out ‘BEETLE!’ (or ‘SNOWMAN!’ if you choose to do a winter alternative) as loud as they can. Leave time at the end for adding up scores and sorting through the sheets to find the winner. It can get a bit chaotic with everyone moving tables, but that adds to the fun! Present the prizes, draw the raffle, count your takings and announce the amount raised. A beetle with its component parts numbered. The body must be drawn before any other part; the head must be drawn before eyes or antennae As the game has stopped everyone counts the scores on their own beetle for that round and puts their score into the scoring grid at the bottom of the sheet. Beetle has been converted to a commercial game called Cootie, and is also released under the name Beetle by Milton Bradley. Beetles are constructed as plastic models. There are some minor gameplay differences, such as there being no wings on the beetles. any player in the room complete their beetle they shout "BEETLE" and the whole room stops immediately.Lovingly made by qualified teachers, this game is age-appropriate for children. It's been professionally designed by our talented team and features a jolly, hand-drawn illustration of Father Christmas. NOTE: Remind players that it doesn't matter what their beetles look like. Go through the rules clearly before you start and ask if anyone has questions. More on events and activities Yes! Children will love playing this Father Christmas beetle drive game at home or in the classroom. It would be an exciting game to play on Christmas Day with family and friends too — whoever wins the game could get an extra festive treat.