Let’s Get Back to Family Games {Schoolhouse Crew Review}

This entry is part 27 of 27 in the series 2014 Homeschool Reviews

Out of the Box Games Review

Remember the good old days when families would sit around and play NON-DIGITAL games together? 

I do. And as much as I’ve been meaning to reactivate that great past time I’ve never gotten around to it.

So I was pretty please to get to review Snake Oil – Party Potion by Out of the Box Games

Grocery Bags with Food

The Snake Oil Details

I had never heard of this game before but in essence Snake Oil – Party Potion is a card game for ages 8 and up.  And you can play with 3 to 6 players. So you can play with the whole family.

Snake Oil – Party Potion comes in a shiny cardboard box with three stacks of card and costs $14.99.

  • There are three stacks of cards
  • 2 stacks contain every day vocabulary words. e.g.- stress, jelly, wish, locker, pimple, etc.
  • 1 stack contains professions. e.g.- President, Grandma, Clown, Chef, etc.
  • The cards sit in a plastic card holder for easy management during the game.

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How to Play

The ideas is simple. Each player grabs 6 cards from the every day vocabulary stack.

Then the group picks one person to be the customer and they pick up two profession cards. That person then chooses which of their two profession cards they want to be.

Then the fun begins!

The other players take turns trying to sell him or her their made up product from a blend of two of their cards. They make hilarious pitches trying to have the most attractive product.

If you have wordy players the customer can cut them off after 30 seconds.

Out of the Box Games Review

How we played the game

We started off playing Snake Oil – Party Potion with my mother on a relaxing visit to her home. It was raining outside and the perfect setting to sit back and enjoy a game with several generations.

It was hilarious!

On our first round my daughter was the customer. I started with her as the customer so she could get the idea of the game.

She was the president and I sold her a Puddle+Grave. My line was that as the President she had to careful and wary. If imminent danger were present my gadget, the Puddle+Grave,  was a fake puddle she could throw down and it was suck her up into a secret “grave” which was really a bullet proof vault containing air, food, water, and all the niceties a president needed. She bought my gadget.

Then I was a Snowman and my daughter came with a product called the Blizzard+Swing.

At first we were kind of timid in our sales pitch. You know, hardly selling. Just saying, “um”, and “you know”. but once we got going it was so funny.

My mother was the best. She has a way with words.

The flowery words came and we were well on our way to selling snake oil.

The Sweet Peanut getting her spiel ready.
The Sweet Peanut getting her spiel ready.

How did we like this game?

At first glance my daughter didn’t want to play the game. I think the colors of the box and the snake just sort of didn’t set well with her. But I talked her into playing it and now it’s her favorite game. She laughed so hard and had such fun.

I think this game is great for kids to expand their creativity. And just all around fun.

Families don’t play simple card games together anymore. Everybody is so busy on their gadgets. But this is a fun one to bring the whole family together for some fun.

Some extra thoughts?

At first I thought people would balk at words like Nightmare, Graveyard, Skull and such. We’re a delicate bunch. But being creative and coming up with not so negative products using those words worked out and I guess if you really want to you could omit them from your play.

Here’s a video showing how to play Snake Oil – Party Potion

 

Who is Snake Oil Party Potion Good for?

Wow this is an all around game!

  • It’s a great NON-DIGITAL fun piece that can bring the whole family together and even be used with guests.
  • It’s a fabulous tool to complement your child’s studies without their knowing it. Work on Creativity, Speaking Skills, Vocabulary, and more.
  • Rainy days, party games, family evening fun. You name it!

You can connect with  Snake Oil – Party Potion online at these places…

Facebook
Twitter

You can read more reviews on Snake Oil – Party Potion (Ages 8 and up) and Snake Oil (Ages 10 and up) by clicking the green button below.

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Click to read Crew Reviews
 

The Sweet Peanut getting her spiel ready.
The Sweet Peanut getting her spiel ready.
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