Playing The Game Blog

Playing The Game: The Scouts Board Game Phenomenon

Author: Scout Store / Date: Oct 22, 2019

By Chris James, Brand and Ambassador Manager

Picture the scene: it’s Christmas Day. Chocolate wrappers litter the coffee table. The washing up’s done and dusted and you’ve watched the Queen’s speech. There’s a pile of wrapping paper out the back, and yes, there it is, the gentle sound of someone snoring.

What you need is something that will bring the family together. The answer? Yes! A game. You stumble to the shelves to find all the usual suspects and feel a sense of déjà vu. If only you’d thought about this earlier…

The good news is that there’s still time. The even better news is that we’ve got some exclusive Scouts editions of some of the nation’s most popular games available.

Advance to go…

We launched Scout Monopoly last year, and it was a huge hit. What could be better than two things you love together in one place – Scouts and Monopoly?

The original game had its origins in a game called The Landlord’s Game, created by Lizzie Magie, as far back as 1903 in the US. It was rebranded as Monopoly in 1934 and was a huge festive success, with the names of the streets based on Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mayfair and Park Lane didn’t make an appearance until Waddington’s produced the first UK edition later in the decade. An extraordinary chapter in the Monopoly story took place during WWII when the British Secret Service sent special editions of the game to prisoners of war in Germany, containing compasses, maps and even real money to assist escape attempts.

Fast forward to 2019. So here’s how the Scouts edition works. You and your fellow players journey around the most famous Scout landmarks, from Brownsea Island and Gilwell Park, to Kandersteg in Switzerland, even venturing to Africa to Baden-Powell’s retirement home, Paxtu, in Kenya. It’s a journey through time as well as around the world, and a great way to teach your family or Scouts about the heritage of our great movement.

And it’s not just the places that are Scout themed, the cards – Be Prepared and Skills for Life (instead of Community Chest and Chance) have Scout related questions too. So you’re likely to be stung for tent repairs instead of houses, and the MOT on your minibus rather than an unexpected tax demand. Get the idea? Great.

Guess Who’s coming this Christmas?

That’s right. A Scout edition of this legendary game, featuring not one, but two Chief Scouts – Robert Baden-Powell and Bear Grylls. You and a friend or family member take it in turns to guess a characteristic, then use what you find out to whittle down to just one suspect. Do they have brown eyes? Do they have a beard? Are they wearing a neckerchief? The better your question, the quicker you’ll get to the answer. Who will be the first to guess correctly? Fun fact: the original game was created back in 1979 by Theo and Ora Coster and arrived in the UK in 1982.

What no Colonel Mustard?  

So what’s next? Cluedo of course. Devised by a Mr Pratt from Birmingham one wet, Sunday afternoon, it has since taken the world by storm. Since its first appearance in 1949, millions of cases have been solved in living rooms across the world. But here was the challenge. How could we produce a Scouts edition (coming soon) without a drop of blood being spilt?

The answer was to put a positive spin on it. Instead of a murder in a country house, someone has got lost in the wild and is rescued by a Patrol of Scouts. The grateful hiker writes a letter to the local Scout leader, but doesn’t mention who rescued them, where and how. The Scouts themselves are too modest to own up.

Instead of rooms there are woods, lakes, mountains, marshes and so on; instead of weapons, there’s Scout equipment like a first aid kits, compass and water bottle. So the idea is that by the end of the game you correctly deduce which Patrol rescued the person, where and how.

You’re the top…

Finally, if you’ve still got some time left before your favourite Christmas Special, then why not squeeze in a game of Scout Top Trumps? Since the game first hit the playgrounds in 1978, hundreds of different themed packs have appeared. The first Scout edition appeared three years ago and the latest, Scout Activities was published last year. Each activity is scored on: Skill, Adventure, Teamwork and Time to Teach. As well as a great way to plan next term’s activities, it will keep competitive Scouts busy for hours.

So there you have it. The perfect Christmas.

Which leaves only one question. Why is it that it’s always the toffee pennies left at the bottom of the tub of Quality Street?