Nosh: The Board Game Where You Play With Your Food

Calla Norman & Tiffany Xie

Game Pieces:

• Baguette loaves / breadsticks
• Board: a cutting or display board, preferably round
• Die
• Spoons
• Discussion / writing prompts
• Food pieces (see table)

Flavor Profiles:

Objective: Be the first player to nosh your way to the center of the board!

Setup/Building the board: The board should be set up as a series of 5 concentric circles, with each circle being one of the flavor profiles above.

Before gameplay, have people bring a food that can be portioned into small sizes. Ask everyone why they brought that food. Place one piece of food on each space on the board based on the flavor profile. Each “circle” should have a different flavor profile. Create a “bridge” between each circle with a spoon or other utensil.

Play:

1. The first player is the person with the best story behind the food they brought. The group votes on the best story.

2. Roll a die. Using a hunk of your bread (or a gluten-free substitute) as a pawn, advance that many spaces, then draw a card from the deck. Follow the instructions on the card. On the first roll, if the number rolled is even, go counterclockwise. if the number rolled is odd, go clockwise.

3. Move your piece that number of spaces. If there is food on the space you land on, take it and place it on your plate (and eat it if you want, or share with another player). If you decided to eat what you landed on, make sure to make a note of it and which level you found it! If you land on an empty space, progress to the next space occupied by food.

4. If you encounter a spoon while advancing, you can only use the spoon to travel to the next circle if you have collected 3 prompts per circle.

5. When you travel down a spoon, if the number you rolled is even, go counterclockwise. if the number rolled is odd, go clockwise.

6. If you land on a spoon space that goes backward, you must regress to the previous circle. you must complete 1 prompt before traveling to the inner circle again.

7. The first player to nosh their way to the center of the board and have an item from each circle wins!

Cards (printable on Canva):

1. What was your favorite school lunch?

2. If you could choose, what would your last meal be?

3. What meal signified a special occasion growing up?

4. What would you cook somebody to impress them?

5. Pick another player. What flavor best describes them and why?

6. Do adults need recess? What was your favorite game to play at recess, if you had recess?

7. Is there anything you think is worth “hustling” for?

8. What was your favorite game to play growing up?

9. What is your least favorite movie?

10. What was the last gathering you went to with a lot of people?

11. What was your first concert? What was the best concert you ever went to?

12. What’s a smell you can’t stand and why?

13. What’s a smell that reminds you of home?

14. What food would you eat if you lost your taste and smell?

15. If you could eat something that provided you with all your nutrients, but that was the only thing you ate, what food would you want it to be?

16. What’s your favorite drinkable food that’s not a drink?

17. Ask a follow-up question to something else that was said.

18. Do you prefer to speak up in a discussion or listen? Why?

19. What is your favorite word?

20. What is your ideal weather?

21. What song psychs you up?

22. What season do you like best?

23. Where do you go first when you enter a convenience store?

24. If you were a band, what would your genre be?

25. If you owned a restaurant, what would it be like?

26. What is your favorite place to vacation?

27. Where do you go first when you walk into a library?

28. What is your favorite type of light? What about darkness?

29. What’s the best bathroom you’ve ever used?

30. If you were reincarnated as an animal, which animal would you want to be? What animal do you think you’d actually be?

31. What’s the best time of day?

32. Who in this room would you like to spend more time with?

33. Describe the last time you felt wonder. What about bewilderment?

34. What’s the best class you’ve ever taken? Why?

35. What does your childhood room look like?

36. If you could teach a class on any topic, what topic would you pick?

37. If you redesigned this game, what would you change?

38. If you painted your nails right now, what design would you pick?

39. Favorite way to travel: by land, air, or sea?

40. If you had a mediocre superpower, what would it be?

41. Talk about something you’ve watched/listened to/read recently.

42. What’s your signature dance move?

43. Teach everyone a super-simple recipe (doesn’t have to be for food!) that has improved your life.

44. Name one thing you love about yourself.

45. What’s your favorite toe and why?

46. What kind of villain would you be?

47. How have you changed in the past year?

48. What’s your approach when you shop at the grocery store?

49. What are your thoughts on naptime?

Further references:

181 Prompts to Inspire Writing and Discussion, NY Times