A TOS Review: Snake Oil (It Cures What Ails Ya!)

Have you ever purchased a product that promised something beyond your wildest dreams? This has nothing to do with my wildest dreams, but one time I purchased a fancy paint roller from an infomercial We were getting ready to paint our house and I just knew that it was going to save us oodles of work. After all, the product they showed me on TV seemed like magic. Let's just say that we spent more time cleaning up after the fancy paint roller than actually painting. And don't get me started on the products that promise miraculous and easy weight loss. Honey. If they worked we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic in this country.

We just had a chance to review Snake-Oil-Party Potion from Out of the Box Games.

Snake Oil? If you are a fan of history you might have heard the term. During the building of the Transcontinental Railroad, Chinese laborers introduced a product that users could rub into  their muscles after a day of working on the railroad. American, in typical entrepreneurial fashion, took off with the ideal. Only some products didn’t contain any snake oil at all. Promises were made. Money was made. And folks were swindled.  

Snake Oil-Party Potion is an award-winning card game. It is intended for players ages 8 and up. Now I snuck in a few Littles but we will discuss that in a minute. This particular version of the game has easier words. You can combine this game with the original Snake Oil game for even more fun choices. This game costs $14.99.

How to Play

You need between 3-6 players to play the game. However, there are variations so that a party or classroom of kids can play together.

Snake Oil-Party Potion comes with over 100 word cards. They words that the players can combine to create an outrageous product to sell to the customer. The players will draw 6 cards and chose two of them to combine.

Someone in the game will need to be the Customer during each round of the game. We took turns from  youngest to oldest. There are 12-double sided Customer Cards.

The Customer will draw a Customer Card and assume that role for the round. The players must tailor their product to meet the particular needs of the Customer. The idea is that after every child has chance to be the Customer the game is over…and the player who has the most Customer cards is crowned the winner. We played until everybody looked like they needed a nap. Which took a while <)

I was so thrilled with the resourcefulness that went on in choosing their products. 

I have never heard such persuasive speaking. This guy is only 4. His Mama helped him. 

This one is 6. She couldn't read all the words, but I helped her. The kicker? She picked out her cards and created her product completely on her own. No shy salesman here! She could have given a used car salesman a run for his/her money.

Some of these products were just too funny.

And often larger than life.

But we all listened attentively!

Courtney (age 6) chose Cookie and Soup for her product this round. Cookie Soup. The user simply has to spritz the Cookie Soup on their person every morning. The result is that they will feel like they are always munching on a cookie. Sign me up!

Mr. Corey (age 10) is a Boss. He played this game like a master. Not only was he meticulous about matching up his product to his characters, but he created some of the most fantastical products. He also really got into is sales presentation.

When Josiah was selling his "Butt Duster," Corey decided he knew exactly what that would look like. He went into his Mama's Laundry Room and snatched up the duster. He then modeled the handy "Butt Duster."

This game is much more than about having fun. Which is pretty great in itself. I was so surprised the resourcefulness and vocabulary that came out of these kids mouths. They had to be creative, persuasive and speak up.

My Josiah dislikes talking in front of a group of people. He gets really self-conscience. During the game it wasn't evident that he has this difficulty. I’m sure that Snake Oil will help him develop his confidence. 

This is a game you have to have in the game closet. I plan on taking it Thanksgiving, bringing out on lazy Friday nights and using it for those days we just need to break loose. I'm not worried about it wasting our precious schooltime. Snake Oil posses an equal amount of fun and educational value. 

Check it out!

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