Family Pastimes

Children still like to play with marbles!

A simple manual with instructions for 50 various games that they can learn. If you have marbles in the house, you will want to learn how to play these games. If you don't, you'll want to get some after reading this book!

For ages 6-12 years.

Staple-bound softcover, 40 pages with simple illustrations.

Made in Canada.

A cooperative board game for 1-8 players, for ages 5 to 7.

A mystery game! Valuables have been stolen, and we have to find them before Midnight. Together we search through the Mansion for clues. At Midnight, the Thieves may slip away with all the hidden booty!

Children enjoy figuring out the mystery of what is behind the Secret Door. Because of the co-operative principle, everyone is part of a team that discusses ideas and shares strategies. Other important skills of memory and logic get a workout, too.

Each game is different, exciting and tricky. That's why adults like playing along! Get the magnifying glass, Holmes, and let's get on with the Case. Midnight approaches!

Includes: 12 x 12" board, clock cards, set of valuables, the secret door.

Made in Canada.

Top rating from Canadian Toy Testing Council

Parents' Choice Award Winner

Reviews:

“My daughter loves Secret Door. It’s food for her brain. She can often find pairs that I miss, which she thinks is great!”
— Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

A cooperative board game for 1-12 players, Ages 5 to 8 years.

A winter storm hits Little City. Granny and Grandpa, Uncle and Aunt, Mom and Dad and our Best Friend's Family have things to do, places to go, errands to run.

Our job is to help them out. We drive the Cars, get to the Places on their lists, and try return safely home. Deep snow? Bad ice? We decide when and where to do some plowing or spreading of sand. The weather keeps changing, so we have to be alert!

Each game is a different, exciting challenge. Skills of communication, decision making and creative thinking are nurtured. Don't get stuck on Fifth Avenue, Dad!

Includes: 12 x 12" board, weather reports, errands, cars, places, snow and ice, service trucks.

Made in Canada.

 

Top Rating by Canadian Toy Testing Council

 

Reviews:

“A brilliantly conceived game, more fun
than dice-oriented play.” — Ontario, Canada

2 to 4 Players, Ages 4 to 7 years.

A story adventure game! Grump has taken the villagers’ treasures and is now fast asleep at the top of the beanstalk.

Together, players climb to the top to recover their treasures. Grump may not be wakened or he takes back everything.

Players share the treasures and leave some behind for Grump. Their kindness will help change him. The game is won when everyone has some of the treasure.

Includes: 6 x 24″ board, die, blue sapphires, golden eggs, magic cherries, harps, movers. © 1981

Our customers say:
“My four-year-old and I have played so often we have
worn a path in the board!” — USA

This game has a french version as well available separately.

Ages 4 to 7 years and up.  For 2 to 12 Players

Look carefully and match the tracks in the Forest leading to the animal dens. When we arrive, flip the Forest card to see what animal we tracked to its den. Then read the fascinating facts about the animal we found. Everyone has a part in helping to discover the animals in the forest.

A great game for a class, for camps, birthday parties, for fun recreation, and education – where ever groups gather to play together.

Contents: 6 Forest/Den Cards, 6 Sets of Animal Tracks, Rules.

A Co-operative Puzzle Game ©2014, Jim Deacove 

A cooperative board game for 2-6 players, ages 8 to adult

Armed with just cameras, binoculars & some other equipment, we leave our camp & hike into the Park to learn about wildlife. We may be surprised what we learn about ourselves as well.

Our goal is to bring back as many photographs as we can of the animals we track and end up at the Guest Lodge for refreshment. We will try to leave the Park as undisturbed as possible, maybe leaving only our footprints behind.

Before the game ends, we will learn about the wisdom of the woods, its dangers, its plants (both good & nasty), its creatures, large & small, AND ways of tracking that use sound, scent & sight to best advantage. This will be a shared, group experience!

Includes: 12 x 12" board, 1 hikers mover, 1 die, 55 cards (consisting of 19 problems, 12 photographs of animals/tracks, 13 solutions, and 21 movements), rules.

Made in Canada.

For 1 to 12 Players.  Recommended for Ages 4 to 7 years.

Four different cooperative tile games. Players form as many good Berry Patches as they can, with the help of the friendly Bullfrogs. The basic mathematical skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing all get a workout.

Six tiles have only Berries on them. Six have only Bugs. Eight have both Berries and Bugs. The Bug shown is a Slug, one of the few insects that damage Strawberries. Each of the 12 Bullfrogs can eat one bug.

In the Good Berry Patch Game, players form as many Good Berry Patches as they can that have more Berries than Bugs.

In the Bug-Free Berry Patch Game, each Bug will eat a Berry and only saved Berries count… with a Bonus for each totally Bug-Free Patch formed.

There are also two Mind-Reader Berry Patch Games, in which each tile is played silently with players trying to guess what tile the others are going to play. Lots of fun!

Includes: 20 tiles, 12 bullfrogs, rules for 4 games. © 2005 

Made in Canada by Family Pastimes.

2 to 4 Players Ages 5 to 12 years.

We are an International Team of Geologists who have landed a space lab on the Moon and are sending out rovers to visit the Moon terrain in search of anything valuable to bring back to the people of Earth.

We promise to abide by the Outer Space Treaty as formulated by the UN. “I, as a member of the UN Geological Team, promise that the exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies shall be for the benefit of all countries on Earth”

The three levels of play will challenge adults as well.

Equipment: Moonscape map, 4 Robot Rovers, 4 Rover Markers, 28 Cards (Minerals, Moon Terrain, Solar Power, UFO, Moon Dust, Moon Storm, The Mother Ship, Lab). Regular Die.

Made in Canada.

“The exciting, collaborative effort to get to Mars makes this a very timely theme. A peaceful exploration for humanitarian objectives. Imagine! Peaceful explorers of space!” – Jim Deacove

Âges 4 à 7 ans Joueurs: 2 à 8

Un Jeu Coopératif

Pour honorer notre chat bien- aimé parfois pas aussi amiable, Max, qui chasse des souris, des oiseaux et des chipmunks autour de la ferme toute la journée, nous avons créé ce jeu très passionnant pour des enfants.

Les parents seront enchantés dans les dispositifs coopératifs et la manière intéressante que des enfants sont invites pour employer la logique.

Le travail de chacun est d’emmener les petites créatures sans risque à la maison et d’assurer que Max à bien manger.

“Nos gosses jouent le jeu Max à plusieurs reprises.”

Table des matières: 2 dés, 4 cartes d’animaux, 1 plein panneau de couleur 12” x 12”, règles, 4 festins de chat.

Fabriqué au Canada.

This version is also available for sale separately in English, under the name "Max the Cat"

A Co-operative Card Game for 2 to 6 players, Ages 7 to Adult.

Players are parent Birds trying to save their Baby Birds from Predators such as Hawks and Cats.  The cards provide 6 Places for Nests, 6 Birds, 6 Predators and 6 Kinds of Food.

All the action takes place on the Neighborhood Chart.  Predator Dangers are placed near the Neighborhood.  Places to make Nests are played first, then Nests, then Food for each Nest, which attracts a Predator.

Will we, the parent Birds, be able to chase away the Predator?  Clever play will make all the difference, as we talk over our plans and make careful choices, with each player making an important contribution.

This game is exciting and educational: memory, math and problem solving skills are nurtured as well.

Includes: 35 cards, neighborhood chart, rules.

Made in Canada.

Recommandé de 3 à 7 ans.  Pour 2 à 4 joueurs.

Les jardins potagers sont d’abord semés: ensuite, chacun jette les dés pour faire les récoltes.

Le but du jeu est de faire les récoltes avant que l’hiver arrive.

Les joueurs obtiendront certainement une bonne partie des légumes récoltes, mais peuvent-ils tous les avoir?

Vous le pouvez si vous vous souvenez qu’il faut s’entraider.

Contenu: Planchette de jeu en couleur, Casse-tête d’une scène d’hiver, Casse-tête d’une scène l'automne, 48 cartes de légumes, instructions, Dé

Please note that this game is also available in English separately, as 'Harvest Time' on our site.

 

4 to 24 players.  Ages 12 to Adult.

Values oriented, moral dilemma game of discussion and evaluation of challenges that individuals encounter from childhood to old age.

The situations and questions appear on cards with choices to make. P layers can create their own responses and more situations to add into the game.

Any group that gathers for some learning about living will find this game a useful tool to stimulate values discussion in a non-competitive framework.

Includes: 14 x 18″ play pad, 4 sets of questions, for childhood, adolescence, middle years and old age, mover, 1 x die, complete rules.

© 1976 Family Pastimes.

For ages 7 to adult.  For 1-4 players.

A cooperative board game.

THE STORY: It's that special time of year when Sugar Maple Trees run sweet sap that we collect, then take to the Sugar Shack where the sap is boiled down and made into various sweet products such as sugar crystals, candy and syrup. Ours is a small operation involving such risks as bad weather, while the large Sugaring Operations don't use tree taps and pails, but instead run tubing for less risk. Big or small, that first taste of sweetness is heaven in your mouth.  In this game, we work together to put out the pails, gather the sap, boil it down into syrup and see how many containers of maple syrup we can make before the oh, so short Sugaring Season is done.

CONTENTS: Game board, 12" x 12", 16 Cards, 16 Pails, 1 Syrup Making Chart & an Information Booklet with Rules.

Made in Canada.

Age: 4 à 7 ans Pour 2 à 4 joueurs.

Un jeu de fantaisie qui permet aux enfants de passer des moments agréables tout en développant leur imagination.

La ravissante princesse est ensorcelée et enfermée dans le château.

Pour sauver la ravissante dame, allons à la recherche des choses magiques à travers les villages.

Les enfants se servent de leur imagination et recourent parfois à la logique pour le choix de la bonne chose.

Les joueurs s’entraideront pour trouver leur passage au-delà des obstacles.

Contenu: Planchette de jeu en couleurs, 12 jetons “choses spéciales”. 6 carte représentant les problèmes, 4 pions, 1 dé, instructions

 

Please note that this is the French language version of this boardgame. Also available separately in an English version on our site. The playing cards are bilingual, but the writing on the board on the top of the box is in French in this version.

Age: 4 à 7.  2 à 4 joueurs.

Une fantaisie pour les enfants!

Le géant a pris les trésors des gens du village et est maintenant bien endormi en haut de da tige de haricot.

Ensemble, les joueurs montent la tige et reprennent leurs trésors.

Le géant ne doit pas être réveille sinon il reprend son butin.

Les joueurs partagent les trésors et en laissent quelques-uns derrière eux pour le Géant.

Leur gentillesse permettra de changer ce vilain géant.

Contenu: Planchette de jeu en couleur 20 pièces de trésor, 6 pièces cassette du géant endormi, 1 dé, 4 mobiles, instructions

Our customers say:
“My four-year-old and I have played so often we have
worn a path in the board!” — USA

This game has an English version as well, sold separately, as "Sleeping Grump".

2 to 4 Players, Ages 4 to 7 years.

An exciting fantasy game giving thoughtful and imaginative play experience. Our princess is a sturdy little girl in the Castle who needs to be rescued from a Mean Guard and Fierce Dog. It’s not going to be easy — and besides, Darkness is coming!

Off we go through Fields, Woods, Mountains and Villages in search of Things Magical and Practical needed to free the Princess. We’ll do some sharing, help each other to remember where Special Things are hidden, and together think our way past the Obstacles.

Includes: 12 x 12″ board, die, movers, night cards, good grief cards, special things. © 1986

“I must tell you how much the students here enjoy Princess.
All your games teach social and co-operative skills.”
— South Carolina, USA

Made in Perth, Ontario, Canada.

1 to 4 Players, Ages 7 years to Adult.

We are archaeologists digging for arti­facts in nearby rural areas. We work together to unearth as many old and new artifacts from different historical periods. When our Collection Bins are full, we head back to the Museum to assess our finds.

Contents: 24 Dig Area Cards, 12 Action Cards, 1 Transport Van, Rules for Basic and Hard Games.

© 2011 Jim Deacove
A Co-Operative Card Game™

“THANKS to the Friends of Murphy’s Point Park whose mandate is to further the public’s awareness, education and awareness of the geological, historical, cultural resources of this Provincial park. Their Apprentice Program inspired this game.” - Jim

For 1-8 players, Ages 5 to 7

A gentle game about helping each other to build Sand Castles by the Beach.

It's a quiet, beautiful day with water lapping at the shore. But a wind begins to stir and some large Waves move slowly toward our Castles. Can we finish all three of them before those big Waves wash in? Let's gather some sand, share our pails and shovels, and work hard together. This way, we have a much better chance of finishing.

But, oh, oh... The Waves are getting closer and closer. Should we make a big Sand Wall to protect the castle? Or take a chance and keep building the castle up? Decisions, decisions. All in all, an exciting game of strategy that gets us thinking.

Includes: 6 x 24" board, pails, shovels, sand castles, waves, sand walls, die, chart.

Made in Canada.

Top Rating by Canadian Toy Testing Council

Parents' Choice Awards

Reviews:

“We just received your Sand Castles game, and my five-year-old daughter and I enjoyed beating the Waves. Thanks for a great game!” — Mill Valley, CA