Grapes of

Wrath
The Board
Game

General Premise:
Players try to advance to the finish (California) amid trials and tribulations
such as food shortages, family deaths, lack of shelter, harsh weather, etc. They
have to work with what they brought and earn the rest along the way.

Set-Up:
1. Each player chooses a car and puts in 6 people. Each player can select how
many men and women that they want in their family. Men will earn more
food, but consume more. Women will earn less food, but will also consume
less.
2. Every car starts in Oklahoma (OK).
3. Every player receives 15 food cards to start.
4. Also, deal out 3 cards labelled S/J to each player. Place the remaining
Special/Journey Cards on the Special/Journey Cards space.
5. Place all Obstacle Cards (labelled O) on the Obstacle Cards space.
6. Roll the die. Whoever rolls the highest number goes first; after this, go
clockwise.

Playing the Game:

1. WHO GOES FIRST: Whoever rolled the highest number goes first. Roll the
dice. Move hat number of spaces forward along the game board. The next
player in this clockwise rotation then repeats these steps.
2. FEEDING YOUR FAMILY: For every round of play after this, you must put 2
food cards into the food card pile for every man in the car and 1 in the pile
for every woman. Do this before you roll the die.
3. FOOD SPACES: If you land on a green space, you receive 3 food cards for
every man and 2 food cards for every woman. These green spaces represent
points of opportunity for your family. You must land directly on these spaces
in order to receive the food cards.
4. OBSTACLE SPACES: Obstacle spaces give you a choice. You can either
perform the action that is listed on the space or you can draw an obstacle
cards. Demands range from giving food to the bank to moving backwards
spaces.
5. FAMILY DEATHS: If you dont have enough food cards to feed your family, you
must remove one member of your family from your car. This person is now
dead. You may choose which person (man or woman) to remove. Only
remove one person per turn, even if more are starving.
6. SELLING ITEMS: If you are extremely desperate for food cards, you can sell
various objects. Look at the section called Selling Items to see which items
you may sell.
7. TRADES: Players may also trade cards with one another. Any kind of trades
can be executed. Trades can include anything that is in play (i.e. family

members, cards, even a players car). Consider trades that go on for

multiple turns or even trades that include more than two parties. Again,
there are no rules when it comes to trades so use your imagination. Trades
can only be proposed by the player whose turn it is.
8. THE STOP SIGN: Regardless of what number you roll, you must stop on the
space that has a stop sign on it. You can choose to either travel down the
red path which is risky, but short; or you can choose to travel on the safe
path which is less risky, but four times longer.

Cards:
Card

Function

Food Cards

Indicate how many pieces of food that

you have. Make sure to note the
number of food cards that the piece of
paper represents; some represent 1,
some 5, and some 10.
Obstacle Cards
Provide Obstacles for you and your
family. They are drawn from the pile
when you land on a red space.
Special Cards
Each player receives 3 Special Cards to
start. Special Cards counter the effects
of Obstacle Cards, but only certain
Special Cards can counter certain
Obstacle Cards (more on that below).
If you encounter an obstacle (land on a red space), Make the choice that is
listed on the space; although, sometimes you wont have a choice. Obstacle Cards
contain everything from famine to a flat tire to getting mugged. You have to have a
certain Special Card to counter these conditions, as shown in the table below. You
cannot advance along the game board if you are hindered by an Obstacle Card, so
each turn, instead of rolling the die, you must draw one Special Card until you
receive one that can counter the Obstacle Card that you hold. Once you counter the
Obstacle Card, you can roll the die on the same turn and resume your advance
along the board.
Also mixed into the Special Card Deck are some purple cards labelled
Journey Card. The two types of Journey Cards are Super Mechanic Al and Fertile
Land. If you draw this card from the pile, immediately place it face up in front of
you. If you have Super Mechanic Al, Obstacle Cards related to cars (i.e. Flat Tire
and Out of Gas) will never affect you. If you have Fertile Land, Obstacle Cards
related to working the land/obtaining food (i.e. Famine and Fired from Work) will
never affect you.

Obstacle Card

Counter Special Card

Counter Journey
Card

Flat Tire
Out of Gas
Famine
Fired from Work
Muggers

Spare Tire
Extra Tank
Good Growing
Found Work
Pepper Spray

Super Mechanic Al
Fertile Land
None

Selling Items:
Item

Number of
Food Cards
Earned

Effects

Special Card
Journey Card
Car

5
10
20

Lose a Special Card of your choice

Lose a Journey Card of your choice
Lose your car. Now, when you roll the
die, you must only move half the
number of spaces that you roll (if you
roll an odd number, divide by two and
round up)

You may only sell items on your turn, BEFORE YOU ROLL THE DIE.

Winning:
After everyone has finished, the person with the most points wins. The point system
is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

If you still have a car, you receive 20 points.

For every family member left, you receive 10 points.
For each Special Card left, you receive 5 points.
For each Journey Card left, you receive 10 points.
You receive 1 point for each food card that you have remaining.
Whoever reaches California first receives 10 points, second receives 8, third
receives 5, fourth receives 3, fifth receives 1, and the rest receive none.