Cool family board game tests knowledge of the outdoors

With the game “CAMP” batteries are not included.

Indeed, batteries aren’t even needed.

The reason is because CAMP is not an electronic game with a lot of mechanical-sounding whistles and bells along with a bunch of eye-popping LED lights.

Nope. CAMP is a board game that focuses on natural history trivia. A simple platform in which up to eight players do all they can to outwit and outplay their opponents.

The game’s manufacturer - Education Outdoors - calls CAMP “the game that grows with you.”

At this point one may say “huh?”

An easy enough answer exists, too.

CAMP comes virtually complete with a game board, 199 game cards on which are inscribed with 400 nature-related questions and 99 “fun facts” about the natural world like “polar bears can swim 50 miles without pausing for a rest.”

Included as well is a die, game character pieces and even a decoder that sleeve that reveals the correct answer.

And because of the game’s design various skill levels are featured on each card, a neat concept if you’re playing party includes young children as well as burly and seasoned outdoor types.

Which is exactly the makeup of our daughter, son-in-law and five grandchildren family.

They have played and replayed CAMP so often that some of the kids - none of whom are older than 11 - have actually memorized many of the multiple choice answers.

For this reason Rebecca and Gabe have purchased fresh cards with new questions.
Yes, my daughter’s family is that seriously into having fun with CAMP.

The fact that CAMP can be played in 20 to 30 minutes doesn’t hurt, either, when you’re dealing with the small set.

As the manufacturer says of the game on its web site: “From the level one Tenderfoot to the level four Nature Enthusiast, CAMP the board game is an outdoors trivia game designed to challenge the knowledge of every member of the family with questions about wildlife, camping skills and outdoor trivia while they race their game pieces around the board to be the first back to the campsite.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

CAMP is available for $26 through L.L. Beans, which includes free shipping during the Christmas holidays; Amazon.com at $18.95 (very limited supply); shopwiki.com for $25; and fatbraintoys.com for $23.95.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @Fieldkorn