Game: Pick Up Sticks

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Great_Mazinga — 2008-10-29T20:32:06+00:00

2008 edition, pic shot at a discount store

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cdefrisco — 2008-10-17T17:14:26+00:00

Haba's answer to pick-up sticks (w/permission)

Thread: Re: Need a Consult from Domain Experts

Thosw — 2008-09-06T03:34:08+00:00

I believe that fingers are used until such time as the black stick is uncovered, then the player that picks it up successfully is allowed to use it to move the stick they want without disturbing the others.

Thread: Need a Consult from Domain Experts

Sagrilarus — 2008-09-06T02:51:09+00:00

    I watched the film No Reservations this evening. Part way through the film they played pick-up sticks, and they did it using very thin sticks to carefully lift the regular sticks off of the pile. I have always played that you use your fingers.

    Pick Up Sticks is a stunning metaphor for project management, and it appears I may have been playing it wrong for my entire life. Would anyone care to weigh in on which way it should be played?

             Sag.

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sekke — 2008-08-22T16:35:23+00:00

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Me 262 Schwalbe — 2008-06-05T11:20:17+00:00

Papita sixties edition inside the box

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Me 262 Schwalbe — 2008-06-05T11:18:18+00:00

Papita sixties Mikado edition

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kruck — 2008-06-04T20:51:35+00:00

Polish edition. Cost: about 1$.

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hugo_pereira_pt — 2008-05-12T18:11:17+00:00

Mikado - Portuguese Edition - Majora

Thread: An unexpected variant adds a whole new level of strategy.

MattSim — 2008-02-25T01:57:00+00:00

At a local dollar store my daughters and I found sets of Pick-Up-Sticks for 77c. Nice wooden box & bamboo painted sticks... the original sticker on the back was "Pier One Imports $3.00"! My wife loves Pier 1, so i felt obligated to buy it.

Upon testing it out we were delightfully surprised to discover a modest rule summary with a few nuances none of us recognized. The set is virtually identical to the one below. Sticks are worth 2, 5, or 10 points.

The critical difference in gameplay feels like a trick-taking cardgame: Each player takes a turn removing as many sticks as they can one-at-a-time without bumping any other sticks. Once each player has had a turn, the player with the highest score for that round gets a point. (We do this by keeping one stick, & all others go back in the box.) Also, one can only use a stick as a tool, after successfully removing one that turn.

These subtle changes breathed new life into this classic game. It made me suspicious if this was how the game ought to have been played - and we had been ignorant of it all along. During play, I found myself making calculated mistakes — forcing the game to last longer — if i was behind in points. And when ahead, the pressure was on to get that first tool-stick to help remove as many as possible; not for points, but to remove opportunities for others to take the lead.

Another interesting effect was that single 10 point stick. A great advantage... but only during the current turn. And since our house rule is "keep your target"... sometimes it's worth it just to grab the 10-pointer and claim the round. But you've got to time it just right or your lead could amount to a false start.

After discovering this rule set, it would seem pointless to ever again play the old way.

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Artax — 2008-01-08T18:49:18+00:00

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madziar — 2007-12-08T15:50:59+00:00

Pack of pieces, box, and special pieces from old polish version (1980)

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amwiles — 2007-10-28T11:39:41+00:00

The Sticks

Thread: Re: The Classics Never Go Out Of Style

Wyll — 2007-10-10T00:21:21+00:00

I never really appreciated the game until the girls began getting it treats from restraunts and such. I started showing them how to play and it made me think of what kind of games I had to play with as a kid... and Pick Up Sticks was one of the big ones.

And you're right... shaky hands and big fingers put me at a disadvantage.

Thread: Re: The Classics Never Go Out Of Style

JohnnyDollar — 2007-10-09T16:46:53+00:00

Nice review!
I hate this game b/c my hand is never very steady (too much coffee perhaps? ;-) )

Thread: The Classics Never Go Out Of Style

Wyll — 2007-10-09T12:58:56+00:00

As I keep writing these reviews, I have a tendency to look to the past as opposed to the present when picking games. It is probably because I cannot afford to buy every new kids game out there, so I have to “go with what I know”.

Sometimes, it is just the fact that the classics never go out of style.

On a recent outing to an amusement center, Lady X received a strange game as a prize. She had never seen or heard of such a thing and asked me if I knew anything about.

I turned over the little plastic package in my hands and nodded sagely at her.

“You’ve got a game called Pick Up Sticks.” I told her. “I don’t suppose you want to learn how to play.

After we arrived back home and settled it, I sat down and taught Lady X how to play. An hour later, she still wanted to play and I remain convinced that the classics never go out of style.

Initial Thoughts

Every time I get a game of Pick Up Sticks, it brings back a lot of childhood memories. You had a good chance of getting this manual dexterity game as a birthday gift or as a prize at a fish pond.

Object Of The Game

The first player to reach the agreed final score first wins the game.

Components

Like many classic games, Pick Up Sticks comes in many variations. A typical set consists of between 25 and 41 sticks. The sticks can be made of wood, plastic or metal in some cases. There are even instructions on how to make you own set (or even a giant outdoor set) of [GAMEID-6424] on the Internet.

Gameplay

A random method is used to determine who will go first.

On a player’s turn, they should hold all the sticks upright with one end touching the table. Then, the player will open his hand quickly and allow the sticks to scatter on the table.

Once the sticks have fallen, the player then must pick them up one stick at a time. If he causes any of them to move, his turn is over and it is the next player’s turn.

The set I have contains 30 sticks and we play to a set score of 200 points. The scoring and number of sticks breaks down as follows:

     1 Black: 25 points (may be used as a tool to pick up sticks)
     7 Red: 10 points
     7 Blue: 5 points
     8 Green:2 points
     7 Yellow: 1 point

Strategy v.s. Luck Factor

There are only two questions you have to ask yourself when playing this game: how steady is your hand and what kind of scatters will you get?

This is a dexterity game and those with a shaky hand or large fingers will be at a disadvantage. There have been some comments that little fingers have a definite advantage, but I think that children’s impatience will cancel out that advantage.

As was mentioned in the Gameplay section, the Black stick can be used as a tool once retrieved (meaning you can use it to move other sticks). I was never very good at using it as a tool, so I went after it mainly for the points.

Closing Thoughts

Until I bought Gulo Gulo, this game was a staple in our house. The kids loved the colored sticks and enjoyed waiting for me is mess up.

I think that Gulo Gulo is a superior game in a lot of aspects, but you really cannot beat the price of a game of Pick Up Sticks. You can pick up a cheap wooden set up at a dollar store and it is a good game to travel with.

Recommendation Summary

Wyll's Recommendation:

Fun Factor (5 Point Scale):

One Line Summary: A classic dexterity game that is suitable for ages 4 and up.

Thread: User Review

Shade_Jon — 2004-12-06T17:15:22+00:00

Pick-up sticks is a dexterity game.

The basic idea is that the sticks are dropped is a certain manner and distance from the table such thatthey form a pile.

The first player (who is not the dropper), then tries to remove a stick from the pile without moving any of the other sticks. This may be trivial for a stick that rolled away from the group, but usually takes some fair amount of coordination. Often, a player is given a special stick to help remove the other sticks.

If the player succeeds, he continues his turn. As soon as another stick is moved by accident, play passes to the left.

The winner is the player who has removed the most sticks. In many versions, the sticks have differnt markings, such as differnt colors and bands. In this case, sticks with different markings are worth different point values.

The game is pretty ancient, apparently dating back at least 2500 years.

It is still ejoyable to play if you're into these sorts of things. Younger children can learn the consequences of their elbows and fingers, and older children can often beat grown-ups due to their smaller more delicate fingers.