Description

Family Happenings is a roll-and-move game designed to be used as a tool for stimulating discussions during therapy sessions with children. The rules note that it "should only be used by a trained professional."

In the game, players roll a die to move pawns on a track. As they move, they land on various types of spaces. On Feeling Card spaces, the player must draw a card with a feeling printed on it and describe a time when he or she experienced that feeling. On a Do A Stunt space, the player draws a card and performs the action printed on it. On a Mail space, a card with the start of the first sentence of a letter written to a friend or family member is drawn. The player must complete the sentence. On a Family Happenings space, the player draws a card with a question that refers to a family problem that the child may have experienced (cards are marked with categories so the therapist can customize the deck to his clients). The player must answer the question. Roll 'n Go squares occur at junctions in the path and allow the player to roll again and move in a direction determined by their roll. Sent To Your Room squared require the player to go to their "room," a space marked with their pawn's color. They must then answer the question in their room before rolling to leave the room on their next turn. On a Spin space, the player spins a spinner and may gain or lose a turn or gain or lose chips depending on the roll. At the end of each player's turn, he or she receives one chip as allowance.

Players attempt to reach the end of the track, which if the peak of the roof on the house-shaped track. The game may end in one of two ways. The first player to reach the peak of the house can be declared the winner, or a time limit can be imposed, with the player holding the most chips when time runs out winning. In this version, reaching the finish space brings a bonus of five chips, after which the player may continue to move on the track.