Camp Granada

Infobox_Game
title = Camp Granada
subtitle =
image_link =
image_caption = Camp Granada box with caricature of Allan Sherman
designer =
illustrator =
publisher = Milton Bradley
players = 2-4
setup_time =
playing_time = 60 minutes
complexity = Low
strategy = Low
random_chance = Medium (shuffling, wild cards)
skills = Eye–hand coordination
footnotes =
bggid =
bggxrefs =

Camp Granada is a 1965

cite web | url = http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/12409 | title = Camp Granada | work=|accessdate = 2008-02-08| date = | publisher = BoardGameGeek] children's board game by Milton Bradley based on Allan Sherman's popular 1963 novelty song "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh". Campers take turns driving a breakdown-prone bus to gather ICKY animals [NOTE: ICKY animals are similar in size and composition to Mattel’s 1965 Creepy Crawlers activity toy] from various summer camp locations to be the first to leave the real rotten camp

cite web | url = http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=578&format=tv&theme=toyland | title = LikeTelevision - Camp Granada by Milton Bradley| work=liketelevision ...only better|accessdate = 2008-02-09| date = | publisher = LikeTelevision NOTE: The TV commercial describes the following:

(singing)Hello Muddah -- la la la
Hello Fadduh -- la la la
Here's a game called -- la la la
Camp Granada -- la la la
All us children -- la la la
love it madly -- la la la
Manufactured by my uncle Milton Bradley -- la la la
(conversation) It's a real good game, too
It's all about this uh, real rotten camp, Camp Granada
and the object of the game is to get home from camp, anyway you can -- try to escape
And you get this uh rotten board
and all these rotten cards
and everybody gets a rotten bunkhouse
and then there's this rotten camp bus
and it can bus, uh you go, see,
the motor falls out right in the middle
and you get these icky, icky animals -- they're disgusting, yech
that's a frog
and here's a (ooh ooh ooh) a crazy lizard or something like that
(singing) Hello Muddah -- la la la
Hello Fadduh -- la la la
Get this game called -- la la la
Camp Granada -- la la la
It's a game that -- la la la
should be gotten -- la la la
Milten Bradley's game about a camp that's rotten -- blah

] for home. The game board depicts spikes on the diving board, an octopus in the swimming hole, and a lover's leap into a volcano.

Game play

Camp Granada Bus cards have an image of a blue bus in disrepair [NOTE: The image on the Camp Granada Bus card is similar to the box image, with a smoking tailpipe, a steam-spewing radiator, a broken window, a patched roof, and loose parts flying.] and, on the reverse, a humorous reason to either drive the bus to a camp location and pick up an ICKY animal [NOTE: Instructions in addition to "GO TO …" on the Camp Granada Bus cards do not have to be completed, e.g., the "and wash the floor" text on the HOSPITAL card is only for humor.
:NOTE: The reference to "x-ray machine" on a HOSPITAL card is similar to the used of X-Ray Specs, a 1960s novelty.] or to receive a SPECIAL PRIVILEGE and "take one ICKY animal from any player". After drawing a Camp Granada Bus card, the player then moves the toy bus along the road to the camp location specified by the card.

The challenge is that the front axle of the bus can slide side-to-side and "the motor falls out right in the middle". In particular, if the front wheels move too far from the side of the bus, a small lobe on the middle of the axle will contact one of two miniature lever arms connected to the bus's radiator, which is hinged and will be deflected to fall forward — the "breakdown" that ends a player's turn. For success, a player must carefully watch that neither front wheel moves too far beyond the corresponding bus fender. [NOTE: A comparable [http://www.boardgamegeek.com/browser.php?itemtype=game&sortby=category&categoryid=32&catname=Action%2FDexterity action/dexterity children's game] to Camp Granada is the 1965 Milton Bradley Operation (game), which requires players to carefully remove objects (e.g., "wrenched ankle") from the patient depicted on the board without contacting the sides of holes containing the objects.]

A tactic to negotiate turns without a breakdown is to steer by carefully sliding the "rear" of the bus. An alternate tactic is to 'cut the corner' to more easily negotiate sharp turns, but a rule requires at least one wheel be on the road (at some points, the road is narrower than the track width of the wheels). Players also learn to watch other players who drive the bus with their fingers close to the front wheels and to ensure such players don’t touch a front wheel to prevent the axle from sliding.

For the SPECIAL PRIVILEGE to "take one ICKY animal", a rule requires reaching into a competitor's bunkhouse "without looking", so a game skill is to remember which competitor had acquired particular ICKY animals, and then by touch, recognize the shape of the needed ICKY animal.

The player who first acquires the required three ICKY animals and exits the camp is the winner.

Equipment and setup

Equipment includes the 23⅝x 19½" tri-fold game board, a plastic toy bus, 4 cardboard bunkhouses, 12 rubber ICKY animals (2 each Crawfish, Frog, Lizard, Mouse, Snake, Spider), 16 ICKY animal cards (2 for each of the 6 animals, plus 4 for the Boating, Bunkhouse, Handicrafts, and Hiking Awards), and 48 of the 2⅝x1¾" Camp Granada Bus Cards (6 SPECIAL PRIVILEGE, plus 3 for each of 12 of the locations and only 2 for First Aid Training, Bunk House, & Hospital) [cite web | url = http://www.darwinsgamecloset.com/campgranada1965.html | title = Camp Granada game | work=Darwin's Game Closet|accessdate = 2008-02-09| date = | publisher = www.darwinsgamecloset.com]

Setup requires ICKY animals be placed at camp locations and the bunkhouses be assembled and placed at each corner of the game board for players to subsequently conceal ICKY animals. ICKY animal cards are then divided among the players to identify which ICKY animals need to be gathered.

References and Notes