In the Busytown Board Game, all players are trying to get to Picnic Island before the Pigs get there and eat all of the food! It is played on a board that is about 6 feet long and everyone works together: Up to four individual players or teams against those pigs.

Busytown board game rules are easy to follow:

1. Each player chooses a mover and a base
2. Set up the board; the 30 Goldbug cards are shuffled and placed near the board. The 6 food tiles are placed on Picnic Island, and the 10 Magnifying Glass tokens are placed nearby. There is also a sand timer (for Goldbug Mysteries) and a spinner. The “ferry” tile is placed at the end of the road you are on.

   The Play: All of you will be driving down the road to the ferry and on to Picnic Island. The Busytown board game rules require you to help Goldbug find many things hidden in town to assist in this trip. Can you all get there before the Pigs eat all of the food?

3. Youngest player, or the team containing the youngest member,  goes first!
4. The active player spins the spinner:If the spinner stops on “MOVE,” move your piece the number indicated. If you land on a detour, follow the directions. If you land on a fork in the road, decide which direction to go.

   If it stops on “Goldbug,” pick up a Goldbug card. It will tell what object is to be found around town. The timer will be set and everyone works together to find them. There are more than 100 objects hidden around town, and as my momma always said about life, the fun is in the searching!

   One example is a hammer. When drawn, all players will be looking for the hammers. As they are located by everyone, a Magnifying Glass token is placed so they can be counted.

   When the timer runs out, all players stop looking and count the Magnifying Glass tokens. The total found equals the BONUS moves each person takes.

   Remove the Magnifying Glass tokens from the board and it is the next person’s turn.

   If the spinner stops on “PIGS EAT,” take one food token from Picnic Island and spin again.

5. When each player reaches the ferry, (the number on the spinner does not have to be an exact number,) they will wait until other players arrive before they can move out for the Island. Remember, you are all working together, and sometimes that means waiting!
6. If you all get to Picnic Island before all of the food is gone, the whole team wins. (If the pigs have eaten all of the food, consider having a good, old-fashioned BBQ)

Helpful hints and tips from the Busytown board game rules:

The board is long, so everyone, when looking for Goldbug’s items, should spread out to cover the whole area.

The game takes LUCK, SKILL and TEAMWORK. The more you play, the more you will learn and the more objects you will find.

Good Luck!