This is definitely a game of skill and strategy. The more you play, the more you'll learn about the nutrients in food - and the more likely you are to win!
There are sixty-three cards in the pack, plus the instruction card, which is loads to go around.
Shuffle all the cards up and deal so everyone gets a mix.
For a quick game between 2 players, play with just ten cards (five cards each). Then play some more rounds.
BASIC TOP GRUB! GAMEPLAY
In the basic version of the game, use the GREEN and RED nutrient categories ONLY.
For a game using the BLUE categories, click here or read below.
Open or Closed ?
You can either play with your cards on show ('open') or hidden ('closed').
Closed
It’s certainly fun to keep the cards that are being played secret. In this version, the player choosing the category doesn't know which food they're playing against. They think carefully only about the best things about their own food.
Open
But it can be even more exciting - and you'll learn even more - if each player declares the card they're going to use, and slides the card up so that everybody can see the picture on the back.
This way, the player who is choosing the category has to think not only about the strong points in their own food but also the weak points in their opponent’s food.
Top Grub Taunts (for serious gamers only !)
Another good thing about open play is that players can call out a challenge - otherwise known as a Top Grub Taunt!
Here are some challenges hurled at a recent Top Grub Tournament, held in London (February 2007):
- APPLE ATTACK !
- BREAKFAST BARNEY !
- BREAD BUST UP !
- FISH FIGHT !
- FRUIT FACE OFF !
- MEAT MELEE !
- SUPERSNACK SHOWDOWN !
- TERROR TOMATO TOTAL TAKEDOWN !
Taunts can be hurled when someone wins, or (earlier in the game) if a close battle is about to ensue between foods of a similar type - e.g. two fruits, or they're the same colour, or they're in the same food group.
For example, a victorious player announced "DAIRY DEATHMATCH !" when WHOLE MILK was played against SEMISKIMMED MILK.
And when a KIWI beat an ORANGE, the phrase "KILLER KIWI FIGHTING SYSTEM !" was heard.
You can use one of the phrases above. Or better still, make up your own.
PLAYING WITH THE BLUE CATEGORIES
The BLUE categories (at the top of every card) are nutrient values which are important to know about but that are difficult to fit into the "more wins" / "less wins" structure of the basic TOP GRUB! game.
Eating as little salt as possible is a good thing. But you cannot really say this for calories as we must eat some but not too many.
So here's a game to play using the BLUE categories on the card. It's based on a twenty-one type card game (e.g. "Pontoon") using the recommended or guideline daily amounts of each nutrient.
First, set your limit
E.g. you can use Guideline Daily Amount (GDA) of calories for an average woman (this is the figure often given on food packaging) and set the limit of the game at 2000 calories.
Or make it a meal's worth at 500 calories. (Warning: you’ll bust straight away if you get the sweets and the doughnut!)
Or use the RDA/GDA of protein, or carbohydrate, or fat.
Playing the game
Each player is dealt two cards to start with and then as many more as they want to try to get the total as close as possible to the desired amount.
If you go over the amount (yes, even by one) then the hand is bust and you are out of the game.
Each player takes a turn to Hit (get another card), or Stick (stay with the cards they’ve got) until everyone has either stuck or gone bust.
The winner is the player who has the closest score to the limit that's been agreed.