This Activity is meant for Boy Scouts.
Each patrol is given 10 black beads and 2 blue beads.
Each patrol checks out the Buying and Selling price lists to figure out what article they want to manufacture.
Manufactured articles that you buy back should result in a profit, as long as they use items efficiently. But, if they waste 10 matches lighting a fire, there goes their profit, up in smoke.
Some examples:
- Will buy a cup of hot cocoa. To do this they will have to purchase from you a match, cocoa pack, stove, fuel for the cooking stove, water pot and water.
- Will buy three whipped ropes. They need to purchase three ropes and twine.
- Will buy three fused ropes. They need to purchase three ropes, match, candle.
- Will buy a campfire. They need to purchase a small length of wood, hand axe, matches and chop it into tinder, kindling, fuel and build it into a campfire.
- Will buy a comfortable night’s rest. They need to purchase, tent, sleeping bag, pad, and set it up.
Sample
BUYING price list:
- Cocoa – 1 red bead
- Three whipped ropes – 1 orange bead
- Three fused ropes – 1 orange bead
- A Campfire – 1 red bead
- A Night’s Rest – 1 orange bead
Sample
SELLING price list:
- A match – 1 black bead
- A tea bag – 1 black bead
- A stove – 1 blue bead
- Fuel – 1 black bead
- Water pot – 1 black bead
- Water – 1 blue bead
- Two frayed ropes – 1 black bead
- Five feet of twine – 1 black bead
- A candle – 1 black bead
- 6 inch piece of wood – 1 blue bead
- hand axe – 1 black bead
- tent – 1 black bead
- sleeping bag – 1 black bead
- sleeping pad – 1 black bead
Sample Values of Beads:
- Red - 10
- Orange - 5
- Yellow - 4
- Green - 3
- Blue - 2
- Black - 1
Purchasing the items needed to manufacture an article reduces the patrol's funds. When they successfully sell back their article, they hopefully make a profit.
More complicated tasks should be worth more.
You may rule that each patrol can only make one of a specific article, or allow mass production of the same thing many times.
If you are cleaning/repairing equipment, then a quality check should be included before payment is made.
Use colored paper, monopoly money, or any other currency you want if you have no beads.
You could have a trading post where patrols can exchange their currency for items - supplies, candy, toys.