Do you wish that you were the plant whisperer, a naturalist and herbalist who knows all about the amazing properties of edible and healing plants? Sure, you might. But how do you become such a guru without sitting down with a book and memorizing the plants around you? What if there was a fun way to do this – like a game?
Over the Christmas season, we finally opened the game that I’d purchased for my daughter a long time ago, at least a year back. I was waiting for the opportune moment to give it to her, and that moment was Christmas. I’d heard rave reviews about the game Wildcraft from a friend, but I was suspicious. While we like many cooperative games, they’re not always complex enough to hold my daughter’s interest for long. She likes the excitement that you get from competition!
This one definitely hit the mark. In Wildcraft, your goal is to travel up a mountain with your friends. You need to collect huckleberries and bring them back to grandma’s house. Along the way, you have problems. Every time you hit a problem square, you might be stung by a wasp, get itchy from stinging nettles, or feel sick or scared. In spite of your problems, your goal is to get your group and the huckleberries back to grandma’s house before dark.
Luckily, the plants around you can help. This is where the game works as a teaching tool. There’s a pile of medicinal plants, and every time you move onto a plant card, you get to keep one of those plants. If you get stung or scared, you check your plants to determine whether they can help you out. Your friends can help you too.
This is a simple way to learn about common North American medicinal plants. Not every plant will be native to your area, but the game’s creators have chosen plants that are relatively common in forests, road sides, and gardens.
My only wish is that they would give more details about what part of the plant to use and how to prepare it. Further research is required if you’d like to use the knowledge that you get in this game.
So to all prospective plant whisperers, I’d highly recommend Wildcraft.
Image Credit: [mejones]