Peanut Butter Sandwich
Dilemma
(source: "Peace Begins with You and Me")
Note: I also have a simpler version of this game, more suitable for younger girls, called "Jelly Beans to Feed The World".
Purpose: To explore some of the difficulties encountered by countries in providing food and revenue for their people with the resources at hand. While trading with other countries, the girls will learn how easy it is to fall into conflict with others competing in the world market. The girls will better understand the challenge for countries - rich and poor, large and small - to maintain both world peace and internal peace, and to serve the needs of their people.
Split the group into eight different countries. Each country should have at least two people in it. Within each country a leader must be chosen - a President, Queen, Prime Minister or even a Dictator, as they prefer. Each country also chooses a decision-making process to use during the course of the game; for example, majority rule, the leader makes the final decision, or whatever. Lastly, each country chooses a name. Even this can prove a challenge to peace in some countries!
Each country is then given a sheet of Bristol board folded like a place card so it stands on its own. On one side are written the size, population and financial status of their country. On the other side, for their information only, is a list of their resources and what they need to provide for their population.
World resources are represented by the ingredients for a complete peanut butter and jam sandwich lunch. One lunch consists of:
- 1 peanut butter
- 1 jam
- 1 butter
- 1 knife
- 1 napkin
- 1 plate
- 2 bread
- Apples are actually an extra, but may be "needed to survive".
In the game, these resources are represented by small pieces of construction paper in appropriate colours and shapes. When resources are traded between countries, these papers help keep track of the gains and losses. The aim of the game is to use the resources available in your country to provide, through trade on the world market, what your country needs to survive while maintaining peace in the world.
Total World Resources (supplies handed out to the countries, based on each country's information (see below)):
- 13 peanut butter
- 13 napkins
- 10 knives
- 10 jam
- 10 butter
- 28 bread
- 12 apples
- 10 plates
The countries take turns trading with each other in order to gain the necessary resources. To add some spice and realism to the play, each country has the option on their turn to either trade or pick a "Luck of the Draw" card. These cards might offer a life-saving miracle or inflict a major disaster.
Luck of the Draw Cards: (each written on a square of Bristol board)
- 1. You've had a terrific harvest. Double you largest resource!
- 2. Your country was hit by an earthquake. Your largest resource has been wiped out.
- 3. You've made peace with an old enemy. Add three units of jam to your country's supply.
- 4. Disaster strikes! Spring flooding cuts you peanut butter harvest in half.
- 5. Your country develops a new fertilizer that doubles your apple supply. Congratulations!
- 6. Early frost hits the strawberry fields and wipes out everything. Cancel your jam exports.
- 7. The wheat crop is twice what you expected! Double your bread supply.
- 8. Drought hits. The cows stop giving milk. Your butter supply dries up completely.
- 9. Your new factory turns out plates in half the time. Double you plate supply.
- 10. Torrential winds and rains shut down all production. Your knife supply is wiped out altogether.
- 11. A tornado wipes out your only plate factory. Hand in all your plates.
- 12. A new technique lets you produce knives at twice the speed. Double your knife supply.
- 13. Unused land has proved to be perfect for peanuts. Your peanut butter supply triples.
- 14. An enemy had bombed your capital city. Your second largest resource is wiped out.
- 15. JACKPOT! Fortune smiles. Double all your resources.
- 16. JACKPOT! Fortune smiles. Double all your resources.
- 17. Fire wipes out two of your largest factories. Your napkin and bread supplies are gone.
- 18. You can make "bitter butter better." You bought big batches of bitter butter and made it better. Double your butter supply.
- 19. Hailstorms have wiped out your apple crop. All your apple supply is gone.
- 20. A neighbouring country shares surplus napkins with you. Add three to your napkin supply.
Note: Although world resources are limited, have available some extra resources to cover the bonuses granted in good "Luck of the Draw" Cards.
Resources Distributed Among
Countries
(this information is written out on cards and given to each country)
Country #1: A large, wealthy country with a large population and high labour costs.
Resources Available:
- 12 bread
- 2 knives
- 6 apples
- 6 plates
Needed to Survive:
- 2 peanut butter sandwiches
- 2 apples
Country #2: A large, wealthy country with a large population and low labour costs.
Resources Available:
- 5 knives
- 5 jam
- 7 napkins
- 5 butter
Needed to Survive:
- 2 peanut butter sandwiches
- 2 apples
Country #3: A small, poor country with low labour costs.
Resources Available:
- 2 jam
- 2 butter
- 3 napkins
Needed to Survive:
1 peanut butter sandwich
Country #4: A medium sized country with adequate resources to be self-sufficient.
Resources available:
- 6 bread
- 3 knives
- 3 plates
Needed to Survive:
- 1 peanut butter sandwich
- 1 apple
Country #5: A medium sized country with an evenly distributed population; plenty of resources but not a lot in excess of need.
Resources Available:
- 3 apples
- 3 jam
- 3 butter
Needed to Survive:
- 1 peanut butter sandwich
- 1 apple
Country #6: A fair sized country with a large population working for reasonable wages; some good natural resources.
Resources Available:
- 3 peanut butter
- 3 napkins
- 6 bread
Needed to Survive:
- 1 peanut butter sandwich
- 1 apple
Country #7: A small poor country, heavily populated with lots of cheap labour.
Resources Available:
- 4 bread
- 1 plate
- 3 apples
Needed to Survive:
- 1 peanut butter sandwich
Country #8: A very large and very poor country, small population and few developed resources.
Resources Available:
- 10 peanut butter
Needed to Survive:
- 2 peanut butter sandwiches
- 1 apple