Smugglers

A notorious gang of smugglers is recruiting new members. The first candidates step forward, a motley bunch indeed. Which one has the skills to become a worthy member of the gang? To determine this, the boss himself stages a smuggling contest. First the would-be smugglers must try to get through a hole in a fence while carrying the biggest sack of contraband possible. Then those who make it through the hole have a chance to inspect the other smugglers’ sacks that are smaller than their own or that shamefully got stuck in the hole in the fence.

A roll of the die determines which size hole in the fence the sack needs to fit through. The smuggling sacks are formed from a rubbery polymer putty that the players roll into balls with the contraband pieces hidden inside. The balls are then rolled down a track toward the fence. The player’s goal is to form the largest ball that will still fit through the fence. Players who succeed in getting the largest ball through the hole in the fence can then guess the contents of the smaller balls or of balls that were too large to fit through the fence. If they guess correctly, they get to keep the contraband. The player who collects the most contraband items wins. This funny family game answers the question: Who is the sneakiest and most skillful smuggler?