Marshmallow Tower

Set up

Split into teams of three to five and give each team a table or a patch of floor. Count out the same number of spaghetti sticks and mini marshmallows for every team. Check for food allergies or dietary needs if anyone is likely to eat the materials.

How to play

1. Explain the goal: the tallest tower that stands on its own when the time ends.
2. State the rules. The tower must stand on the table, not lean on anything, and nobody may be touching it when it is measured. Spaghetti may be snapped. Only the materials provided may be used.
3. Start the timer. Fifteen minutes is a good length; ten for children.
4. Call out the time remaining at five minutes, two minutes and thirty seconds.
5. When time is up, hands off. Wait ten seconds, then measure each standing tower from the table to its highest point.
6. The tallest standing tower wins.

What usually happens

Teams that talk for ten minutes and build for five tend to watch their tower fall at the buzzer. Teams that start sticking things together at once learn early what holds. If you are running this for a class or a work group, that is the point worth drawing out afterward: build something small, test it, then build higher.

Ways to change it

• Marshmallow on top: give each team one large marshmallow that must sit at the very top. It is heavier than it looks.
• Bridge: build a bridge between two tables a hand’s width apart that can hold a small toy car.
• Silent round: no talking while building.
• Budget: each stick costs one point and each marshmallow two. The score is height minus cost.

Who it suits, and who it doesn’t

This works wherever people can sit in small teams at tables: a classroom, a workshop, a family gathering after the meal. It suits ages seven and up and needs no skill. It is sticky, so cover good tablecloths, and it is not for a room where people are standing with drinks. Do not let anyone eat marshmallows that have been handled by a whole team.