printer friendly page
Why hold a beetle drive?
A beetle drive is an old favourite - a simple game requiring only paper, pencils and dice - which gives an inexpensive evening's entertainment that children and adults can enjoy, and which is a good fundraiser too.
If you've never played beetle before, the aim of the game is to be the first player to draw a complete beetle - but the body parts you can draw are determined by the throw of the dice. At beetle drives, players often move from table to table at the start of each new game - which makes for a sociable and chatty occasion 
too.
You can devote a whole evening to a beetle drive - and with refreshments, and a raffle if you like. If you're holding a fundraising party with other entertainments, or a charity dinner, then a few games of beetle is a good "warm-up" to get people ready to give generously to the tombola stall, or the raffle or the charity auction.
Beetle - the basics
However you play beetle, the basics are the same.
You have 4 players to one table (or two groups of 4 at a larger table). Each player has a beetle card and a pencil, and you need a dice for each table of 4 players.
A beetle drive consists of up to twelve games of beetle: each game has a winner but the overall winner is the player who scoes the most points from all the games played.
Before each game starts, the players at each table throw the dice to determine who goes first - usually the highest score thrown, with the playing order then clockwise. Once the game starts, players throw the dice in turn and draw body parts of the beetle depending on the dice they have thrown.
There are different throws for different beetle body parts - and different body parts - depending on what beetle cards you use. But the general principles are the same. With Charnwood Catalogue's beetle cards:
- there are 13 body parts - body, head, tail, 6 legs, 2 feelers, 2 eyes
- you must throw a 6 to start - and you can then draw the body
- throw a 5 - draw the head
- throw a 4 - draw the tail
- throw a 3 - draw a leg
- throw a 2 - draw a feeler
- throw a 1 - draw an eye
Once you've thrown a 6 to start, you do not have to throw the dice in any particular order - except that you must have thrown a 5 to draw the head before you can draw feelers and eyes.
The first player from all the tables to draw a complete beetle shouts BEETLE and scores the maximum 13 points for that game. Everyone else counts up how many body parts they have drawn, and scores one point per body part.
Each player keeps their score for each game - and the overall winner is the player who scores the most points.
Beetle drive - moving from table to table
A beetle drive can be played singly, or in pairs - but, either way, the general idea is the same.
No matter how many tables you have, there will only be one winner of each game - the first person (or pair) to shout BEETLE. That winner (or winning pair) moves to the table next to them - usually clock-wise.
When everyone on the other tables has counted up their points, the person (or pair) with the most points at each table moves to the next table. If there is a tie on any table - 2 players (or 2 pairs) with the same number of points, then who moves on is decided by the roll of a dice.
Playing in pairs
Playing in pairs - and moving from table to table in pairs - is quicker. Here's how it works:
- the players sitting opposite one another at a table of 4 make a pair
- when one player in the pair throws a dice, BOTH players draw the body part on their beetle card - for example, one player throws a 5 and BOTH players draw a head on their beetle card
- BOTH players score for all the body parts they have drawn
- at the end of the game, the winning pair from the table of 4 players move on to the next table and pair up with the other players at that table - they do not stay as a pair but form a new pair
- the overall winner is still an individual player - with the highest points from all the games
Beetle by the buzzer
The duration of a beetle drive depends on the throw of the dice and - even playing in pairs - each game can take some time. An alternative is to play beetle by the buzzer.
Somene acts as timekeeper, and presses a buzzer - or blows a whistle - after (say) 5 minutes into each game; and whoever has scored most points by then wins the game.
Points mean prizes!
It's up to you what prizes you have. Obviously you want a prize for the overall winner - but prizes for each game can make players keenly competitive, even something as inexpensive as a bar of chocolate.
What you need
Beetle cards and dice - all of which you can buy from Charnwood Catalogue:
