This card game all about prizes
Monday, November 29, 2004 - OMNIway staff
One of the biggest draws at Almonte Country Haven is 'The Card Game,' according to Darlene Thibault, life enrichment co-ordinator.

Everyone knows what ‘The Card Game’ is at Almonte, says Darlene, as the program is held every Monday afternoon.

"The residents particularly like (it) because they get to win prizes," says Darlene.

"Not only do they win them, they get an opportunity to steal the prizes from each other throughout the course of the game," she adds.

Darlene says in the game, everyone gets three cards each. From a different deck the facilitator calls out a card, and as the cards are drawn a resident starts off by picking out a prize from the middle of the table.

"Once all the prizes have been won from the middle of the table, then the real fun begins," she says.

Residents start to steal from each other until all the cards in the deck have been called out. "As the life enrichment co-ordinator I felt it was my duty to sit in on this exciting game to experience firsthand how the game was played, and to make sure that no one was cheating, of course," says Darlene, tongue-in-cheek.

Darlene says, at first, her luck was pretty good "until finally one of the residents stole my last prize of a chocolate bar."