Remember this game, the bane of every elementary-aged would-be doctor?

So so soooo frustrating.

Here’s an adaptation for WyldLife Club that’s less frustrating but more odorous.

1. In a large plastic storage bin, collect at least 5″ of old, stale, discarded, leftover, expired food. Anything goes. After mixing it all together (adding water if necessary to create enough primordial ooziness), add TWO cauliflower florets (aka brains), TWO hot red peppers (kidneys), TWO unpeeled mandarin oranges (stomachs), TWO small apples (hearts), and whatever other “organs” or “bones” you want.
2. Draw two full-body chalk silhouettes on the sidewalk (if outside) or two full-body Sharpie silhouettes on a tarp (if inside), positioned to mimic the Operation game board.
3. Draw specific “organ” shapes in the silhouette to match whatever you threw into the ooze – e.g. a bumpy cauliflower brain, a small round stomach, an apple-shaped heart, etc.
4. Have oversized BBQ tongs for each participation to perform “operations.”
5. For a small club, divide everyone into two teams. Give each player a set time (e.g. 10 seconds) to fish for an organ before moving to the next “doctor” in line. Keep things moving quickly with fun music playing in the background.
6. For a larger club, bring up 4 or 5 kids per team to be the representative “doctors.” Using a large clear plastic tub will allow other kids to see what’s going on.
7. When someone finds an organ, they place it into the correct spot on the silhouette. First team to find and place all the organs wins.

Warning 1: The ooze stinks. Be prepared.

Warning 2: Never, never, never turn this into a food-eating game. Never.

Warning 3: Have a clean-up plan in place. Depending on the food-ooze contents, you can flush small portions at a time. We dumped the whole thing into an industrial strength trash bag, then into an outside dumpster. We then scrubbed out the chicken soup + mayonnaise + cheese balls + stale cereal + old pasta + other grossness – carefully and thoroughly, with much soap and disinfectant. If cost isn’t an issue, toss the whole container.