BattleTech and Butterscotch Bars

February 6, 2011 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

During a recent tidy up, Big Boy uncovered this old board game of Pete’s.

It was last played in 1988. For all the gaming geeks out there, this is the board game precursor to the popular MechWarrior video game series. (Hmm. I wonder if any gaming geeks actually read my blog? Please do let me know.)

A flurry of excitement ensued, as Big Boy and his mate Tim made plans for a board game evening. Tim’s lovely parents were kind enough to let five noisy young men occupy their dining table all night, so I thought it only fair that I contribute some baked treats for the occasion. What better for sustaining armoured warriors locked in mortal combat than butterscotch bars?

There’s nothing I enjoy more than baking for my sons and their friends. In this case though, as Big Boy sat around a table with his friends, playing the same game that Pete had played with his friends over twenty years ago, it was even more special!

Posted in Food & Friends | 27 Comments

27 Responses

on February 6, 2011 at 2:03 am Debra Kolkka

I wouldn’t mind some of those butterscotch bars.
on February 6, 2011 at 2:30 am heidi

Board games and butterscotch bars?
Those boys are blessed.
on February 6, 2011 at 3:57 am Sean

The butterscotch bars sound great… but would a couple of chocolate chips tossed in be nice too? Just sayin’ :-)
on February 6, 2011 at 3:58 am Choclette

Celia – love the idea of gaming geeks reading your blog. though I did used to love playing bored games. Those butterscotch bars look simply divine and have made me very hungry.
on February 6, 2011 at 4:32 am Nancy @ Roving Lemon's Big Adventure

Nice! Miss B is just starting to get into board games–we spent some time snowed in this week learning to play Blokus as a family. Could be habit-forming.
on February 6, 2011 at 5:10 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Deb, it would be lovely to share them with you!

Heidi, I dunno, I was the one feeling blessed last week.. :)

Sean, I’m not sure if you’re teasing. :) If you look at the butterscotch bar recipe I linked above, you’ll see that it already has 360g / 2.5 cups of chocolate chips in it, and that’s in an 8″ square pan! :)

Choc, I’d love to think computer gamers read the blog, but somehow I doubt it..hahaha

Nancy, we taught our boys to play 500, but it was too slow for them. They prefer poker! :)
on February 6, 2011 at 9:29 am Amanda

We used to play Monopoly and Scrabble with our when they were younger, but my son now prefers poker and pizza with his mates.
on February 6, 2011 at 9:49 am cityhippyfarmgirl

Was there any bars left? I would imagine 5 teenage boys engrossed in battle would have scoffed the lot…and I would expect nothing less :-)
on February 6, 2011 at 10:33 am Joanna @ Zeb Bakes

Love the alliteration :) The last board game I played was Snakes and Ladders with a six year old on Monday evening. He explained the rules very carefully to me, and danced with excitement every time anyone threw a 6, (extra throw).

We didn’t have any butterscotch bars though, I reckon he would have loved those!
on February 6, 2011 at 2:11 pm Tes

Wow the butterscotch bars look really great! We love more treats and snacks during family game time, too :)
on February 6, 2011 at 3:26 pm Quay Po Cooks

Celia, Ooo… looks so DELICIOUS!! I can imagine have this with hot coffee and loving it. Nice snaps too.
on February 6, 2011 at 3:43 pm Christine

What fun for your boy’s friend to host a game night! I can imagine you were in your element, dear Celia baking away for the event.

Hubby recently pulled out an old board game from his youth; Squatter – an iconic Aussie game in the same style as Monopoly with the focus on sheep farming and wool sales. He gleefully dusted it off and took it on our family holiday where I left him (blissfully from within the confines of the sunlounge) to fulfill his fantasy of letting his daughters grow up playing the same board game! :)
on February 6, 2011 at 3:55 pm Anna Johnston

That’s a nice story…., even though I’m not a gaming geek at all, it kinda sounds fun all the same, especially considering they scored some home baked goodies….., no wonder these young men would probably love nothing better than a night in at your place Celia :)
Sorry I was late loading up Cookie this week….. big week :(
on February 6, 2011 at 4:42 pm InTolerantChef

What a lovely story! littlej and Nanny have an afternoon together after school each week, and always play board games, We had to ban them from Scrabble though when we saw the board one day and even some 3 letter words were wrong- littlej is dyslexic and nanny can’t spell!
on February 6, 2011 at 7:40 pm Sally

I still have original board games that my sister and I used to play when we were children. Some are still around in modern versions (Cluedo, Monopoly) but the pieces are so much nicer and the lists still have our childhood handwriting on them. Our favourite is Buccaneer where you sail off to try and get treasure by fair means or foul. My girls love it even though now in their teens – and I think they’d appreciate these butterscotch bars too.
on February 6, 2011 at 9:48 pm thecompletecookbook

What a lovely story Celia and as for those bars – they look heavenly.
:-) Mandy
on February 6, 2011 at 10:31 pm frances

Never was a fan of board games other than chess, but I always found Mahjong pieces looked really tasty, a bit like liquorice all-sorts. What about a game of edible Mahjong?
on February 7, 2011 at 5:58 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Thank you all! It’s nice to know family board game evenings aren’t just a thing of the past! :)
on February 7, 2011 at 6:27 am J Cosmo Newbery

You can keep your Battletech. A few more butterscotch bars around the world and we could have universal peace. Certainly Nirvana.
- on February 7, 2011 at 6:54 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Hehe…now that’s a nice thought, Cosmo! Hope all is going well! :)
on February 7, 2011 at 10:50 am MamaVix

I’m not a gaming geek, but the husband and his son are! Every night in the holidays we have to have a board game and I often play reluctantly…especially strategy games which I only ever win by accident. On the other hand, none of them want to play scrabble with me because I always win.
I wouldn’t mind betting we have “battletech” in the cupboard, actually. Even I would join in if a plate of butterscotch bars were involved!
on February 7, 2011 at 12:34 pm spiceandmore

My kids love nothing better than “family game night”. In fact it is their biggest criticism of our parenting skills – that we don’t play with them often enough. Always suggested as a new years resolution I might want to consider…suggested most politely…but oh such a sting in that tail! If I made special treats for game night it would only make it more attractive and then there would be more pressure to do it…

I love the idea of your boys playing Pete’s old board game though. Very sweet.
on February 7, 2011 at 8:05 pm Claire @ Claire K Creations

These look so good.

I’m a huge board game fan! My poor partner gets roped into playing a lot. Luckily my friends enjoy them too so I have some keen participants.
on February 7, 2011 at 8:17 pm Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

Having tried your butterscotch brownies I’m well versed in your magical powers of sugary witchcraft! :P
on February 7, 2011 at 11:16 pm Soy @ honeyandsoy

That’s super special, now if only I could try some of those butterscotch bars too!

Honey and I have very varied tastes in board games, I like Monopoly and she likes Articulate and would never sit through a game of Monopoly. If I had those bars, I just might be able to convince her to sit through a game 8).
on February 8, 2011 at 7:26 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Thanks all – I have to admit, I’m not a big games fan either. But all three of my men can happily occupy themselves for ages with a poker set or a Monopoly board. Big Boy in particular!
on February 8, 2011 at 11:52 am Susan

yum they look tooth achingly good!