1. When asparagus is cooked al dente it can be eaten with the fingers. Letitia Baldrige’s “The Complete Guide to The New Manners” Page 160.

2. It is always fine to eat pizza with your hands even in fancy restaurants. Letitia Baldrige’s “The Complete Guide to The New Manners” Page 163.

3. Toothpicks have been placed on tables for many years as a way to help customers get food out of their teeth no matter what toothpicks were historically meant for. I think the point in the game is to tell people if you are going to use one as a dental tool, to use it in private and not at the table.

4. In most elementary schools today kids are taught to sneeze in the inside of their arm so that they do not get germs on their hands. Kids do not generally carry handkerchiefs and need to have another option for when the sneeze (always a surprise!) occurs.

In addition to these possibly more modern etiquette rules, it’s important to use your own standards as well no matter what the commonly accepted norms are. I actually like the debates that can occur from this game as it allows my kids to use the knowledge they have learned from the game and apply it using their own understanding of what is acceptable in any given situation.

For instance, even though certain manners may be technically true (i.e. the asparagus one), it is always prudent to use your own judgment in any situation. If other guests are using their knives and forks, then it would be more polite to follow suit.

I would highly recommend this game to families and etiquette instructors alike. It is, in fact, well researched and up-to-date and can help your little ones learn what they can and cannot do in the world of manners plus it can help them to evaluate individual situations. I think it’s a GREAT game and a GREAT tool.


Rating: 5 / 5

2. Q/True or False: Bobby is a very picky eater, but he does love pizza. When Bobby orders pizza in a fancy restauarant, it is true he must eat it with fork and knife? A/Blunders: False. He is always allowed to eat pizza with his hands, no matter where he is.

Comment: Blunders are incorrect. At all times, especially in a fancy restaurant pizza must be cut and eaten with fork and knife.

3.Q/True or False: At the end of the meal, Billy likes to sit at the table and pick food out of his teeth with a toothpick. As long as Billy uses a toothpick and not his fingers to pick his teeth, this is considered good manners. A/Blunders: ….Toothpicks are to be used in private.

Comment: Blunders need to research a history of a toothpick. Originally, it was used as a dental tool to clean teath. However, today it is no longer acceptable to use a toothpick as a dental tool. We have dental floss and toothbrush to use after a meal. The toothpick was created to hold a tiny tea sandwich together or serve tiny hors d’oeuvres. It was used as a dental tool in the past century. Using a toothpick is a definate “no” in any etiquette book. Why so many restaurants offer it to their customers?- you would ask. Because they don’t know enough about do’s and don’ts of dining etiquette.

4.Q/Multiple Choice: While Billy is eating breakfast with his siblings he has to sneeze really badly. A/Blunders: Turn away from the table and cover his mouth and nose with the inside of his arm so that he won’t get the germs on his hands.

Comment: Incorrect. We don’t advise to use our arm as a handkerchief. We need to use the outside of the hand to cover the mouth (when we shake hands, we won’t pass the germs around), and we need to have a box of tissues in our pocket or a cotton handkerchief.

I can go on with many other examples of etiquette erros found in this game but it won’t be productive.

Lyudmila Bloch, Etiquette Expert NYC

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Rating: 2 / 5