This game is designed to reinforce The Big Six, an informational and problem solving technique developed by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz. The Big Six consists of six separate tasks, which help students focus research, solve problems and make decisions. The players must have received instruction in The Big Six before playing this game.
The board game consists of a series of questions which players need to answer correctly in order to score points and cycle through the Big Six process twice. The game board is divided into six areas that represent each step. These areas are flanked by "rooms" which occupy the four corners of the board. The rooms describe locations in which Big Six activities typically take place: the Classroom, the Library Media Center, the Home, and the Group Study (where students might work collaboratively on projects).
The game is a linear race game which continues until all the players have finished. The first player to finish is not necessarily the winner. Nuts and Bolts has been designed to reward understanding the Big Six more than the roll of the die. Those players who have answered questions most deftly accrue the greatest number of points. The winner is determined when the last player has completed the second round.