h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

when i was a kid (let's say 25 years ago) i was taught this same game by some french friends of the family, but they played it with corks out of wine bottles (they were french, after all). when you got a set you had to shout out "bouchon" (french for "stopper") and lunge at the pile of corks. of course, the corks went scattering across the room, followed by the other players. an entertaining tactic is to grab a cork and sweep the others off the table at the same time.

my family still plays this game occasionally, so it obviously has longevity.

i expect corks are safer than spoons, which is therefore less fun, but they do ping about the room to a greater extent than i guess spoons would. try both, see what works for you.