North Pole Camouflage

North Pole Camouflage - A one-person logic game with 48 challenges.

Keep the polar bears on the snow, the fish in the sea and the Eskimos out of harms way. North Pole Camouflage is a wintry one-person logic game that will help develop visual perceptual as well as logic and problem solving skills.  My kids have liked this one.

There are six transparent plastic puzzle pieces (see image above) that will need to be arranged in a square on the box top to solve each puzzle. Pieces have polar bears, fish and/or Eskimos printed on them.

The 48 challenges range from beginner to master and increase in difficulty as you go, pushing you a little harder with each new level. The first 12 challenges give you the location of a piece or two for each puzzle to get you started. After that you are on your own. Challenges are numbered and printed on nice card stock, one per side, on 24 cards. All solutions are pictured in the answer book. You can also purchase an additional booster set of 60 challenge/puzzle cards and plastic piece that features seals.

Everything comes in a sturdy plastic box with a sliding lid. The six pieces all and cards all store in the box when you are not playing. When you want to play, take everything out of the box and close the lid. Then lay a challenge card on the lid and place the pieces on top of the card.

To play, choose a challenge card and lay it in the lid. You are required to use all six pieces for each challenge as you build on top of the card with the transparent pieces. Arrange the puzzle pieces over the challenge card following the game rules:

• Polar bears must always be on the white snow
• Fish must only be in the blue sea
• No picture (fish or polar bear) can cover any person

Each of the six pieces must be used for each challenge and must fit inside the lid exactly (no overlapping, no hanging off the edge, etc.) The puzzle pieces can fit in the lid many different ways, but only one is correct for each challenge. You can see on the image above that the puzzle is not solved correctly because there is a polar bear in the water and a large fish that is half on the snow and half in the water, breaking two of the rules. You can also see a fish that is in the water and a polar bear on the snow, which are both correct. They will have to remove the pieces that are wrong and keep trying.

SmartGames is a brand that makes a lot of one-person logic games that help build visual perceptual skills and logical thinking over multiple challenges that increase in difficulty as you go. I have always felt these games were a good value as you can work on them for a long time and it is always different and they do the grading in difficulty for you. If you would like to read more about these kid-friendly, fun games, check out my post called One-Player SmartGames. 

If you would like to read more about one-person logic puzzles, check out my post What's in Your Therapy Box? Logic Puzzles Edition. 


If you would like to read more about winter-themed games, check out my post What's in Your Therapy Box? Winter Edition.

Try this:

• Start backwards if working with a beginner - Solve the puzzle all but the last piece and let him place that.  Solve the puzzle all but the last 2 pieces and let him place them. Solve the puzzle all but the last 3 pieces, you get the idea.
• Work the puzzle yourself and talk out loud to model how to problem solve and eliminate pieces. Then take the pieces out and ask the person to complete the same challenge.
• Assemble the puzzle in the plastic tray but stand the picture up, don't put it in the tray. More difficult as the person will have to look up, remember, and visualize the pieces on top.
• Emphasize that this is the kind of puzzle where you may try different pieces several times in different orientations. This is not a failure, it is just how you go about problem solving.
  
• Turn the pieces in-hand as you flip them around to orient them differently.
• Work on visual discrimination, spatial orientation, visualization, visual form constancy, visual closure, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, logic, problem solving, executive functioning skills, process skills, trial and error, frustration tolerance, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Plastic storage box with a lid that doubles as the holder for the puzzle, 6 transparent puzzle pieces, 48 challenges, instruction/answer booklet

If you are interested in purchasing this game or you want more information, click on the image below.