Safari Rush Hour

Safari Rush Hour - A logic, VP and problem solving game for animal lovers

Safari Rush Hour is a popular game for working on visual perceptual skills, logic, problem solving and planning. Safari Rush Hour has all the fun of the classic Rush Hour Traffic puzzle game, but it's for animal lovers. There are several different themes and levels of Rush Hour game and I have linked to my post about each one below. Check them out.

To start, choose a challenge card and place the animals on the grid so that they match the set up on the card. Be exact, as placing an animal in the incorrect position may result in an unworkable puzzle. Puzzles start at a beginners level and advance in difficulty with each new challenge. The more difficult the puzzle, the more animals you add to the grid and the more moves it will take to solve it. The answers to the puzzles are on the back of the cards.

To solve, slide the animals top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, and right to left (depending on the track they are on) to clear a path for the green jeep to drive off the right side of the grid. You are not allowed to lift any pieces off the grid, only slide them. 

There are a couple of ways this version differs from the original version. First, the jeep swivels. For instance, you can move the jeep top to bottom, stop to swivel the jeep so it is facing left or right, and then move the jeep side to side. In addition, there is an animal piece that is also on a 2X2 square and can move both north to south and east to west. Otherwise, animals must stay on the path they are on when the puzzle is set up. 

Also available are Rush Hour Railroad, Rush Hour Junior, and the original Rush Hour Traffic Jam.

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. 


Here is a copy of the first and last challenge set up:

Below is the solution to the first and last challenges. Solutions are written in steps as abbreviations. For instance U for up, L for left. XL3U1 means piece X moves left three spaces and then up one space.

Try this:

• Make a game out of just setting up the animals, following the challenge cards, if the puzzles will be too difficult to complete. It's fun just setting up the traffic jams.
• Complete the first couple of moves to get the individual started and model how to play.
• Work backwards. Do all but the last move, then do all but the last two moves, then do all but the last three moves, etc. Allow the individual to complete the puzzle each time, getting more difficult as you go.
• Complete a challenge as the individual looks on. Talk out loud as you problem solve to help the person learn. Then ask him to complete the same challenge.
• Ask the question "Who is blocking the exit?" If you can move the animal and open the exit, go from there. If you can't move it, then ask "Who is blocking that animal?" (the animal that is blocking the animal that is blocking the exit). Keep asking the question until you can move an animal and then work from backwards from there.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, visualization, figure ground, spatial relations, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, logic, problem solving, planning, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 1 green base, 1 green jeep, 18 assorted safari animal figures, 50 challenge cards
 
If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below to go to Amazon.com