Zoologic

Zoologic

I like games like Zoologic - one-person logic puzzles that help develop visual perceptual skills, introduce problem solving naturally, have lots of puzzles that increase in difficulty as you go, and that keep kids engaged. I also like them because kids get to see that making errors is part of the process (trial and error) and not a negative thing or a reason to give up.

While working the puzzles, you are a zookeeper trying to avoid chaos among the animals. To do this no animal can ever be placed next to a rival, no animal can be placed next to his favorite food, and each piece placed must be adjacent to at least one other piece (sharing a common side).

The puzzle book is large, spiral bound, easy to read, and has 60 puzzles. The base to this game is hollow, thin plastic, the kind you can bend and that will crack or break. The good thing is that you don't need the base. It is just meant to hold the puzzle book and the tiles, but you can just place the tiles flat on the table or on top of the puzzle on the book as you solve it. We just played on top of the book.

Each page of the puzzle book shows one puzzle. The puzzle is started for you on the left and the pieces you will need to add to it are on the right. Here is a picture of puzzle #12 and the solution. 

Left: The puzzle page.     Right: The solution page with the solution for this puzzle circled.

Your job is to place the tiles on top of the puzzle squares following the zoo rules. The same rules always apply to all puzzles. There are several that you have to keep in mind, and remembering may be where some will run into trouble. The initial zoo rules are:

• A cat cannot be placed adjacent to a mouse, a dog or a fish.
• A dog cannot be placed adjacent to a cat or a bone.
• An angry dog cannot be placed beside any other dog.
• A mouse cannot be placed adjacent to a cat or a piece of cheese.

As the puzzles get harder, these additional rules will be added that will block you from placing tiles on specific squares:

• No food can be placed on top of ants.
• No animal can be placed on top of the raging bull.

Dogs, cats, mice, ants, fish - these sound more like pets than zoo animals. (Didn't you ever have an ant farm?) Here is a picture of puzzle #60, the hardest puzzle in the book, to give you an idea where it maxes out.

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. 

Try this:

• Work a puzzle with the beginner or as he watches. Problem solve out loud so that he can learn how to apply logic. Then remove the pieces and ask the individual to solve it.
• Write the rules on a white board or paper and keep it near the game for easy reference.
• Hand the individual a piece that you know there is enough information to place correctly. Start eliminating where it couldn't go and identifying where it could until you have narrowed down the spot.
• Don't let a mistake be made by a beginner that is not corrected right away. Ask the individual to tell you why that is the wrong spot for that piece, giving a chance to reinforce the rules, and take it off. As the player advances, he will be able to identify his own mistakes. Early on it will just throw off the whole puzzle and discourage if you let the player keep building on an incorrect piece.
• Place the tiles on the table so that they are not in the correct orientations. Ask the player to turn each piece in-hand to correct as he picks it up.
• Work on spatial relations, visual closure, visualization, logic, problem solving, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, executive functioning skills, process skills, frustration tolerance, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Plastic game base, 17 wooden animal and food tiles, puzzle book with 60 puzzles, booklet with rules, clues and solutions

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