4-Way Count Down

4-Way Count Down

Any game that requires someone to cup their hand over and over is fun for me. The palmar arches provide stability for handwriting, grasping, cutting, using food utensils, and many, many activities that require fine motor skills. Cupping the hand for games that use dice  is a good way to help develop these arches.

The instructions for 4-Way Count Down say four ways to play because you can use this game to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Therefore, to play the easiest game, you must be able to add any two numbers that can come up on the dice, with the largest number being 12. Or you can play for number recognition and you can interpret the dice for the player. 

The box is wooden, you can see it in the image above. Four can play, each player using one side of the box. There are 10 keys numbered 1-10 that are very easy to lift and then push back down. The box does not need assembling and the keys can not be removed from the box. 

The game includes two standard dice with pips numbering 1-6. Dice with numbers instead of pips would have been nice.

Object:
Be the first to flip up all 10 keys.

Set up:
Push down all keys. Place the dice in the box.

Play:
Players take turns. Throw the dice in the game box. The two dice must be converted into one number using any of these methods:

EXAMPLE 1: If the player rolls a 2 + 6, he has these options:

• Add - 2 + 4 = 6. The player may flip up the 6 key.
• Subtract - 4 - 2 = 2. The player may flip up the 2 key
• Multiply - 4 X 2 = 8. The player may flip up the 8 key.
• Divide - 4 divided by 2 = 2. The player may flip up the 2 key.

OTHER RULES:

• Sometimes there will be limited options. If a player rolls a 5 and a 3 there are only 2 options 
• 5 + 3 = 8, flip up the 8 key.
• 5 - 3 = 2, flip up the 2 key.
• Roll double 6 - The player must flip all the keys back down and start over.
• Roll 11 has 2 options:
• 6 - 5 = 1. The player may flip down up 1 key.
• The player may choose not to flip any keys and instead may choose one player to flip down all his keys and start over.

JUNIOR VERSION
The player may either flip down the total of the two dice OR they may flip down each key. For instance, if the player throws a 5 and a 3, he may either flip down the 8 key or flip down both the 5 and the 3 keys. He must use both dice. If he has already flipped down the eight and/or either the 5 or the 3, he does not flip anything on this turn. 

Try this:

• Cup the hand before shaking the dice. If the player has difficulty with this, place a small ball in the players hand and ask them to curl their fingers around it. Then remove the ball while they keep their fingers in that position and add the dice.
• Ask the player to shake the dice a certain number of times, say 10, before throwing the dice to keep the hand in that position longer.
• Skip the adding, just play for number recognition. If you have either number that is thrown, lift it. if you have dice with numbers instead of pips, use them.

In the box: Game box and two dice.

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