Bingo Bunch

Bingo Bunch - Lots of crazy character combinations

 

Bingo Bunch is a unique bingo game that includes custom dice and no bingo cards, at least not the kind we are accustomed to playing with. Instead of one large bingo card per person, this game includes 75 character cards (see image above). Cards are square and small, measuring 2" X 2". Each player will use these character cards to form their own grid for play. You can customize the grids so that you are playing with 3X3, 4X4, 5X5 cards, etc.

Bingo Bunch also includes two custom dice, one that pictures the character heads and one that pictures the character bodies. The dice do not have rounded corners and are made of a plastic material, so it's a little harder to hold in one hand and shake them both together. The five characters that appear on the dice are astronaut, alien, unicycle rider, ballet dancer and snorkeler. The sixth side of each die has an image of a star.

The characters on the cards represent every different combination that can come up on the two dice. When you throw the two dice you will come up with lots of different combinations. You may throw both the top and the bottom of the alien, or you may throw the top of the alien and the bottom of the ballet dancer. There will be a card to match each possibility. There are three complete sets of cards, so three of each possibility.

Object:

Be the first to turn over all your cards in a particular orientation, making a bingo.

Set up:

Shuffle the cards face-down. Decide what size you want to make your grid. Each player takes the appropriate number of cards and builds a grid in front of him on the table. Set the remaining cards aside. Place the two dice in the playing area. 

Play:

The first player throws the dice. All player that have a picture matching the combination that came up on the dice turns that card over, leaving it in the grid (the backs of the cards are purple with the name of the game on them). If a star is thrown, each player turns any one card that has the picture of the head or body on the other die. If two stars are thrown, each player turns any card. The first person to get a bingo is the winner.

The cards are flat and small and may be hard for some to turn in-place without disturbing surrounding cards, so when building your grid, leave a little space between the cards. Play games and look for different patterns such as a border, four corners, the letter L, the letter H, the letter X, a +, etc.

Try this:

• Start with a 3 X 3 grid, then move to a 4 X 4 and 5 X 5 as the individual learns to watch for and recognize bingos.
• Start by looking for a win in only one orientation, such as horizontal. Once the player is able to do this, then look for a vertical win only. Once he can do both, add them together and look for either win. Then look for diagonal wins only. Finally, add all three together.
• Draw a picture of a grid of blank boxes, the same number you are using, with the orientation colored in. Place it in the playing area for reference while they are learning.
• Place one set of cards, face-up, in a large grid on the table. Throw the dice and then find the matching card. Play over and over.
• Place one card in front of the individual. Ask him to turn the two dice, one at a time, in-hand, to find the matching sides. Place on the table next to the card in the correct orientation.
• Place one die at a time in the player's palm. Ask him to bring it to his fingertips and turn in-hand to find the side he is looking for.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, spatial relations, figure ground, visual scanning, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, precise fine motor control, executive functioning skills, process skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  
  
  In the box: 75 character cards, 2 custom dice, bag to carry game
   

Lego Robo Champ

Work on executive functioning skills, visual discrimination, visual closure, visual form constancy, spatial relations, visual memory, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, precise fine motor control, hand arch strength and support, separation of sides of hand, using two hands together, finger strength, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 1 buildable LEGO die, 118 LEGO pieces, 1 building guide, 1 rule booklet

If you are not a regular reader of my blog, and you don't already know what a big fan I am of LEGOs, you can read my post Building Skills With Construction Toys. For my regular readers, I will spare you this time. :) 

This LEGO set is unusual in that it is a game. It consists of three robots (red, green, blue) and a buildable die. The robots are small, between 30 -36 pieces each and there are enough pieces so that they can all be assembled at the same time. The building guide shows step-by-step instructions.

Object:
Be the first to build a robot with the same colored parts to win the trophy.

Set Up:
Build the die per the instructions. Assemble the body into their body parts. These body parts with each have several pieces and each robot will end up with a total of six body parts. Put these body parts in a pile in the middle of the players. This is called the scrapheap. 

Play:
Each player begins his turn by throwing the die and following these instructions, depending on the color that comes up:

• Blue or red or green - Colored parts. Take a matching colored part from the scrapheap. If one isn't available, take one from another player. Add it to your robot.
• White - Player's choice. Take one colored part of your choice from the scrapheap. If there are none available, you must return one of your parts to the scrapheap.
• Side with 4 colors - Exchange parts. Swap one colored part with one from the scrapheap or one from another player.
• Black  - Grab. Take a colored part from the scrapheap or from another player.

The game ends when one player has built a robot of the same color parts.

Try this with any LEGO set:

• Give a few minutes to examine the pieces at the beginning so that the person can examine the different shapes and how they snap together.
• Turn pieces on the table so that they can't be picked up by the child in the correct orientation. Ask him to turn each piece in-hand after picking it up.
• Place a piece in the individual's palm, or at the base of the fingers, in the incorrect orientation and ask him to bring it to the fingertips and turn it in-hand for placement.
• Ask the child to pick up the model and hold it in one hand while adding pieces with the other hand so that both hands works together while adding pieces (instead of adding pieces while the model is on the table).
• Show the child how to hold the model with the non-dominant hand while "pinching" the new part on with the dominant hand.
• Keep the unused pieces in a pile so that the child will have to search for each needed piece. Turn some of the pieces upside down or half cover them so they will look different from the picture.
• Advise the child to hold the model in the same orientation as the one in the picture to aid in orienting pieces.