Three Little Piggies

Three Little Piggies - Exercise logic and problem solving skills

Three Little Piggies is another great one-person puzzle from SmartGames designed to practice logic, problem solving and visual perceptual skills. I worked with a young man recently who, upon seeing the outside of the box, said "I'm going to like this one!" And indeed he did.

The animals are soft plastic (squeezable) and the rest of the grid and pieces are hard plastic. There are two ways to play:

• Pigs only - place the three plastic shapes with houses on the blue grid around
• Pigs and wolf - place the three plastic shapes with houses over the pigs so that the wolf cannot get to them. 

In case you are looking at the picture in the image above, it is the companies advertising picture and it is not correct. If the wolf is on the board the houses must go over the pigs so the wolf can't get to them, and you cannot see the pigs at that point (unless you look through the windows). Plus all three pieces would not fit on the board in the setup they have.

There are 48 puzzles which are rated from starter to master and they increase in difficulty as they progress. Twenty four of the puzzles are the pigs only version, 24 are the pigs and wolf version. The puzzles are separated into two sections of the book. One side of the book has 24 with pigs only. Then flip the book over and the other 24 puzzles with the wolf are on the other side.

A birds-eye-view of the three pieces.

Left: Solution to previous puzzle. Right: New puzzle.

The puzzles do not get as difficult as some of the others games, such as Smart Car, because this one is designed for 3-6 year olds, but it could go up a little older. I have successfully used it with much older kids with moderate to mild cognitive disability. The individual must be able to turn pieces and try them in different orientations as they problem solve. I usually cue kids by saying "try something else" to let them know it is wrong. 

To play, place the pigs (and wolf if using) on the squares indicated on the puzzle diagram (see image above). The board is not symmetrical, so make sure it is turned in the correct orientation before placing the animals. The orientation will be the same for each puzzle, so you only have to do this once on your first puzzle. Each space on the board has a hole in it and the animals have a sort of peg under them so they can sit on the board without tipping over as you add and remove different pieces around them.

Once the pigs/wolf are in place on the board per the puzzle, place the plastic pieces with the houses on the board. They all have to fit exactly, no overlapping of pieces or parts of pieces hanging off the edge is allowed. The solutions to each puzzle if on the back of each puzzle page.
 
There is a story book that tells the story of the three little pigs, no words, just pictures. It is not necessary for the game.

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. 


For more games from the makers of Smart Games, check out my post Smart Games.

Try this:

• Place the first piece and let the individual place the other two for an easier game or while they are learning. Once the first piece is in place the other two are much easier to figure out.
• Show the individual how to count the squares if he is having trouble setting up the game with the pigs and wolf.
• Teach the individual to always orient the board like the picture before playing, as the pieces will not work in the wrong orientation. The board sits in the same orientation for all games.
• Play a round or two as the individual watches and talk through the steps of problem solving so that he can learn how to play.
• Play a round, talk through the process as the individual looks on, then take the pieces off and ask the individual to play the same game.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, logic, problem solving, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Grid base, three pigs, 1 wolf, 1 storybook, 1 48 challenge book, 3 house shapes

Ages 3-6, 1 player

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