Square Up

Square-Up

Shaker cube.

You'll need to move fast to win Square-Up. This 2-player game comes with two 8" square, black game boards with moveable lids. The game board and the moveable, colorful tiles that are on the game board are pretty lightweight plastic. 

The colored pieces that you see in the black trays are all square and removable. You will fill all but one space in the tray when you set up your board with these tiles and this blank space will allow you to move the tiles around the board, like a slide puzzle. There is a dip in the middle of each tile that you rest your fingertip in to help you push the tile. Each player will have the exact same set of colored tiles to set up for the game.

The little shaker cube is the fun part. It is a self-contained cube (you can't open it) that has nine smaller cubes inside and is made of a heavier plastic. There are nine spaces in the bottom of the cube and when you shake the bigger cube the nine smaller cubes will all fall into the spaces. How they land is the pattern you will be creating in the middle nine tiles on your game board after the game starts.

Object:
Be the first player to created the nine tile pattern in the middle of your game board.

Set up:
Sort the 48 tiles between the two players so that they each player has the exact same number and color of each tile. Each player lifts the lid on his black game board and places his 24 plastic tiles flat inside, in any order (see image above, right, of open game board). There will be one empty space in the board when you are done. This empty space will allow you to slide the tiles around the game board. Each player now shakes his shaker cube until all pieces are flat in the bottom and places it near their board.

Play:
Player work at the same time. Each player will quickly slide their tiles around, one by one, to change their positions and form the nine-tile pattern that is showing on their shaker. When the pattern is complete, close the lid. The outer border of the lid is a frosted, opaque plastic. The middle of the lid is a clear plastic, and when the lid is closed, your middle nine tiles will show here. Do they match the shaker cube? If they do, and you were the first one done, you win.

Game board with pattern that matches shaker cube.

Try this:

• Demonstrate how to move the tiles around, and then practice before competing.
• Take away the time factor and/or don’t compete if the pressure interferes with performance.
• Shake the shaker cube and just place the tiles in the game board in that order for a simpler game.
• Play a new-fangled game of tic-tac-toe. Each player shakes his cube over and over until someone gets three squares of the same color in a winning position – either horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
• Skip the playing board. Shake the cube and use the tiles to form the same pattern on the table top.
• Work on manual dexterity, spatial relations, visual discrimination, figure ground, visual closure, eye hand coordination, visual memory, coordinated use of both hands, finger isolation, executive functioning skills, processing speed, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation 

In the box: 2 game boards, 2 shaker cubes, 48 colorful plastic tiles

 

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