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Children learn through play. As an occupational therapist who works with children and youth, I use games and toys almost every day to help develop important cognitive, visual perceptual, motor, sensory, social, play and leisure skills. While many different types of activities can be used in therapy, this blog focuses on off-the-shelf games and toys that are accessible to most. Whether you are a therapist, parent, teacher, or a game lover like me, I hope you discover something useful while you are here. Learn a different way to play a game you already own or discover a new game for your next family game night. Either way, just go play. It's good for you!

The OT Magazine named The Playful Otter one of the Top 5 Pediatric OT Blogs.


Dec 11, 2017

Domino Rally Treasure Hunt

Domino Rally Treasure Hunt - The work is in the set-up. A steady hand is required.
I thought Domino Rally was a game, but it is not as far as I can tell. Domino Rally Treasure Hunt is an activity where you set up the dominoes and pieces for the shark, row boat, and treasure chest, then touch the first domino to watch the reaction as they fall. The instruction booklet shows you how to set-up the dominoes around those three items, but where you put the majority of the dominoes, connecting those three items, will be up to you. You're going to need space and a flat surface, such as a kitchen table top.

Pages from the instruction book.

There is a picture on the back of the box if you want to follow that. 

 
Left: Inside the box.  Right: Back of the box.

You can play it over and over and change the paths each time. Most of the action comes around the shark - his fin rotates when hit by a falling domino, his mouth snaps shut, and his tail flips to the side. As the final domino falls, it triggers the treasure chest lid to pop open, revealing the gold bars inside.

A lot of set up for less than a minute of excitement. And if your hand skills aren't already pretty good, you may end up knocking over strings of dominoes as you go and having to start over. Frustrating for the wrong person. The dominoes are several different colors (blue, black, red, yellow) and you can set them up however you want as they are all the same size and shape. The dominoes measure 1 3/4" by 11/16" by 1/4".

Try this:
  • Engage both hands by holding a handful of dominoes in the non-dominant as you use them to set-up with the dominant hand.
  • Pile the dominoes on the table before setting up. As you pick them up, one at a time to set-up, turn them in-hand to position.
  • Re-position yourself around the table for the easiest set-up. Walk around the table and work from different angles as you go, instead of trying to do it all from one location or reaching across dominoes that you might accidentally bump.
  • Work on sorting by color by making each section of dominoes a single color.
  • Take a few breaks to rest your hand/arm if needed as you go. This can be tedious and exacting work.
  • Start with a short path - set them up and knock them down. Then increase a few dominoes at a time, making longer paths over time to increase endurance.
  • Put something else in the treasure box so that when it pops open there will be a small surprise.
  • Work on visual discrimination, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, coordinated use of both hands, fine motor precision, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
In the box: 100 dominoes, shark, row boat, treasure chest, instruction book 

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

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