Stacktopus

 

Stacktopus - Slip on Silly Sea Fingers

 Yes, it's one of the odder games I've blogged about, but it also quite different. What other game gives you the chance to use something as an extension of your own fingers to perform a task?

The game is for up to 3 players. There are 18 nice plastic cups, 3 each of dark blue, light blue, green, yellow, pink and orange. The cups are solid and stack nicely. 

There are 9 octopus sea fingers. They are a rubbery plastic and, as you can see in the image above, they slip onto your fingers. I was able to use them, but after about a minute I had to push them back up a bit. I think they were meant for smaller fingers as it fit finer on my little finger without adjustment. It was fun to try using them and see how poor I did with them at first. Like learning anything new, you keep practicing and find what works and what doesn't. Let the kids practice a bit before playing a game, to get the feel for it. The game says use three, but I was also able to use only two. The cups are easier to pick up when they are sitting right-side-up.

There are 24 cards, number 1-24, but not in any particular order for difficulty. There is one challenge printed on each side of each card, so 48 challenges total. Half of the cards have a green border and the other half have a red border. The green borders are the easier challenges. Some challenges are built vertical, some are built horizontal. There is a blue oval on the cards and that indicates the bottom. There are also six cards that are shown from a birds-eye view, from the top.

Object:

Have the most cards at the end of the game.

Set up:

Give each player 3 sea fingers and 6 cups, one of each color. Stack your cups in a row in front of you. The sea fingers go on your thumb, index and middle fingers. Put them on. Shuffle the cards and place them in a stack. When you play you will flip the card, so no one is able to see the card that will be played ahead of time.

Play:

All players play simultaneously. Flip over the top card and everyone races to be the first to build the model. The first player done yells Stacktopus!. The game stops and the players check for accuracy. If he is correct, he gets the card. If he is wrong and there is only one other player, the other player gets the card. If he is wrong and there are two other players, the game starts again and the next correct player gets the card. Play until all the cards have been claimed. Player with the most cards is the winner.

Try this:

• Skip the game. For a beginner, rank the green borders for difficulty and play one card after another. Then do the same for the red cards.
  
• Stand the card upright to show you will be building vertically.
• Cover the cups above the one(s) you are stacking if the individual has trouble keeping track of where they are building.
• Use the work stack if the individual wants to always start building from the top. This has worked for me.
  
• Practice with the sea fingers until the individual is able to use them to lift the cups, before building or competing.
  
• Play next to the player if it will help them to watch you build the same model.
• Put five sea fingers on. Can you build that way?
• Skip the sea fingers. Just stack the cups from the cards.