Frosty the Snowman Family Bingo

 

Frosty the Snowman Family Bingo

Finding Christmas games always makes my day. Finding one with all the pieces for only 75 cents makes my week! Frosty the Snowman Family Bingo is based on the children's TV classic Frosty the Snowman. To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if this is actually a Christmas program, or is a winter program that just comes out at Christmas time. You could probably play it all winter. 

Frosty the Snowman Family Bingo is made by a company called Aquarius. I have also blogged about A Charlie Brown Christmas Family Bingo game by this same company. Aquarius has an online game and puzzle store on Amazon that has a Peanuts/Charlie Brown section. I like their playing cards, which I have never blogged about because I don’t use them in therapy. The cards are coated, heavy duty, and they really last a long time.

Back to the Frosty the Snowman Family Bingo game. There are 18 bingo cards measuring 4 1/2" x 7 1/16". The grid on the bingo card is 4 x 4, so no free spot in the middle. The back of each bingo card has the rules for playing bingo, so no worries about losing the instructions on this game (see image below). 

The calling cards measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" with a picture of Frosty on one side and a common picture of the Frosty characters and name on the other side. There are many different versions of frosty pictures in this game (see image above), so the playing cards are numbered from 1 to 48. When you call a card you can show the picture and give the number. Just to say Frosty will not be enough because you may have 16 sections with different pictures of Frosty.

Bingo games are often won by covering a line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. However, there are many different additional ways for scoring options (see Try This below) and four of them are pictured on the bottom of the card (see image below).

There are also 150 small, flat, red paper ornaments to use for markers on your card. At Christmas sometimes I use Christmas candy like Hershey kisses in red and green wrappers, or red and green M&Ms for markers.

Here is a copy of the game and directions for play from the back of the playing cards. 

Try this:

• Practice recognizing a winning pattern before playing. Cover a pattern with markers on a card so the individual can see what it will look like. Then set up several cards with multiple markers and a win embedded on each one and ask the player to find it. Work until he is proficient at spotting the winning pattern.
• If the player has trouble seeing a bingo, check the card with them, using your finger in the air to draw a line in the direction you want them to check for each column or row.
• Watch for only one BINGO direction at a time until they are used to watching for it (horizontal, diagonal,  or vertical). Then watch for two directions, then for three. Finally go to a bingo in any direction.
• Stop occasionally and check the player's card. Ask them to point out places where they only need one more to win a bingo. Or point out possible bingos and ask how many more will be needed to win or which squares will need markers to win in that direction etc.
• Display a black and white card with the BINGO pattern for each game highlighted in yellow so the players can remember the pattern they are looking for. This can be done by just drawing a 4 X 4 square on white paper and fill in the pattern.
• Ask player's to hold several marker pieces in their dominant hand as they play. Ask them to bring the pieces to the fingertips, one at a time, and place on the card as they play.
• Use letters as your patterns. You can play for O (border), X, N, L, P, C, G, U, and Z.
• Visualize the letter you are going for as a bingo and do not mark pictures that aren't part of the letter. 
• Pick the pieces off the card after each game, squirreling them into the palm. Try to hold them all without dropping any.
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, visual closure, spatial relations, visualization, fine motor, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation.

In the box: 18 bingo cards, 48 calling cards, 150 markers