Have You Herd?

Have You Herd? - The trading, multiplying, little animal farm dice game.

Have You Herd? was originally called The Little Animal Farm and was created by Karol Borsuk, a mathematics professor from Warsaw University in 1943. When the Nazis shut down the University, he lost his job and had no income. The idea for this game was born and he and his wife made many copies in their home and sold them to make a living. It was enjoyed by children and adults alike during the long hours of the occupation. 

The object of Have You Herd? is to multiply one rabbit into an entire herd of five different animals. You will do this by collecting several animals of one kind and then trading up for the next animal in line. Collect several of those to trade up for the next animal, and so forth. Along the way you will encounter different hazards and/or rewards. 

The animal tiles are made of a heavy card stock and all measure the same size - 1 1/8" X 1".  Each tile has a picture of the animal on the front and the word for that animal on the back. The 2 dice are hard plastic and differ on a few sides (see description under PLAY below).

Object:

Be the first to collect one tile of each of these animals: Rabbit, sheep, pig, cow, horse.

Set Up:

Sort the animal tiles by type and push this tile pile to the side. Give each player one rabbit tile. Place the silo in the middle of the players so that they can see the back where the trading chart is printed.

Trading chart. Click on the image to see a larger image.

Play:

On each turn, a player may play in this order: 1) Trade once (if you can), 2) roll both dice, 3) Trade again. 

Rolling the dice:

• After rolling the dice you can earn herd animals cards of the type rolled. If you have a pair of something, you can collect one tile of that same animal. A pair can exist if you throw two of the same animal on the dice at one time or if you throw one and already have one card showing on the table. Collecting same type animals will allow you to then trade them in for the next animal in the hierarchy.
• There are several animals on the dice that will trigger a "special event". These animals and events are:
• Guard Dog - This tile will protect your herd from loss if you throw a wolf. If you throw the guard dog, take a guard dog tile. You can also exchange one rabbit and one sheep for a dog guard tile. A good strategy. You can only use a guard dog once.
• Wolf - You cannot multiple any animals on a turn if you roll the wolf. Ignore what you threw on the other die. Now throw both dice again and lose one of each herd animal rolled. If you already have a guard dog, you do not have to throw a second time. However, after your guard dog chases away the wolf, he does not return. In other words, a guard dog can only be used once. Return the tile to the tile pile.
• Fox - You cannot multiply animals if you roll a fox. Ignore what you rolled on the second die. The fox eats all but one rabbit if you do not have a guard dog on duty. Return the rabbits to the tile pile.
• Skunk - If you roll a skunk, give the skunk tile to another player. He loses his next turn. If someone is already holding the skunk tile, take it from them and give it to the opponent of your choice.
• T - You can only trade with another player after multiplying, you cannot trade animals back to the tile pile. For instance, if you want to trade 5 rabbits for one sheep, give the five rabbits to a player who has a sheep and take his sheep tile.

Trading:

• You may only trade animals according to the trading chart on the silo.
• You may only trade up.
• You cannot make two trades at one time. For instance, if you have 10 rabbits and you want 2 sheep, you can only trade 5 rabbits for one sheep at a time (per the trading chart).
• You may not have more than 12 rabbits or one horse at a time.

Try this:

• Sort the animals into piles for set up by holding a small stack in your dominant hand and moving one at a time, with your thumb, to your fingertips and drop into the correct pile. If a tile is word-side-up instead of picture-side-up, flip it in your fingers before sorting it out.
• Shake both dice in one hand without dropping one. They are big so it will probably take some concentration. Try to keep them going for several seconds (count to 10, sing "Old McDonald had a farm EIEIO", etc.) before throwing to keep the hand in that position a little longer.
• Pick up one die in each hand, cup the hand, and shake in a coordinated manner before throwing on the table top.
• Roll one of the dies in the fingertips for a minute while examining what is on it. Count the number of rabbits, look to see which special event pictures are on it, count how many different animals are on it.
• Don't sort the animals ahead of time, requiring each player to look through the pictures to find what he needs.
• Mix the animals up randomly, place the tiles at different orientations and overlap a few in the tile pile. 
• Place the animal tiles randomly, picture-side-up, and flat on the table top. Put them away after the game by picking them up one at a time and squirreling them into the hand. Return them to the silo by the handful.
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, form constancy, in-hand manipulation, palmar arch development, manual dexterity, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  
  
  In the box: 1 silo storage container, 2 custom 12-sided dice, 120 animal tiles (52 rabbits, 24 sheep, 20 pigs, 15 cows, 4 horses, 4 dogs, 1 skunk 
   

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

Pizza Party Dice Game

Pizza Party Dice Game - This pizza dice game delivers

Three things I have trouble resisting: Games with dice, games with some sort of pattern cards, and games that play fast. Triple win! Probably only a vegetarian would notice this, but the pictures on the dice are bacon, sausage, pepperoni, shrimp, anchovies, and mushrooms. What, no green olives?! The dice are a little smaller than your standard dice measuring 1/2" square.

The pizza-slice shaped cards have anywhere from one to five ingredients pictured, with the majority having five..

Object:
Be the first player to win six slices and make a pizza.

Set up:
Give each player 5 dice. Shuffle the slice cards. Give one to each player, face-down, and set the rest of the pile nearby.

Play:
Players play at the same time. On go, each player turns his card face-up and starts to throw his dice. If any of the dice match any of the ingredients on your pattern card, place them on top. Go through this step, throwing the dice over and over, until you have filled your card with the matching dice. Once you have a full slice, yell Mama Mia. Take the dice off, set the card off to the side and flip over a new card. Keep going until someone has won 6 slice cards, forming a whole pizza, and wins the game.

Try this:

• Shape the palm before shaking the dice by putting a small ball or round object in the individual's hand and forming the hand around it.  
• Model the cupping position and how to shake the dice before starting to play - fingers together, making a rounded cup in the palm. Often the child will just squeeze the dice tight in the hand and shake the hand, thinking the dice are moving around when they are not.
• Skip the game and match the pattern cards. Pick up one die at a time from the table top and rotate it in the fingertips, without using a support surface, to match the dice pictures on the card.
• Place a die in the palm and have the individual move it to the fingertips and rotate for placement on a pattern card.  Then try 2, holding one back while positioning the first.
• Cup the hand, separate the fingers slightly, and practice carefully shaking all 5 dice in one hand without dropping. Hold in this position until you count to 10, until a mushroom picture pops up, or while you sing Do You Know the Muffin Man, substituting pizza for muffin (or any other criteria you want to use to extend the amount of time the palm is in this position).
• Orient the picture on each die in the same orientation as the one on the card before placing it on the card.
• Turn over one card and both people try to be the first to match the dice. The person who matches first, gets the card. Go through 10 cards and the one at the end with the most cards, wins.
• Work on strengthening palmar arches, in-hand manipulation, distal finger control, manual dexterity, visual discrimination, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, socialization skills, process skills, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 10 dice with a pizza ingredient on each side, 40 slice pattern cards 
 
If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.