Coconut & Monkey King

Coconut & Monkey King - Monkey launchers and coconuts challenge eye-hand coordination skills.

 

If you've read my blog at all, you can guess I was hooked after seeing the monkey launchers. Place a coconut in the monkey's hand, aim for a cup, pull down on his arms and launch. Each time you land a coconut into a cup, you get to take the cup. Use the cups to build a pyramid on your individual game board. Be the first to finish a pyramid created with six cups and win the game. There are six types of special cards that may also be played throughout the game to make your life easier or more difficult as you play.
 

To set up Coconut & Monkey King, give each player a game board, 8 coconuts, and 2 special cards. Set the cups up between the players. In turn, each player will shoot one coconut, attempting to get it into a cup. If he succeeds (and it doesn't jump back out), the player takes the cup and places it on his game board. If the cup is red, he will get to play again. If it is yellow, his turn is over. The monkey legs will need to be held down with one hand while pulling down on the arms with the other hand.

 

 

Here are the special cards that are always played right before another player launches a coconut:

• Guess Who? - Player must close eyes and make a blind shot.
• Aimed Order - Player must shoot coconut into one specific cup chose before launching.
• Freeze! - Player loses his turn. 
• Far Shot - Player must make a shot from at least and arm's length.
• Call the Wind - Player launches as another player blows on the coconut.
• Reduplicate the Coconut - Player may launch twice in one turn.

 

IMPORTANT - The coconuts feel kind of rubbery and look like Milk Duds (candy). Be very careful around children and those needing supervision for safety.

 

I have actually used pom poms instead of the coconuts with one individual and today was thinking why not use playDoh. Get all the fun and benefit of practicing distal rotation while forming the balls before the game. The downside - they may pick up dirt or lint if they hit the floor.

 

Try this:

• Skip the game, just have fun with the monkey launchers and the cups. The coconuts are rubbery and tend to bounce. Collecting the missed ones can be a chore. I like to use medium sized pom poms instead. There also is much less safety risk of someone eating a bright pink pom pom than a coconut that looks like a chocolate Milk Dud.
• Place the cards face-down in a pile and draw one card per turn instead of other's playing them on you.
• Put the coconuts away by picking them up, one at a time, and squirreling them into the palm. Drop them into the box by handfuls.
• Stack the cups and see how high you can go with all 14 cups.
• Line the cups up randomly and shoot the coconuts until they are all in a cup.
• Place two or three cups on the table top. Shoot all the coconuts. How many attempts does it take you to get them all into the cups? (There are too many coconuts for just one cup.) Play again and try to make it in fewer attempts.
• Work on eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, visual discrimination, in-hand manipulation, fine-motor precision, coordinated use of both hands, graded pressure and release, aim, process skills, executive functioning skills, social interaction skills, play and leisure exploration and participation. 

In the box: 4 monkey launchers, 4 player boards, 14 cups (4 red, 10 yellow), 36 coconuts, 12 special cards

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

I SPY Go Fish Card Game

I Spy Go Fish - Practice visual perceptual skills playing four games in one.

These oversized I SPY Go Fish cards come with directions for four games. The I SPY brand is famous for designing games that require coordinating several visual perceptual skills to play successfully. The cards measure 3" L x 4.5" H and are not laminated. The pictures for a set will not match exactly. The central item is the same, but may be bigger or smaller or pictured from a different perspective or orientation. The background and surrounding objects will also be different.

LEFT - Set of bees.    MIDDLE - Set of chairs.    RIGHT - Set of bikes.

The four games are:

• I SPY GO FISH - Show the cards to all players and make sure they can name the central objects (truck, fish, ball, helicopter, etc.) Then shuffle the cards and deal seven face-down to each player. Place the rest of the cards face-down in the middle of the table and shuffle them around so they resemble a "puddle" of cards. Hold your cards in your hand so that only you can see them. If you have any matching sets (of 2), place them on the table in front of you. In turn, you will ask one other player if they have one specific card in their hand. This one card will make a match with a card that you already have in your hand. For instance, you ask "John, do you have a dinosaur?" If John says no, you must "go fish", which means draw a card from the puddle of cards in the middle of the table. If you get the card you asked for, place the set on the table and ask a player for a different card. If you don't get a match from fishing, your turn is over. If a player totally runs out of cards, he may pick one from the puddle and keep playing. After all the cards from the puddle are gone, the player with the most cards is the winner.
• I SPY Riddles - Place several cards on the table. Zero in on one card, without pointing it out to the others, and start naming the items on the card.  For example, "I spy a fish, I spy a button, I spy a coin." All players scan the cards to see who can be the first to find the card that is being described. The winner points it out and takes the card off the table. Play several rounds and the player with the most cards at the end is the winner. Place more cards face-up for a more difficult game and fewer cards for an easier game. 
• I SPY Matching - Place all the cards face-up on the table. At go, all players reach at the same time to gather 2-set matching pairs. The player with the most sets when all the cards are gone is the winner. Play a one player game, no speed required. Place fewer cards at a time for beginners and add cards as the player(s) gets better at the game. There are 48 cards, meaning 24 sets.
• I SPY Memory - Place cards face-down in a grid formation on the tabletop. Players take turns turning over two cards. If you make a match, take the cards. If you don't make a match, turn them back over where they are. Players watch as other players turn cards and memorize where different pictures are so they can make sets. The matching cards will not be exactly alike. When all the cards have been taken, the player with the most cards is the winner.

Check out more fun figure ground games at I SPY Games.

Try this:

• Place two different cards face-up on the table. Give the player one card that will match one of the two cards. Ask the player to find the card from the two that matches.
• Mix and then pile the cards, stacking some face-up, some face down, upside-down, etc. Ask the player to hold the deck in the non-dominant hand and place all the cards face-up and right-side-up in a pile. Push the top card off with the thumb and take with the dominant hand. Will require flipping, rotating, etc. in-hand with the dominant hand. The cards are a little bigger, so may be too difficult for small hands.
• Practice fanning the cards by holding several in the non-dominant hand and pushing them apart using the thumb.
• Work on figure ground, visual form constancy, visual memory, spatial relations, visual scanning, visual discrimination, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, bilateral coordination, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation 

In the box: 48 cards, directions for 4 games

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