LEGO Race 3000

As much fun in building the game board as in playing.

Yes, there are a handful of Lego games out there for diehard fans. Lego Race 3000 is a race-car-driving themed game for up to four players. Before you can play you have the fun of building the game board and die from the instruction book.

The game board and die, once they are created and ready for play.

Instruction book.

Object:
Be the first player to make one-lap, counter-clockwise, around the board.

Set up:
Build the game board. Place the yellow pieces on the inside of the track if you want to add the option for shortcuts. Place the two orange turbo tiles on the die. Place the board and the die between the players. Each player takes one car and seven small, movement squares (these will gradually be added to the die). Each player places one movement square on the die.

Play:
Players take turns. Each turn, the player will begin by rolling the die and doing one of the following:

• Die sides without movement squares - Place one of your movement squares on the die and move your car forward one square. If after placing your movement square you now have more than one movement square on that side of the die, move one space for each movement square.
• Die sides with movement squares - If there is still room on the die and you still have movement squares left, place one of your movement squares on the die and move your car one space forward. Then, all players who have movement squares on that side of the die can move their cars one space forward to the next available space. You will take turns doing this, starting with the original player and moving clockwise.

Here are additional instructions for play:

• Overtaking - If your car cannot move to the next space forward because another car is already there, your can can overtake that car and move to the next available space in front of that car.
• Turbo Boost - Move your car to the next orange brick on the racetrack when you throw an orange turbo tile on the die. If this space is already occupied, overtake this car and move to the next available space ahead of it.
• Oil Slicks - If your car hits an oil slick (space with a black LEGO piece on it) you must remove one of your movement tiles from the die and then you can remove the oil slick and remain on that spot until your next turn. You cannot turbo boost over an oil slick.
• Changing Lanes - Since it is a two-lane track, you may change lanes when you land on an orange brick.

Once someone crosses the finish line, place his car on the podium and award him the trophy while the other cars continue to race for second and third place.

Play over and over, using and building your own track design. For more information about Legos, read my post on Building Skills with Construction Toys.

Try this with any Lego set:

• Give a few minutes to examine the pieces at the beginning so that the person can examine the different shapes and how they snap together.
• Turn pieces on the table so that they can't be picked up by the child in the correct orientation. Ask him to turn each piece in-hand after picking it up.
• Place a piece in the individual's palm, or at the base of the fingers, in the incorrect orientation and ask him to bring it to the fingertips and turn it in-hand for placement.
• Give the beginner one piece at a time while building and point to the piece on the guide to show where it should go.
• Ask the child to pick up the model and hold it in one hand while adding pieces with the other hand so that both hands work together while adding pieces (instead of adding pieces while the model is on the table).
• Show the child how to hold the model with the non-dominant hand while "pinching" the new part on with the dominant hand.
• Ask "what is different" at each new step to focus on where the new parts will go.
• Keep the unused pieces in a pile so that the child will have to search for each needed piece. Turn some of the pieces upside down or half cover them so they will look different from the picture.
• Advise the child to hold the model in the same orientation as the one in the picture to aid in orienting pieces.
• Catch mistakes as they happen, as an incorrectly placed piece may throw off the rest of the project. Tell the individual that his model does not look exactly like the picture and see if he can identify the mistake and correct it on his own before jumping in to help.
• Work on executive functions, sequencing, visual discrimination, visual closure, visual form constancy, spatial relations/position in space, visual memory, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, in-hand manipulation, manual dexterity, precise fine motor control, hand arch development, separation of sides of hand, using two hands together, finger strength, social interaction skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box:166 LEGO pieces, buildable die, instruction booklet
 
If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.

Peg Friends Around the Town

Peg Friends Around the Town - Talk about community helpers as you assemble the peg people.

Peg Friends Around Town consists of nine community helper characters and a firm, foam map to stand them in. By each hole in the map, there is a building that represents where one community worker works. Build in sequence the three peg pieces per person and then insert that person into the hole next to their work place. For instance, teacher with school and fireman with a fire station. 

Each of the peg people consist of three parts - a head, torso and legs. The pieces are lightweight, hollow plastic and each piece has a hole on the top and a cylindrical piece at the bottom so that you can stack the pieces and then insert them into the mat. The images on the pegs are stickers, but I have not had any trouble with them coming loose at this point. There are three colors and three occupations per color: 1) Red are fire fighter, teacher and farmer; 2) Blue are police officer, mail carrier and doctor; 3) Yellow are veterinarian, construction worker and chef/baker. 

Each of the nine characters represents a different occupation and consists of legs, torso/chest and head, and four of them show an arm on the torso piece holding something. Each occupation will have a female on one side of the head and a male pictured on the other, and these two sides are wearing similar outfits so you can mix and match. Only the head will identify if it is a male or female. The torso pieces that are holding something will show an item associated with that particular occupation. For instance the farmer is holding a chicken on one side and corn on the other, while the police officer simply shows a badge on both sides. 

The foam map/mat shows a city street with the nine buildings/areas where these nine people would work. Next to each building is a hole so that once you assemble the peg person you can match it to their place of business and stand them next to it. The map measures 10" square and each person is the same size, measuring 4.75" tall when all three pieces are assembled.

For more information about peg-type games and toys check out What's in Your Therapy Box? Peg Board Edition.

Try this:

• Play with the pieces and show how they stack and then insert into the mat. 
• Forget the occupations and just build people according to color (all yellow, all red, etc).
• Forget the occupations and just build in sequence of body parts (one legs, torso, head for each person).
• Lay the three pieces for a person next to the individual and ask them to assemble in the correct order.
• Use consistent language while learning such as top/middle/bottom or legs/bottom or torso/chest/middle, or head/top.
• Talk about each community helper and the role they play as you assemble them and look for their building on the map.
• Talk about how the person will use the tool they are holding, such as the doctor and the stethoscope, and other tools you might see each occupation use. Have other tools ready to show that you already own or pictures that you print out from the internet.
• Talk about what activities each person will engage in at work.
• Talk about safe strangers vs. unknown/unsafe strangers as you discuss community helpers.
• Use two hands. Hold the bottom piece in on hand and stick the other two pieces with the other hand.
• Stack all the pegs in one big tower. I have a boy that loves to do this. I do have to steady the tower as he builds, but it does get him up out of the chair and reaching.
• Work on visual discrimination, spatial relations, eye-hand coordination, coordinated use of two hands, body awareness, community helpers, stranger awareness, sequencing, manual dexterity, process skills, creativity, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation 
  
  

In the box: 27 body pieces, 1 map mat

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