Fantasto

Match the peg size to the hole size.

After doing a little research, I found that Fantasto means fantasy. Selecta is a brand of games manufactured in Germany. Since the vast majority of my games are purchased second hand, I usually don't go looking for anything in particular. It's just whatever I happen to run across. Thus, Fantasto. I always like to find games by Selecta or Haba, because I've come to know those names are synonymous with quality. They often contain wooden pieces and are usually expensive on Amazon, maybe in part because they're imported. Another cool thing about them is that the instructions usually come in many languages (eight for this game). It's interesting to compare them and see how they're similar and different across languages.

There are three picture boards in the game. Each board measures 7" x 7". They are made of wood with some type of decal on the front that covers the whole board (see image), and a shiny coating over that. There are six holes of different sizes cut out of each picture that will match the sizes of the tokens.

There are six different sizes of tokens (the round pieces that fit into the holes in the boards - I would call them pegs), and three tokens of each size. There are six different colors and all tokens of one size are the same color. The die has one color per side.

Object:
Be the first person to fill in all six spaces on your board.

Set up:
Give each person one board. Put all the pieces in the bag.

Play: 

• Game without die
• Players take turns putting their hand into the bag and, without sight, pulling out one piece. If they need it they put it on their board. If they don't need it they put it back into the bag and their turn is over. Play until someone fills their board.
• Game with die
• Players take turns throwing the die, then attempt to draw one piece out of the bag of that color, without sight. If you need it, keep it, if you don't, put it back. Seems to me you could see if you are going to need that color, after throwing the die, and without pulling a piece out of the bag. 

Try this:

• Play with the pieces ahead of time, looking at the different sizes and fitting them into the holes. Talk about how the biggest piece is red and the smallest piece is orange, trying to focus on size and color.
• Skip the game. Just work to fit each piece into a correct sized hole. 
• Skip the game. Put either just the six necessary pieces or additional pieces into the bag. Try to pull out only one of each color and fill one board. Continue until you have filled all three boards.
• Call the color you expect to pull out of the bag before drawing a piece out.
• Place a board in front of the individual. Starting with the biggest piece and then working down in size, one by one, give the individual the pieces to place. If you go from biggest to smallest, there will only be one place each time that the piece will fit.
• Work on visual discrimination, tactile discrimination, manual dexterity, fine motor, size comparisons, process skills, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
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• In the box: 3 picture boards, 18 tokens, 1 color die, 1 little pouch
  

Thomas & Friends Mix 'N Match Bingo Game

Thomas & Friends Mix 'N Match - Match 3 attributes on a 3x3 bingo card.

I used to work with a huge Thomas fan, so anything I brought that was Thomas related was a big hit. My sister even made me a wonderful train out of dollar store food storage containers, colorful shoe strings, foam wheels (each car a different color) and brads. I used that train over and over for sorting and presenting different activities and/or supplies. It's not related to this game, just a nice memory.

The bingo cards in Thomas & Friends Mix 'N Match Bingo have a 3x3 grid, are printed on heavy stock and are folded to fit into the box. Each card has nine images of Thomas & Friends (see image above). There are three dice that will be thrown to determine the square to cover on each turn, so there are three attributes to look at on each image.

1. Background color (red, blue, yellow)
2. Character (Thomas or friend)
3. Border around each square (railroad tracks, railroad sign, small train with the words PEEP PEEP.

The dice are oversized, hollow plastic with stickers on each side. The bingo chips are cardboard circles that come in four different colors (red, green, blue, yellow). You can also see these placed on the cards in the image above. The chips are probably too big to practice in-hand manipulation for small hands.

Object:

Be the first person to get three in a row, either horizontally, diagonally or vertically.

Set up:

Give each player a card and nine same-colored bingo chips. Turn the box lid upside down and place the three dice inside.

Play:

Players will take turns throwing the three dice into the box lid, searching their card for the exact combination that is shown on the dice. If they have one, they cover it. If not, do nothing. Play continues until someone gets three bingo chips in a row and yells PEEP PEEP!

Try this:

• Play alone. Place several cards on the table and throw the die. How many can you find and cover? Keep going until you have a bingo in one orientation, then another orientation, etc.
• Play only one direction at a time until the individual can watch two. Then after success with that, introduce three.
• Look over the card periodically and ask the player where they have two in a row and may win soon.
• Cup the hands together, side by side to roll the dice. How long can you keep them rolling before one drops out?
• Practice recognizing a bingo. Use several cards, embed one bingo on each card. Include other random chips on the card, but only one bingo. Ask the individual to find the bingo on each card.
• Use only one or two dice at a time. Players may have more than one option to cover on their card and will choose the one they feel is most likely to help them win. 
• Throw the dice and then look for the combination on another players card. The first person to place a chip is the only one allowed to play. Throw the dice again and keep playing until someone has three of his colored chips in a row on another player's card or until he runs out of chips.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual closure, figure ground, spatial relations, manual dexterity, coordinated use of two hands, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation  

In the box: 6 bingo cards, 36 colored chips, 3 oversized dice

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