JaLink!

JaLink - How quick are you at seeing associations?

 

Similar to Pickles to Penguins, JaLink is a game of associations, or connections. When two items can be linked together by a common feature, then a connection is created. This game calls that connection a JaLink.

The game board measures 20" square and features 16 large circles where the picture cards will be stacked face-up during play *see image below). Each card shows one item and the items are simple, everyday objects. I grabbed a small stack of the cards and got a truck, motorcycle, jigsaw puzzle, spaceship, pumpkin, rainbow, turtle and snowman. The picture is on one side and the JaLink logo is printed on the other side. These cards measure 3" in diameter.

There are two sets of category cards, easy and difficult, and 300 cards in all. The category on one of these cards will be announced at the beginning of each round. That will be the connection you must find between any two cards during that round. Simple categories include color, physical feature, and activity/task/action. Examples of difficult categories are famous person, sound, and name of a movie or TV show. Here are examples of each:

• Color - Bat & oil = black
• Physical feature - Turtle & crab = shell
• Activity/Task/Action - Book & chair = reading
• Famous Person - Television & magaine = Oprah
• Sound - Train & Milk - Chug 
• Name of a Movie or TV Show - Angel & Bridge = It's a Wonderful Life

One corner of the board with the cards set up. Looking at these cards the castle and dog house are both homes/they both have a door, the shopping cart and train both have wheels/are both made of metal/both carry things, the grasshopper and turtle are both green/are both animals/both live outside, etc.

Object:
Be the person with the most picture cards at the end of the game.

Set up:
Open the board. Place a face-up stack of four cards on top of each circle. Shuffle the category cards and place them near the board. Set up the timer or use the timer on your call phone so no one will have to keep an eye on the timer.

Play:
A player picks the top category card, reads it aloud and turns over the timer to start the game. All players play at once to find any two cards on the board that match the category. As players find and announce matches they take the cards, revealing new cards underneath. Keep playing until the timer runs out. At that point, the next player picks and reads the next category card aloud and the process is repeated. Keep doing this until all the cards have been claimed. At this point the game ends, all players count the cards they have collected, and the person with the most cards is the winner.

Try this:

• Skip the game board. Place two cards face-up on the tabletop. The first person to identify an association between the two cards takes them. Work through a pile of cards and see who has the most at the end.
• Place one card on the table. Set the timer and name categories that the item would fall in. For example a dog is an animal, has four legs, is covered with fur, etc.
• Ask "How are these things alike?" or "What do these things have in common?".
• Place two cards on the tabletop. Give each player a piece of paper and pencil. Players have 90 seconds to write down as many associations as they can think of. When time is up, players compare lists and cross off each association that was written by two or more people. The person with the most unique associations is the winner.
• Place two cards face up on the tabletop. Players work together to see how many association they can think of between those two cards in 90 seconds. Don't take time to judge the connections that are thrown out during the 90 seconds. After the time is up, go back over each one and see if all agree. If not, allow the person who gave the association to defend his answer. Vote with thumbs up or down whether the association should be counted. Play several rounds. Which two cards got the most associations? Why do you think that was so?
• Work on visual discrimination, visual form constancy, manual dexterity, creative thinking, mental flexibility, processing speed, similarities and differences, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Game board, 300 picture cards, 2 sets of category cards (easy and difficult), 90 second timer

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

 

Zoo Mania

Zoo Mania - Fun animal-themed card game that plays like UNO.

Zoo Mania is a card game that appeals to kids with its whimsical, brightly colored zoo animals. It plays very much like the card game UNO. During play, cards are matched by color or number, or wild cards are played.

There are four sets of cards number 0-9. The sets are red rhinos, green giraffes, yellow zebras and purple alligators. They are laminated and measure 2.25" x 3.5". 

Object: 
Be the first player to play all the cards from their hand.

Set up:
Shuffle the cards. Deal nine cards face-down to each player. Put the rest of the cards in a face-down stack on the table. Turn the first card over and place it beside the deck of cards. This is the discard pile.

Play:
Player take turns matching the card on the top of the discard pile by number, color or by playing a wild card. If the player does not have a card to do any of these things, he draws a card from the draw pile. If he can play it, he does. If not, his turn is over.

The person who plays a wild card calls out the player he wants to be the "victim". The victim either follows the directions on the card or plays a "reverse" card which reverses the card back on the player who played it. If it goes back to the initial player, he must follow the directions. 

Here are the different wild cards:

• Draw 3 stampede card - draw 3 cards and add them to your hand.
• Draw 1 danger card - draw 1 card and add it to your hand.
• Hide/lost your turn card - lose your next turn.
• Exchange cards - exchange your whole hand with another player
• Escape your loss card - play this card when another player has played a wild card on you to avoid the penalty of a wild card.

Play until one player runs out of cards. The rest of the players then receive points for each card that they are still holding. Those point values are listed in the instructions. Play several rounds, adding all the points together, and the player with the fewest points is the winner.

Try this:

• Deal fewer cards. The game typically goes faster but it is less to watch and hold for beginners.
• Take out all cards except the number cards for beginners. Teach one rule (wild card) at a time and add those cards back in. When the player has that rule, add another.
• Hold the deck in the non-dominant hand and push each card off with the thumb to deal. Take it with the dominant hand and pass it.
• Practice drawing cards off the deck by separating them one at a time and not toppling the deck.
• Practice shuffling.
• Separate any two colors from the deck. Shuffle them. Place the deck face-up on the table and put one card of a color on the left of the deck and one card of the other color on the right of the deck. Separate and pick up one card at a time from the deck and place it on the card with the matching color. Play through the whole deck, being careful not to topple the draw deck or slide cards off as you lift.
• Sort cards into piles by number or color.

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