Bodydoodles

Bodydoodles - Do I really get to draw tatoos on you?

I was torn about whether to buy Bodydoodles. I thought about it, then I thought about it some more, then some more. Since I got it brand new but second hand, the price was cheap. But I wondered how appropriate it would be in a therapy setting to encourage kids to write on themselves, something they may have been reprimanded for in the past. Curiosity, the fact that the markers will wash off any skin type, and the fact that I work with a very high functioning individual that has always doodled on her hands and arms helped me make my decision. I am now the proud owner of Bodydoodles.

The goal is to draw "tattoos" on someone else's body while players guess what you are drawing. Kind of like Pictionary with a very personal twist. You have to admit it's a unique way to get a writing tool into the hands of kids.
 
The markers are what are unique about this game. Drawings on your skin are easily removed with a wash cloth, soap and water. I tried it on myself to make sure it was so before using it with another person. Yes, they did easily wash off my skin, although the box says different people might get different results and you may need to take a shower to get it all off. I didn't. There are four marker colors - pink, green, blue and black. My skin is just a little darker, since it is the end of the summer and I have been swimming a lot, and the pink marker does not show up very well on my skin. However, the other three show up fine. You can buy additional markers from the company once these are used up. 

UPDATE: A shadow of the blue tends to linger after it is washed. I made small marks on myself and left it on for about 8 hours and the blue is the only one that left a faint shadow after washing. It disappeared as I washed my hands several times during the course of the day.

There are two sets of cards - one set to tell you what part of the body to draw on and one set to tell you what to draw. Here are a few examples from each set:

• Body part cards - Right shin, left upper arm, left knee, right elbow
• Doodle cards - These cards come in three levels of difficulty and the more difficult the drawing, the more points you will earn (from 1 to 3).
• 1 point - Hair, firefighter, ballerina, campfire
• 2 points - Aliens, doing a cartwheel, squirrel, spider web
• 3 points - Windy, snowstorm, shouting, directing traffic

Object:
Earn the most points for correctly identifying the tattoos that are being drawn. Determine what that point value will be before starting a game.

Setup:
Shuffle each set of cards and place the two stacks, face-down, in the reach of all players. Set the markers nearby.

Play:
The first player chooses one card from each pile and keeps the doodle card secret. They choose a player to draw on and use the location from the body card and any color marker(s). All players guess as tattoos are drawn. The first person to guess correctly AND the person drawing each get the point value on the card. The body card is put at the bottom of the draw pile and the doodle card is discarded. Play until one player has reached that magic number of points that you set before starting the game. Declare that person the winner.

Try this:

• Go through the cards ahead of time and take out everything you don't want, or better yet, pick out just what you do want. For instance, you may not have access to or want to draw on certain body parts and you may want to play with only the easy or only the difficult cards.
• Let the person who will be drawing choose their own card of what to draw. Some people are better at drawing than others so why put people on the spot.
• Play with just two people. Draw on each others arms (and/or elsewhere) and guess what is being drawn on your body. Don't bother to keep score.
• Make your drawings in different orientations so the person is not always looking at it upright.
• Draw your own body tattoo. Make it as big and colorful as you want, then wash it off.
• Work on body awareness, use of a writing tool, creativity, manual dexterity, fine motor precision, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 4 washable tattoo markers, 30 body cards, 150 doodle cards 

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

 

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.