Bounce-Off Rock 'N' Rollz!

Bounce-Off Rock 'N' Rollz! -Good aim and graded force necessary.

This game rocks. That's not an opinion, it's a fact. It also rolls. Bounce-off Rock 'N' Roll has a game tray that is perched atop a rounded dome, so it will move as balls are bounced in and the game tray tips this way and that.

The game tray is very light weight plastic and measures 10.25" x 10.25". There are 24 round spaces where the balls land and cannot roll out. Unlike the other Bounce-Off games, this one has four longer spaces that are the length of three balls. These four spaces are where the balls will roll as the game tray moves back and forth.

The 16 balls are ping pong balls, I think. If they aren't, they are just like them. They are light weight and they can bounce very high, so you will have to use graded force when you push them off. There are four ball racks, each player gets two and each rack holds 8 balls. This is just a place to keep them so they don't roll away before you can use them.

There are nine pattern cards with anywhere from three ball to six ball patterns.

To read about several Bounce-Off games I have blogged about, click here.

Object:

Be the first player to collect three pattern cards.

Set up:

Place the game tray between the players. Shuffle the pattern cards and place them by the game grid. Each player takes two trays and all the balls of one color.

Play:

Flip the top pattern card. Players can either take turns or play at the same time. Players will bounce each ball onto the table so that it ends up bouncing and landing in the game tray. Bounce balls into the tray until someone creates the pattern on the card with their balls. Player who matches the pattern first takes the card. Both players put their balls back on their racks and the next card is turned. Repeat until someone has won three pattern cards.

Try this:

• Choose a card and place the balls in that pattern in the grid before the game starts so the person can see what he will be looking for.
• Bounce all the balls into the grid without a challenge card to practice just getting them into the grid. It takes a little forward push, aim, and graded force.
• Make your own design cards with new challenges.
• Play alone with one color for less background distraction.
• Stop the game for a moment when someone is getting close to winning. Ask him to point out on the grid the possibilities and where he will have to land the ball to make the pattern.  See if he can pick the pattern out of the background and work on aiming for a specific location.
• Work on eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, motor planning, visual discrimination, spatial relations, visual closure, figure ground, graded force, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 1 game tray, 16 balls, 9 challenge cards 4 ball holders, 1 dome

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

Pass the Pen

Pass the Pen -A drawing game with a timer pen.

What WILL they think of next? Pass the Pen is your typical drawing game with a couple of unique features that I suppose they feel will make it stand out. 

The first unique feature is that crazy pen. Maybe the pen is just strange enough that it reluctant writers will want to pick it up. By turning the small red button on the top of the timer you can set it for 10 seconds (experienced players) or 15 seconds (beginners). Mine runs a little longer, 20 seconds instead of 15. The timer is fairly loud as it runs. When you are ready to draw, push the yellow plunger at the top of the pen all the way down. The pen tip emerges and the timer begins. As the time runs out, the pen tip is slowly retracted back into the pen. The pen is approximately 6" long. What will you do when the pen runs out of ink? I guess the fun is over.

Also included are 104 cards and each card has five challenges, so 540 challenges total. Next to each challenge is a different colored circle which corresponds to a color on the die. Here are examples of challenges to draw on three different cards:

• Tidal wave, fried egg, sumo wrestler, horse-drawn carriage, time machine
• Angel, breadcrumbs, Adam's apple microscope, to toast
• Map, gloves, to have your head in the clouds, the Loch Ness monster, drinking out of a bottle

There are five different colors on the die, one color per side, and one question mark. If you throw the question mark, you get to choose your word to draw.

Object:
Collect the most cards over 10 rounds.

Set up:
Shuffle the cards and put them in a face-down stack in the middle of the players. Place the die and the pen nearby.

Play:
Players take turns. The first player, throws the die, then picks a card to see what they will be drawing. Set the timer for 10 or 15 seconds, push down on the yellow button and draw. All other players are watching and get one guess each of what you are drawing before the timer runs out. If someone guesses it correctly, that person and the drawer each get one point. I said there were two unique features to this game, and here comes number two. If no one guesses, the picture, pen and card are passed to the player on the left. They will look at the card and continue to draw the picture. Any players who have already drawn on a picture can not guess. Play continues in this manner around the group until someone guesses the picture. This is the end of round one. Play nine more rounds and the person with the highest score is the winner. 

Try this: 

• Skip the pen if you don't like the noise and set your phone timer.
• Extend the time if the time seems to short. It might take me 5 seconds just to figure out where to start.
• Skip the die and let each person choose which thing they want to draw on their card.

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