Dance Charades

Dance Charades -A chance to act out independent living and self-help skills

Get ready to move, as Dance Charades is a game you don't play sitting down. What makes this dance charade game exciting to an occupational therapist is that many of the dances go through everyday movements that relate to self-help and independent living skills such as brushing your teeth, wiping the counter and vacuuming the rug.

This is the second game I have come across this year that can include Google Assistant and/or Alexa, but it is not necessary. There is a CD included with music to dance to, but if you don't want to use it you can make your own playlist with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.

About the CD: We tried several things and were not able to open it for some reason. The CD showed that it was recorded in 1994, even though the copyright on the game is 2014. So I can't even tell you what kind of music is on it. I think most people have access to an Alexa or can make a playlist on a device. Use instrumental music, all one genre or mix it up. The music should play for 40 seconds and stop. This is how long the player will dance and others will have a chance to guess what they are doing/dancing. Either make a playlist with 40 second music clips or just play a song and, using a timer, stop it at 40 seconds.

About the dances: Each card names one action, person or thing. Dances that an OT might get excited about (there are so many) include combing your hair, folding the laundry, dusting, making a pizza and blow drying your hair. If I was playing this game in therapy with one other person, I would 1) stack the deck and 2) take my time in guessing so they have longer to go through the motions. They are going to all take motor planning. Examples of what is on other cards include ice skating, electric guitar, changing a diaper, spider, robot, stretch, rain, weed whacking, the twist, putting on a belt and cracking an egg. There are also several blank cards so that you can add whatever movements you are working on. If you have some type of removable sticker, you could write on that and put it on the card and then remove it later. Then you could reuse them over and over.

Object:
Be the player with the most points at the end of the game.

Set up:
Decide how many rounds you will play. For instance, each player will get three turns to dance and then the scores will be tallied. Players sit in a circle. Divide the 45 tokens evenly between players. If there are any left over, set them aside, out of play. Decide who will be the first dancer. The person to the left of the dancer is always the DJ (the person to start and stop the music). 

Play:
Players take turns. Turn over a dance card and read it to yourself. The DJ starts the music. Dance what is on the card. No speaking allowed. If someone guesses your dance, draw another card and keep dancing for the 40 seconds. For every dance someone guesses, you get one point and the guesser gets one point. If another player(s) likes your moves, they can throw up to three tokens into the circle. Players are not obligated to throw coins. At the end of your dance, even if no one guessed it, score one point for each token (if you got any). Then put those tokens out of play for the rest of the game. Record any scores on paper. Play continues until the previously decided-upon number of rounds are over. Highest scorer wins the game. 

Try this:

• Work as a team. Act out a supporting role, model an action, or offer suggestions if the individual has trouble coming up with an idea and/or executing the action. 
• Allow sound or the use of props for additional clues. 
• Be ready with encouragement and keep the atmosphere light and fun.
• Allow the individual to choose a different card if he picks something that he doesn't want to act out. It is not meant to put anyone on the spot.
• Make up your own dance cards based on any skills or activities that you are working on to practice going through the motions.
• Use before or after actually performing the activities.
• Play with just one other person in therapy to practice. If they have trouble with motor planning, play follow the leader where you will perform each action and they will copy. After practicing, reverse roles.
• Work on motor planning, body awareness, spatial relations, creativity, balance, coordinated movements, process skills, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Audio CD with 40 dance songs, 45 dance tokens, 300 dance cards, including some blank cards, pouch, score pad and pencil

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

Top That!

Top That! - A logic stacking game

There are a few game manufacturers that I keep up with: SmartGames, ThinkFun, MindWare, FatBrain, BlueOrange and FoxMind. I watch the "coming soon" section on their websites, and I will pay full price if I see something I like (you can often pick it up cheaper on Amazon than on the manufacturers website). Somehow Top That!, by BlueOrange, slipped by me and I didn't know of its existence until I found it second hand a few days ago. I immediately put it to the test because it is not easy to find logic games that you can use with moderate cognitive impairment where kids don't eventually top out due to difficulty.

I have a couple of other magician themed logic games (Oops!, Houdini Brainteaser), and Top That! is the easiest. This game also reminds me of Bunny Boo, which kids have loved and is a fun activity for working on visual form constancy and spatial relations.

Each player will receive five plastic pieces that you might expect to see in a magic show. There are four sets (so up to four can play) of the five pieces: rabbit, coin, tube, cup, hat (see image below). The hat, cup and tube are hollow and the four pieces will fit "invisibly" inside the hat. You will have to stack the pieces according to three rules that will determine whether each piece will be visible, invisible and/or empty (see rules below). 

The challenge cards will show you which pieces you will be using for a particular challenge. If the piece(s) is printed in gray on the card, that means that the piece must be invisible (hidden inside another piece). If there are stars around a piece, that means that the piece is empty. There is an advancement in difficulty but the cards are not marked in any way. Start with the cards where all the pieces are showing and you are simply stacking, there are four of these cards. Next move to cards with either a hidden piece(s) or an empty piece. Finally go to puzzles that have both hidden and empty pieces. There are four challenges that only use three pieces, the rest use four or five. Something else I like about the cards is that they show the pieces in different orientations.

 
If you would rather watch a video on how to play, click on the image below to go to an Amazon listing with a video. Even though this game has game rules, it can just as easily be played 1:1 in a therapy session, using the pattern cards without playing a game.

If you would like to read more about one-person logic puzzles, check out my post What's in Your Therapy Box? Logic Puzzles Edition. 


Object:
Determine the number of cards to use as the goal before you start. For instance, the first player to win five cards is the winner. Or play until the deck is gone and the person with the most cards is the winner.

Set up:
Give each player a set of 5 plastic pieces. Set the deck of challenge cards face-down near the players.

Play:
Turn the top card face-up in the middle of the players. Everyone plays at the same time, using their own set of five pieces. Players stack their pieces so they meet the challenge indicated by the images on the card. The three rules of play are:

1. Objects printed in color must be visible on the stack. An object is considered visible if 100% of it can be seen from the side.
2. Objects printed in grey must be invisible, hidden somewhere inside the stack. An object is considered hidden if it is completely inside another object. 
3. Objects printed in color and with stars around them must be empty. No other objects can be hidden inside them.

The first person to build their stack according to the challenge card calls out "Top that!" If his stack is correct, he wins the card. If not, the other players keep going until someone is correct and wins the card. Play until someone earns the agreed upon amount of cards and wins the game.

Try this:

• Play with the pieces before you start. Show how pieces can fit into other pieces and how they can stack.
• Look over the cards before you start to play. Point out how the same piece can look different on different cards - sometimes grey, sometimes in color, sometimes in different orientations.
• Choose a challenge card and work the puzzle while the child watches. Talk out loud as you work the puzzle, so the individual can learn how to think about the pieces and how to solve the puzzle. Then take it apart and ask them to solve it.
• Stack the deck before you start playing so that you are not jumping around, so you can have a steady increase in difficulty over the challenges.
• Look at the card before starting to stack. Point out things like which pieces are grey and will be hidden, which piece(s) they will fit into (to hide), which pieces will be the only ones you will see (those printed in color and the hat is always visible).
• Push to the side any unneeded pieces before you start each puzzle so that don't confuse. 
• Pretend you are a magician to add a little fun and reinforce what you will be doing for a certain challenge card. For instance, say things like "I will make this coin disappear and all you will see is the hat and the rabbit". Then work the puzzle.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual form constancy, spatial relations, manual dexterity, problem solving, logic, process skills, socialization skills, executive functioning skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 4 plastic hats, 4 plastic tubes, 4 plastic coins, 4 plastic cups, 4 plastic rabbits, 55 challenge cards

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