Logic City

Logic City - Think spatially

If I had named this game I would have called it something like Visual City, instead of Logic City, since it focuses on visual discrimination and spatial thinking and not so much on problem solving or deductive reasoning. I like to work on spatial reasoning because it is used so often in the routine course of a day that people who have trouble in this area can struggle with multiple occupations. Like Top That!, I am using this puzzle successfully with kids who have a moderate cognitive disability.

The puzzle depicts a city block and is built in the box bottom. You will be building three-story structures, always in the same sequence (door, window, roof), always the same height (3 blocks high), always the same orientation (facing forward) and your job will be to look at a grid to figure out where to build them. There is a sturdy cardboard piece under the houses (in the image above) that shows a grid with 18 possible locations (white squares) where houses can be built. On the back of this cardboard piece is pictured green grass with a single row with six white spaces, for the easier challenges. There is a cardboard picture that you can place standing up in the back of the box to give the feeling of being outdoors. The houses are basically built in the box bottom so that you can prop the scene behind it. I stopped using the box bottom almost right away and just build on the table. It isn't wobbly in the box, but just feels more stable on the table top.

There are 14 wooden blocks that form four 3-piece buildings (door, window, roof) and 2 green triangles (I call them bushes). The bushes have the option of being placed in two different orientations (you're always looking at a slope from the front). Some challenges do not require using all the pieces.

There are 45 challenge cards and you can see two full examples in the image above. The front of the each card shows a puzzle and the back shows the 3D solution. The cards are in three different levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced. The beginner puzzles are all built on the side of the board that has a single row. Each house is one color. The intermediate and advanced puzzles are all built on the 18 square grid. The only difference between the two levels is that the intermediate houses are each only one color and the advanced houses are mixed colors. The cards are not numbered, but they do have different colored borders for quick sorting into these three categories. Even though the highest category is called advanced, this puzzle would be quite easy for most of the kids I work with. So don't be fooled by the word 'advanced', but instead decide for yourself if this puzzle is too easy or a just right challenge for those you want to use it with.

Each puzzle card will show three views. The front of the card shows a grid at the bottom to indicate where you will be building each house or placing each bush. The view is from the top so you will only see one colored square with a design on it (the roof) and you will have to be able to look at the standing structure (top view) to determine the color sequence. The view at the top of each card will show you a 2D image of how you will build the scene (color sequence, bush orientation). The back of each card shows you a 3D image of the puzzle so you can check if you are correct. Each building on the beginner and intermediate cards are a single color (door, window and roof). The advanced cards show buildings with mixed colors. Every building on every challenge card throughout is three blocks high. Here is an example of an easy challenge and an advanced challenge. The orange challenge card in the image above is an intermediate challenge.

    Left: Easy level                                 Right: Advanced level

These are the backs of the cards above. Check this side to see if you built correctly.

So far I have bought three of these to send to kids to use during remote sessions and I plan to get one more. With 45 challenges at three challenge levels I consider it a good value. Plus kids like it, and you know how important that is.

Object:
Build scenes that match the puzzle cards.

Set up:
Place the bottom piece in the built-up box, stand the background piece in the back of the box, place the blocks and the challenge cards nearby.

Play:
Choose one card and place it by the box. Build your scene from the challenge card. Turn it over and check to see if you got it right.

Try this:

• Show the card in two steps. Cover the bottom, which is the hardest part to understand for most, and just show the top of each card. Build a few of the structures to get the idea of what you will be doing. Then cover the top and show the bottom. Show how the grid on the cardboard piece matches the grid on the challenge card. Point out the colors and where buildings and bushes will be built and that the squares with the design is picturing the buildings from overhead (roof). Build a three pieces house, stand up, look down on the rooftop. Once they understand them separately, then reveal the card as a whole.
• Compare the 18 square grid on the cardboard piece to the one on the card. Count the squares and the rows. Build starting at the back so you don't have to reach behind things. Cover the two rows in front of it with a plain piece of paper. Build the back row. Then pull the paper down to reveal the middle row and build it, then finally the front row.
• Use consistent terminology such as front, middle and back. Mixing terminology, such as saying 'front, 2nd row and lastly', may be confusing while they are learning.  
• Build a structure yourself if they cannot determine where to put it. Then take it down and ask them to build it.
• Count the squares in a row to determine which square to build on. Put one finger on the square on the cardboard and one finger on the same space on the challenge card as you count.
• Show the entire card to challenge building only after each element is learned separately.
• Flip the card to the back after building and challenge them to determine if it has been built successfully.
• Build from the back.
• Stand the challenge card upright on the table when building from the top of the card, covering the bottom. Place the card flat on the table surface, covering the top of the card, when building from the overhead view. 

In the box: One cardboard with grid, one cardboard with outdoor scene, 14 blocks, 45 challenge cards

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

Stone Soup Cooperative Game

Stone Soup - A cooperative matching game.

Stone Soup starts with a simple story about a stranger that wanders into a small, poor town. He starts a fire under a big pot of water and adds a stone. As he stirs the pot and talks about the wonderful aroma, he talks the townspeople into adding one ingredient after another to the pot until they finally do have a delicious soup that all share.

As you have probably guessed, Stone Soup is a cooperative memory board game where everyone works together toward a common goal. If all the ingredients get into the pot before the fire goes out, you win. The stone is called a "magic" stone, but there is nothing magic about it. I honestly don't know why the word magic has to be attached to so many things anymore to make it seem more intriguing to people.

The game board pictures a pot at the bottom and a lot of empty space at the top (where the cards will be placed). There are 12 different 2-pieces sets of cards that depict food that would go into a soup, such as beans, tomatoes, onion, celery and salt. There are 10 "fire out" cards and one stone card. The game board measures 12" x 16.5" and the cards measure 1.5" square.

A picture of the board from the back of the box.

Something I like about this game is that instructions are printed on the inside of the box lid so you will never lose them.

There is a card game called Stone Soup that I suppose this game was modeled after. It is not made by this company and it came out long before this game. If you want to read about it, I have blogged about it here.

To see other cooperative games I have blogged about, click here.

Object:
Get all of the ingredients into the pot before the fire goes out.

Set up:
Place the board in the middle of the players. Mix all the cards and put them face-down on the board and above the pot. 

Play:
Players take turns. Turn over any two cards. If one of them if a fire out card, place it below the pot. Turn the other card back over and your turn is over. If you turn over two food cards that match, put both of them in the pot. Your turn is over. If one of the cards you turn over is the stone, place it off to the side of the board, your turn is over. Sometime during play, when someone turns over a fire out card, instead of putting it at the bottom you can put the stone card into the pot and leave the fire out card in play (turn it back over). Remember where the fire out card is so that you don't turn it over again and have to place it under the pot. Play until either all the cards are in the soup (you win) or all the fire out spaces are filled (you lose).

Try this:

• Cue the players to look at each card that is turned back over to remember its location, not just casually glance at it. You will need to know this if you turn over its match somewhere in the game.
• Make a pot of soup together after playing the game, working on chopping, slicing, peeling, opening cans, etc.
• Learn to identify the different foods by name. Place all the cards face-up in a grid on the table. Ask the player to pick up the cards by sets as you call out the item.
• Place all the cards face-up in a grid on the table. Set a timer and pick them up by pairs as fast as you can. Go again and try to beat your time.
• Hold a small stack of cards with the non-dominant hand and, one at a time, push the top card off with the thumb. Take it with the dominant hand and place it on the board during the set up.
• Work on visual memory, visual discrimination, spatial relations, manual dexterity, problem solving, in-hand manipulation, executive functioning skills, process skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation, food identification

In the box: Game board, 24 food cards, 10 fire out cards, 1 stone card

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