4-Way Count Down

4-Way Count Down

Any game that requires someone to cup their hand over and over is fun for me. The palmar arches provide stability for handwriting, grasping, cutting, using food utensils, and many, many activities that require fine motor skills. Cupping the hand for games that use dice  is a good way to help develop these arches.

The instructions for 4-Way Count Down say four ways to play because you can use this game to practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Therefore, to play the easiest game, you must be able to add any two numbers that can come up on the dice, with the largest number being 12. Or you can play for number recognition and you can interpret the dice for the player. 

The box is wooden, you can see it in the image above. Four can play, each player using one side of the box. There are 10 keys numbered 1-10 that are very easy to lift and then push back down. The box does not need assembling and the keys can not be removed from the box. 

The game includes two standard dice with pips numbering 1-6. Dice with numbers instead of pips would have been nice.

Object:
Be the first to flip up all 10 keys.

Set up:
Push down all keys. Place the dice in the box.

Play:
Players take turns. Throw the dice in the game box. The two dice must be converted into one number using any of these methods:

EXAMPLE 1: If the player rolls a 2 + 6, he has these options:

• Add - 2 + 4 = 6. The player may flip up the 6 key.
• Subtract - 4 - 2 = 2. The player may flip up the 2 key
• Multiply - 4 X 2 = 8. The player may flip up the 8 key.
• Divide - 4 divided by 2 = 2. The player may flip up the 2 key.

OTHER RULES:

• Sometimes there will be limited options. If a player rolls a 5 and a 3 there are only 2 options 
• 5 + 3 = 8, flip up the 8 key.
• 5 - 3 = 2, flip up the 2 key.
• Roll double 6 - The player must flip all the keys back down and start over.
• Roll 11 has 2 options:
• 6 - 5 = 1. The player may flip down up 1 key.
• The player may choose not to flip any keys and instead may choose one player to flip down all his keys and start over.

JUNIOR VERSION
The player may either flip down the total of the two dice OR they may flip down each key. For instance, if the player throws a 5 and a 3, he may either flip down the 8 key or flip down both the 5 and the 3 keys. He must use both dice. If he has already flipped down the eight and/or either the 5 or the 3, he does not flip anything on this turn. 

Try this:

• Cup the hand before shaking the dice. If the player has difficulty with this, place a small ball in the players hand and ask them to curl their fingers around it. Then remove the ball while they keep their fingers in that position and add the dice.
• Ask the player to shake the dice a certain number of times, say 10, before throwing the dice to keep the hand in that position longer.
• Skip the adding, just play for number recognition. If you have either number that is thrown, lift it. if you have dice with numbers instead of pips, use them.

In the box: Game box and two dice.

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

Box of Questions

Box of Questions - Comes in lots of themes.

The Box of Questions is just that - A box with cards that have questions written on them. They come in a lot of different themes and are meant to engage, inform and entertain. I own several, and the number of cards in the boxes vary, although the round boxes and cards are the same size. Here are examples from each of the sets I own:

• Thanksgiving
• What is your favorite Thanksgiving family tradition?
• Is there someone's recipe for a Thanksgiving dish that you look forward to every year?
• How many generations has your family lived in America and what has their experience been like?
• Birthday
• Which pop singer would you want to sing happy birthday to you?
• What is the coolest room decoration you have ever seen?
• What is your "must have" birthday gift this year.
• Camp - This is summer camp and kids getting to know each other.
• What are the top 5 songs on your i-Pod?
• Who is the funniest kid at camp? What do they do that makes you laugh most?
• What camp food is the most disgusting?
• Which camp activity is totally B-O-R-I-N-G ?
• Slumber Party
• Have you every pretended to be someone else online, in a note, on the phone, etc.?
• What is something you love to drink or eat that others may find funny, weird of gross? (drinking pickle juice, putting syrup on cereal, etc.)
• Is the person on your left more likely to become a rocket scientist, a self-help guru, or a celebrity stalker?

Try this:

• Use them as a discussion starter. Ask a question and then see how long you can keep a conversation going. Ask open-ended questions and encourage the individual to do so also to keep the conversation going.
• Encourage the individual to elaborate. Don't accept just a one or two word answer. You can follow up many answers to these questions with another question - "Why?"

Work on socialization skills, participating in a discussion, sharing, holding up your end of a discussion

In the box: 35 - 82 cards (depending on the theme)

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