Smart Farmer

Smart Farmer - A 1-person logic game with 60 challenges.

Smart Farmer is a farm-themed game/puzzle with 60 challenges that increase in difficulty as you go. It's a single-player logic game by SmartGames, one of my favorite game companies. This is a great game to work on spatial relations and one of my favorite, since the kids love it.

The farmer (you) would like to separate the animals in the field so that each animal type has their own fenced off pasture. To do this, you will have three pieces of fence. Place the fence piece(s) on the game base to make sure the horses, pigs, sheep and cows each have their own pasture and you have solved the challenge.

The game base is made of hard, green plastic and measures about 8.5" x 6.5". There is a permanent white fence around the game base. The base is full of hollowed out diamond, cross and small dash shapes (see image above). Animals and water troughs sit in the diamonds, and fence pieces can sit in the crosses and dashes. Two fence pieces may sit in a cross going in different directions. One fence piece is L shaped and the other two are straight, one straight piece being one section longer than the other straight piece. The fence pieces and animals are plastic and while not really bendable, they are very slightly flexible. The three water troughs are hard plastic.

There are a total of 60 challenges which get progressively harder as you go. There are 12 starter, 12 junior, 12 expert and 24 master level challenges. There can be either two, three or four different animal types on the field per challenge.  You will use either one, two or all three fence pieces to solve a challenge. The master level challenges also include water troughs, one for each animal type, which will be placed on the game board during set up. In these challenges, each type of animal has to have his own trough within his fenced off pasture. The challenges show the field from the "bird's eye view", a good opportunity to talk about how things can look differently as you look at them from different angles.

I have found that it helps to visualize how the pasture will have to be divided before you start trying fence pieces. It will also help to note that the long fence piece placed north/south will cut the field exactly in half and the two smaller fence pieces, lined up east/west, will also cut the field in half.

 

Click here to see a long list of logic and spatial games that I have used in therapy. Logic Games

Object:

Complete each challenge in the book.

Set up:

Choose a challenge. Stand the animals on the base in the places you see them standing on the challenge puzzle. Place the fence pieces (and water troughs if using) nearby. 

Play:

Place the fence pieces on the board so that each type of animal is completely closed off from any other type(s) of animal(s). 

LEFT: Challenge 1.                                      RIGHT: Solution 1.

LEFT: Challenge 60.                                              RIGHT: Solution 60.

Try this:

• Play with the pieces before starting a game. Show how all the pieces fit into the different shapes. Show how two fence pieces can sit together on a cross.
• Start by solving a puzzle or two while the individual watches. Problem solve out loud as you go so the individual can learn how to use the process. Then take the puzzle apart and see if they can build it.
• Place one piece of fence on the board (if more than one piece is used) and let the individual place the other piece(s). Once one piece is placed, the other piece(s) placement will be easier to figure out.
• Stress how it is a trial-and-error process if the player starts to get frustrated when they can't figure it out right away. Model thoughtful perseverance.
• Look down on the animals from the top and talk about how they will look differently in the puzzle book than they do from the side. Learn to identify each animal from this perspective. Consider things like the cows will have horns and the horses will have manes.
• Work on visual discrimination, spatial relations, manual dexterity, planning, problem solving, logic, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Game base, fence pieces, 2 pigs, 2 sheep, 2 horses, 2 cows, 3 water troughs, challenge booklet with solutions

 

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

I SPY Dig In

I SPY Dig In - Match the small items to the pattern cards.

I SPY is well known for their figure ground/visual perceptual products and I SPY Dig In looked like just plain fun. And it is! If you like small manipulatives and pattern cards like I do, you may just like it too.

Players dig through the bowl to find the exact pieces that will match the images on their pattern card (see image below). The bowl is big enough for 2-3 small hands to dig in at once (see image above).

There are 128 small, plastic pieces in four different colors (red, blue, green, yellow). There are 32 different items and each item comes in each of the four colors. For instance there is one red airplane, one green airplane, one blue airplane and one yellow airplane. The items are common everyday objects including a house, igloo, penguin, doughnut, snowman, swan, toilet, bike, butterfly, rocket and train. Many, but not all of the items are made with a little base so that they can stand upright. 

The pattern cards measure 2 1/2" x 3 1/8". There are six items on each side of the card. The items are the same on both sides, but one side is printed in color and one side is printed in black and white. If you are using the colored side, the pieces have to match in shape and color. If you play on the black and white side, any color of that item will do. There are no duplicates on the cards on the color side, so no two people will ever be needing the same item in the same color. The pieces are the right size so that they can stand it right on top of the card. There is only one of each piece in each color, so be careful not to lose any pieces or some cards won't be possible to complete. 

The bowl/base is one piece, hollow in and under, and made of lightweight, molded plastic. I don't like the bowl myself because it's noisy, all that plastic on plastic. The sides of the bowl are slanted and the pieces just keep sliding back to the middle as you dig. With more than one person digging, it will definitely be frustrating for some. I dump the pieces on the table top and it still takes time to find what you are looking for among 128 pieces, even though they get spread out and are easier to find that way. Or, try dumping them into a solid, shallow bowl.

The timer runs for15 seconds.

Object:

Be the first to find the six items on your pattern card.

Set up:

Place all the plastic pieces in the bowl. Give each player one pattern card. Decide if you will all be playing on the colored side or on the black and white side of the card.

Play:

Flip the timer and the first player plays alone, using two hands, and finds as many of their pieces as they can. Stand each piece right on the card. If they find all six pieces (highly unlikely in 15 sec), they win the game. If not, each player gets one turn to play alone with the 15 second timer. After all players have had a turn, then it is a free-for-all as all players reach into the bowl, with only one hand, to search out the remaining pieces they need. Play until someone fills their card.

Check out more fun figure ground games at I SPY Games.

Try this:

• Start with the black and white side. You will have four chances to find the piece (one of each color) as opposed to one piece on the colored side. Once they understand the game, then move to the colored side.
• Help the individual understand what they are looking for when they are new to the game. If someone is looking for, example, a red butterfly, I will point out, and even set to the side, a butterfly of a different color. Then they will know exactly what they are looking for.
• Play alone and dig for pieces, filling one card after the other.
• Choose the cards you will use ahead of time and pick out the pieces that you need. Then add in a few additional pieces at a time. There is a lot to look at with 128 pieces. Add in more pieces as the player gets used to the game and is able to look over more.
• Play alone. Time yourself and see how long it takes you to fill a card. Play again and try to beat your time.
• Skip the game and just play with the pieces. Sort out all the pieces that stand upright. Lay those pieces on their sides and ask the individual to pick up one piece at a time, orient in the hand for placement, and stand it up.
• Cup one hand and drop the pieces into it one at a time as you count. Put them away by the handfuls, making sure they are all there. For each handful, try to add one more piece than the last.
• Place one pattern card and the six pieces next to the individual. Ask them to set the pieces up in the same pattern as the card.
• Skip the cards. Assign each person a different item and see who can find all four of that item first.
• Sort the items into piles by color. Hold several in the hand at one time and drop each one into its pile, bringing it to the fingertips to drop, without dropping any other pieces.
• Memorize one row of items on a card. Say them out loud several times to rehearse and then turn over the card. Pick out the pieces that you have memorized and then produce the card. Did you get them right? Try memorizing all 6 items on the black and white side. It's hard to do while looking at all those different pieces.
• Skip the timer. Free-for-all as everyone digs in at once.
• Use a different, shallow bowl that will let the items spread out a little more while still hiding many of them, but won't be so noisy as the pieces are moved around. The walls on this bowl are slanted and slick, and the pieces keeps falling right back to the bottom.
• Scramble the pieces, if you have dumped them on the table top, after finishing each card. Kids tend to stand the pieces up to help them look as it is harder to tell what they are when they are on their sides. So I mix the pieces together, knocking over the standing pieces and bringing them back into a tighter circle at the start of each card. 
• Cue the individual to look through only the colored pieces that are the same color that you are looking for. For instance, if you are looking for a red dog, there is no need to look at any yellow, green or blue pieces.
• Cue the individual to verbalize the color and name of the piece they are looking for as they look over the pile. For instance, saying "yellow doughnut" several times as you are looking may help you remember what you are looking for.
• Dump the pieces on the table. Sort by color. Pick up as many as you can of one color, squirreling them in the palm as you go. When you get a handful, start a pile of that color. Keep going until you have them all picked out, then start another color. 
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, visual form constancy, visual closure, manual dexterity, fine motor, in-hand manipulation, color recognition, process skills, executive function skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  
  
  In the box: 128 pieces, 12 2-sided pattern cards, bowl stand

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