Tipsy Topsy Turvy Thomas & Friends

Tipsy Topsy Turvy Thomas & Friends

Tipsy Topsy Turvy Thomas & Friends is a balance game with a Thomas theme and a unique turntable game board. The goal is to collect the most freight cards by carefully stacking plastic freight pieces into the train car without toppling the works. 

Thomas the train will sit on the railway turntable game board, and there are eight train tracks that lead out of the turntable. There are 10 lightweight pieces of cargo that will be stacked in the train car. There are a page with stickers that you will put on the train, but they didn't stay on very well.

The cards are nice and heavy stock and shouldn't bend or tear with normal use. There are 8 location cards, six cargo cards and six color cards.The cargo is printed in brown for all cards, so you will have to find the piece by shape, not color. Location cards include Brendam Docks, circus, windmill, Sodor Airport, Sodor Steamworks.

 

Set up:

Place the stickers onto the train. Next, place the game board on a flat surface between players. Place the game board under Thomas so that he will stay upright and place him on the board. There is a small rounded protrusion on the bottom of the train and a small hole in the middle of the game board. Placing the protrusion in the hole helps Thomas smoothly turn while still staying in the middle of the board. Place the plastic freight cargo pieces near the board.  Mix all the cards together and place them face-down near the board. 

Color card, location card, cargo card.

Play:

Choose a card. If it is a location card, place it at the end of the board, matching the train track to the same color train track on the board. Now carefully turn Thomas so that he is lined up with that track. Keep playing until you draw a freight or color card. If you draw a color card, balance that color cargo piece on the train. If it is a shape card, balance that shape piece on the train. If you can balance that particular piece of freight onto the train, you can keep the card. Otherwise place that card on the bottom of the stack and put any pieces of cargo that fall off with the other pieces waiting to be loaded. When the cards from the draw pile are all gone (either on the train track or claimed by players), the person with the most freight and color cards wins the game.

Try this:

• Practice stacking the pieces in the train and taking them off without toppling others before actually playing a game. The space is small and the pieces are smooth.
• Place the cargo and color cards in a line on the table and ask the individual to match a piece of cargo to each card.
  Work on visual discrimination, visual form constancy, spatial relations/position in space, manual dexterity, graded grasp and release, focus and attention, motor planning, eye-hand coordination, proximal stability, process skills, social interaction skills, executive functions, play and leisure exploration and participation
  
  
  In the box: 1 game board, 1 Thomas train, 10 cargo pieces, 20 cards (8 location cards, 6 color cards, 6 cargo cards), sticker sheet
  
  

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

   

Snout Pass the Pig Card Game

Snout Pass the Pig Card Game - Match the pig's landing positions with cards in your hand

From the makers of Pass the Pigs and Pass the Pigs Party Edition comes Snout, the Pass the Pigs card game. Right off the bat I could tell this wasn't going to be as exciting as the other games because it comes with only one pig.  LOL

The deck includes 52 cards with an image on a pig in a position on one side and their logo and name on the other side. There are six different positions the pig can land in (on his back, side, feet, etc.) and each position is given points depending on how often they come up when thrown. Of course the game is based on luck, as you don't have any control over the cards you are dealt, the cards you draw, or how the pig will land. But it is an alternative to dice or cube games that require cupping the hand to aid in developing palmar arches. 

The pig is small and made from a rubbery plastic material. The score pad is tiny, maybe a good opportunity for those kids who write too big to practice sizing it down.

Object:
Be the first player to score 100 points.

Set up:
Deal 8 cards face down to each player. Place the rest of the deck, face down in the middle of the players. This becomes the pigsty (the draw pile). 

Play:
The first player throws the pig and all players check their hand for matching cards. All players discard a matching card, and if a player does not have a matching card, he draws a card from the pigsty. If it matches, the player throws it out. If it doesn't, the player adds it to his hand. Player take turns until one player runs out of cards. That person wins the round and scores the points from the cards all other players are holding in their hands. Keep playing rounds until someone reaches 100 points and wins the game.

If you like this game, check out Tip the Cows. Same game, different animals. If you would like to check out a game with 40 small pigs, click here for Pig Pile.

If you would like to read more about games that require writing or drawing in some form, check out my post Games That Require a Writing Tool.   

Try this:

• Cup both hands and place them together on top of each other (with the pig inside), then shake.
• Keep the hand in a cupped shape just a little longer by counting to 10 or reciting "This Little Piggie..." before the pig can be thrown.
• Ask the player to deal the cards by holding the deck in the non-dominant hand and pushing each card off the top with the thumb. Take it with the dominant hand and pass it.
• Practice separating and picking cards off the top of the deck without sliding others off or toppling the pile.
• Put the pig in the palm of the dominant hand and ask the player to bring it to the fingertips and orient to match the image on a card. Go through the deck of cards.
• Use the opportunity to practice small writing and mental math.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual form constancy, spatial relations, palmar arch development, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, process skills, social interaction skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 1 miniature pig, 1 miniature score pad, 52 cards, 1 cloth carrying bag