Hello Kitty Make A Match

Hello Kitty Make a Match

The Hello Kitty Make a Match game differs from other memory/match games that include cards because it also includes a charming plastic figure of Hello Kitty herself. You can see her in the bottom left hand corner of the box in the image above. Each game card pictures one Hello Kitty character surrounded by a flower border (see image above). 

Object:
Have the most points at the end of the game.

Set up:
Mix the cards and place them in a grid between the players. Place the plastic Hello Kitty nearby.

Play:
Players take turns turning two cards face-up. If they match, the player takes the set off the table and places it next to him. If not, the player turns the cards back over and the next person plays. Continue this way until all cards have been removed from the grid. Players then count their matches and the one with the most matches is the winner. Hello Kitty is also played this way with these exceptions:

• Take Hello Kitty - Place her on the table to start. There are five pairs of cards that say Take Hello Kitty. Anyone making this match takes Hello Kitty from the player who has her. At the end of the game, the player who has Hello Kitty adds four points to their score.
• Wild card - This card and any other card in the game will count as a match.
• Lose a pair - This set will require you to put one of the matches you have won back in the box. Sorry, no points.

To read more about why memory games are so popular, read my post Memory Games. Why are They so Popular? This post also has links to the other memory games I have blogged about. 

Try this:

• Reduce the amount of sets you play with if 48 cards is too challenging. Add back in one set at a time to increase the challenge over time.
• Turn all the cards face-up and find the sets for a simpler matching game without the memory component of a memory game.
• Lay one card from each set face up on the table. Give one attribute at a time until the player narrows down and finds the card. Example, this character is wearing pants, this character is a boy, etc.
• Lay one card from each set face up on the table. Place the remaining cards face down on the table. Choose one face down card, look at it, and see who can find its match first.Leave all the cards on the table and give the one card to the individual to keep score.
• Ask the individual to look to remember. Wait a few seconds before turning the card face-down.
• Watch the individual for leaning when crossing midline, leaning as little as possible.
• Empty the box on the table. Ask the individual to place the cards all face down in preparation for play. Request that he pick up each card as it lays and turn it in-hand to the correct side and orientation for placement.
• Put the cards away at the end by picking up one card, stacking it on top of another and picking up both cards, stack those on top of another and pick up the three cards, etc. Keep going and see how many your hand can hold without dropping.  
• Lay the cards all face-up in preparation for play. Take turns removing sets by giving directions of each cards placement. For instance, three rows down and two cards in from the left.
• Work on visual discrimination, visual memory, visual form constancy, figure ground, spatial relations, visual scanning, eye-hand coordination, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, pinching, distal movements, fine motor precision, bilateral coordination, executive functioning skills, process skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation  

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

In the box: 48 cards, 1 Hello Kitty figure 

Stone Soup

Stone Soup Card Game

Card games like Stone Soup offer a natural opportunity to work on using both hands in a coordinated manner while shuffling, dealing, fanning, and holding and choosing cards. Some card games require dealing each player a hand, such as five cards. The nice thing about Stone Soup is that it requires dealing out all 54 cards to start the game, so let those players needing help be the dealers and have patience.

The cards are standard playing card size and each card has a number and a picture on it, as you can see in the image above. The number indicates where in the sequence of ingredients it is to be added to the pot.  In addition, there are two Sequence of Ingredients reference cards.   

Sequence of ingredients reference card.

Object: Be the first to get rid of all your cards by playing them in sequence into the pot.

Set Up: Place the two sequence cards in the middle where all players can see them. Deal out all the cards.
Deal an extra hand and set it aside so no one can ever be sure how many of each card is left to be played.

Play: Starting with the first ingredient, the potato, players will take turns putting a card(s) face-down into the pot (pile). First player plays a potato(es), second player plays a tomato(s), third player plays sausages, etc. Play one or more cards, as many as you want. At times you will have to bluff. Here are three reasons why:

1. You have a stone to get rid of.
2. You don't have the right card.
3. You have too many cards in your hand.

If you think a player is bluffing, you can challenge him by saying "stone soup" and he has to pick up the card(s) he played and show all. If you are right and he was bluffing, he has to pick up all the cards in the pot and put them in his hand. If you were wrong, you have to pick up all the cards. At any time you may skip your turn by adding a card with a picture of salt on it and saying "I think this soup needs a dash of salt", and placing it on the bottom of the pot pile. The next player plays the card you would have. The game ends when one person runs out of cards.

Try this.

• Hold the deck in the non-dominant hand and push the cards off the top with the thumb, one at a time, to deal.
• Skip the game. Place a sequence card on the table. Hold the cards face-up and deal them one at a time into two piles. Deal the ingredients as they come up for the soup recipe in one pile. Deal the cards that come up out of sequence into the other pile.
• Deal and sort the cards face-up into seven different ingredient piles.
• Practice different ways of shuffling cards.
• Break the deck into several small piles for dealing if holding all 54 cards at once is too much to handle.
• Play a game of war. Deal the cards between players, face-down. Each player turns his top card over and the one with the highest number wins the card. If there are any matching cards, the player of those cards deal two cards face-down and then one face-up. The higher of the face-up cards wins all the cards. Player with the most cards at the end wins. Leave your cards on the table top and separate and pick one card at a time off the pile without toppling other cards off the deck.
• Practice fanning cards by pushing them apart with the thumb.
• Work on visual discrimination, bilateral coordination, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, holding/fanning/shuffling/dealing cards, sequencing, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 54 cards

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