Circle of Friends Matching Game

Circle of Friends Matching Game - A matching game based on classic Golden Book characters

Shortly after I blogged about my fond childhood memories of Golden Books and a related game called I See You Game I found Circle of Friends Matching Game, another Golden Book game featuring classic characters from days gone by. Let me say up front that my game is in a tin, and this one is in a box. But, the board and all the pieces are the same, so I am going on the assumption that we will be talking about the same game.

The path on the board is a spiral and each step on the path pictures one of the six original characters (Shy Little Kitten, Poky Little Puppy, Tawny Scrawny Lion, Tootle the Train, Scuffy the Tugboat and The Saggy, Baggy Elephant. These characters are all best friends and the premise is that although they have jumped off the pages of your golden books to play with you, they must now return home and once again become the circle of friends. The players of the game are racing to see who will be the first person to join this elite circle of friends.

Object:

Be the first person to reach the circle of friends, land on the Saggy Baggy Elephant face card, turn over a matching Elephant card, and enter the circle of friends. 

Set up:

Place the board in the middle of the players. Each player chooses one of the characters (token) and places it into a plastic base. Each player places their character on the Start square. Shuffle the cards and place them in a stack, face down, near the board.

Play:

In turn, each player will spin the spinner and move 1, 2 or 3 spaces. 

• If the spinner is pointing to your character, move your token forward to the nearest square on the board that has your character's image. 
• If the spinner is pointing to the Saggy Baggy Elephant, move your token forward to the nearest Saggy Baggy Elephant square on the board.

If you land on a Saggy Baggy Elephant square follow these directions:

• Elephant Face Square - Take the first card off the deck.
• If your card is a Saggy Baggy Elephant - Move to the next Saggy Baggy Elephant square. Pick another card. If it is another Saggy Baggy Elephant card, move forward again. Keep doing this until you draw a card that is NOT a Saggy Baggy Elephant.
• If your card in not a Saggy Baggy Elephant - Move your token forward on the board to the nearest square that matches the one on your card. Your turn is over.
• BIG Elephant Square - There are 4 BIG Elephant squares on the board where Saggy's trunk is pointing upward or downward to another square. Follow his trunk and place your token on that square. Your turn is over.

Keep playing until someone enters the circle in the middle of the board. You must spin a number that takes you into the circle on an exact count. Now turn over a card. If it is not a Saggy Baggy Elephant card, move your token backward to the first space with that image. You will now have to enter and try again on your next turn(s). If it is a Saggy Baggy Elephant, you have won the game. If it is not, repeat the directions to move backward and try again.

Try this:

• Turn the card in-hand to look at the other side.
• Hold the spinner in one hand and flick the arrow with the other.
• Isolate different fingers to flick the arrow on the spinner.
• Skip the game and sort the cards by characters into piles.
• Skip the game. Choose one character card and follow the path with your eyes, stopping each time you come across your character. Count how matching squares there are on the whole path. Try again with another character. Does one character have more spaces than another?
• Check out a book or two with the characters (from the library) and read them before and/or after you play the game.
• Play a standard memory game. Take out two cards of each character, mix them, place them face-down on the table, turn over two at a time to find matches. 
• Work on visual discrimination, figure ground, manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, coordinated use of both hands, finger isolation, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, process 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: Game board, 6 Golden character tokens, 4 plastic bases, 24 circle of friends cards, spinner

Mental Blox Jr.

Mental Blox Jr. - A beginner's logic puzzle.

Mental Blox has several products on the market now. I've loved and used the original Mental Blox for several years, in part because the kids like it. I had different expectations for Mental Blox Jr. when I saw it. Often when you can't see very many of the puzzle cards, or the progression from easy to hard, you have to make assumptions. This is what I did with this and I got it wrong. The puzzles are much easier than I was hoping. Maybe my description will help someone else decide whether to buy it.

All pieces are hard plastic, brightly colored and hollow. The squares are 2" x 2" and the shaped pieces may be a little smaller. As you can see in the image above, the sides of some pieces are solid color, some are patterned, some have faces. There is a purple tray that is divided into four sections and measures 6.25" x 6.25". You will build your puzzles on this base.

The puzzle cards are large and have a colored border. The puzzle images are shown from different perspectives (overhead, side view, etc.). There are four different kinds of puzzles and four different border colors, one color for each puzzle type. There are seven puzzles for each type, and I guess you could say they get a little harder as they progress, although not really a major jump overall. The puzzles are numbered 1 to 7 within each type. The puzzle answers are on the back of the cards. Here are the different types of puzzles: 

Orange border - What's different? 

Build the puzzle on the front of the card. Now turn the card over. One piece will be different. Find it and change it (turn it) so it matches the card.

LEFT: Front of the card shows the puzzle. RIGHT: Back of the card.

Purple border - What's missing? 

Build the puzzle on the front of the card. One space will show only a question mark. Choose one of the pieces from the bottom to put in that space so that the pieces are the same in some aspect. Check the solution on the back.

LEFT: Front of the card shows the puzzle. RIGHT: Back of the card shows the solution.

Blue border - Me and my shadow. 

All pieces are in black and white. Find the matching colored pieces to build the puzzle on the card.

LEFT: Front of the card shows the puzzle. RIGHT: Back of the card shows the solution.

Green border - Solve it! 

Gather all the pieces shown down the left hand side of the card. Build the puzzle as shown, using all of the pieces. Some pieces may be hidden under others. Check the back for the solution.

LEFT: Front of the card shows the puzzle. RIGHT: Back of the card shows the solution.

After using this game in therapy, I would suggest doing all of one puzzle type at a time, or at least several of one type before moving to a different type. If you choose cards randomly and jump between types, you will be frequently giving instructions and this may be confusing for the individual playing, at least at first. 

Try this:

• Play with the pieces before working a puzzle. Stack the pieces, put pieces inside of each other, talk about shapes and patterns, look at pieces from different perspectives, etc.
• Prop the puzzle card upright for vertical building and lay it flat on the table for the overhead view of a puzzle.
• Build a puzzle while the individual looks on. Talk out loud as you figure out what to do, to model the problem solving process. Place an incorrect piece and tell why it is not correct. Remove it and try something else until you find the correct one. Finish the puzzle. Then take it apart and let the individual solve it.
• Place only the necessary pieces next to the puzzle card and tray for the puzzle you will be working to reduce the number of pieces the individual will have to look through.
• Give the pieces one at a time if the individual does not know where to begin or how to proceed. Or gives cues such as put the green on the tray first, now add the orange piece, etc.
• Allow the person to make a mistake, if it occurs naturally during building. This is not the type of puzzle where a mistake may throw off further work, such as when building with LEGOs. Then encourage the individual to look at the answer and check each piece, one at a time, to identify the incorrect piece.
• Work on visual discrimination, spatial relations/position in space, visual closure, visual form constancy, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, balance, shoulder stability, manual dexterity, coordinated use of two hands, problem solving, logic, executive functioning skills, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: Puzzle tray, 8 puzzle blocks (4 blocks, 4 shapes), 28 puzzle cards
 
If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.